• University of Wollongong

Research Writing: How to Do a Literature Review

Learn how to write a strong literature review with this course designed for research students, at any level, in any discipline.

32,241 enrolled on this course

How to Write a Literature Review
  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours

Improve your ability in a fundamental part of research: a literature review

Many students are required to write a critical review of current academic literature in their area of interest - researchers, postgraduates and undergraduates. Developing a great critical review is vital, but not always taught.

In this course, you will be guided through this complex process step-by-step, seeing examples, finding information and developing useful questions that will help you plan, draft and refine a critical discussion of what is and is not yet known about your topic.

Skip to 0 minutes and 2 seconds Need to write a literature review, but don’t know where to start? One of the most common experiences in higher education is that you are expected to know how to write a literature review, but the process is much more complex than you think. This course is about avoiding the usual pitfalls of literature review writing through careful planning and through the experience of others you’ll meet. You will journey through the process of writing a literature review, from laying a strong foundation of questions, notes and search terms, so you have the tools to develop your literature review.

Skip to 0 minutes and 39 seconds You will see examples at each step, and hear from students, teachers, and research academics, who will share their experience and give you a systematic approach to writing a good literature review. Join us on this four-week course in research writing and learn how to write a literature review and develop your research potential.

What topics will you cover?

  • Understanding the literature review as a genre, and its fundamental role in all serious investigations and research projects
  • Developing a useful list of search terms and understanding where to use them to find the most relevant literature available
  • Developing a professional bibliography and annotating it with critical evaluations of readings
  • Asking good questions to guide the reading and writing process
  • Planning a critical discussion in response to specific questions and based on evidence from the published literature

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explore and identify different types of literature review
  • Develop an annotated bibliography
  • Develop questions to drive a literature review
  • Reflect on your academic writing style
  • Collaborate with other research writers
  • Improve your research potential

Who is the course for?

This course has been created for those pursuing research, at PhD level or not – anyone who wants to improve their ability to write about academic literature for research purposes.

Who will you learn with?

Lecturer in academic language & learning with a special interest in developing curricula around the language learning needs of researchers and students learning through English as a second language

Who developed the course?

University of Wollongong

The University of Wollongong is among the world’s top 20 modern universities. It routinely rates among the top Australian universities for graduate satisfaction and starting salaries.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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