Chapter two
Literature Review (starting a new page)
Discuss the literature but it is not necessary to go into exhaustive
depth. Assume that the reader has some knowledge in the field.
A review of earlier work provides an appropriate review of the secondary
research and recognizes the priority of the work of others to the
work you are doing. You must cite work that you refer to in your
paper. The purpose of a literature review is to show where the work
you are doing is going to fit in with the work others have done
in the same subject. Nothing is created in a vacuum. Make sure that
the reader understands the importance of your project in relation
to work undertaken by others.
The reader is not impressed
that you explain EVERY type of instructional multimedia or EVERY
developmental psychologist. You need to be concise. You can discuss
developmental psychologists, learning theories and type of instructional
multimedia together. You need to review the literature so that your
work is understood in the context of what has gone before.
This is where you can
also include reviews other multimedia work out there that is targeted
to your user group. Do NOT depend on your own critical analysis,
but rather review and cite published critiques of the work if you
can find them. There are published reviews of multimedia work out
there. Do not use reviews that you find in Amazon. Those reviews
are not written by experts in the field. You should also include
screen captures of the artefact being critiqued. This is NOT critical
to your review of the literature. But if you find expert reviews
of educational multimedia work, this is where you would include
it.
Close this chapter by
stating the purpose and rationale of your work and how it fits in
with the literature.
After you have introduced
the problem and developed the background material, you are in a
position to tell what you did/will do.
Again... tips: DONT QUOTE...
learn to paraphrase and reference material. Quoting text just means
that you're really good at copying out of a book or off the web.
Learning how to interpret other's research is critical to your understanding
of how to apply that knowledge. You do, however, reference the information
since it is not yours.
This chapter should be
able to be written in approximately 1500-2500 words. I'm
not impressed that you decide to turn in 100+ pages of a 'Literature
Review'. You are not writing a Ph.D. dissertation here! I'm also
serious that you should be able to write this chapter in approximately
1500-2500 words. If you find that yours is longer, then you need
to review and delete.
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