My topic go’s more into detail asking the question: “Can older adults afford retirement and what sources of income are primarily used for retired adults?”.
The directions are as follows:
Length: approximately 5-6 pages, double-spaced (5 pages minimum)
Include at least 8 peer-reviewed journal articles related to your topic (5% extra credit if one of the articles is a review or meta-analysis)
In-text citations & list of references in APA format are mandatory
Absolutely no plagiarism!
In the literature review you
Summarize previous research on your topic
Critique prior research
Describe general trends and themes in the research findings
ID and explain discrepant or contradictory findings
Compare & contrast varying theoretical perspectives
Describe various methodological approaches
Explain how your study adds to the existing literature
Other Tips
Make an outline!
Stay focused! Avoid tangents, only discuss previous work that is directly related to your topic
Each paragraph should advance an idea, with supporting evidence
Literature review should synthesize previous research, it is not a one-by-one summary of each article
Be a critical consumer of previous research, evaluate the strengths and limitations of previous studies
Use direct quotes sparingly – paraphrase instead
Helpful phrases
Many studies have found… (Authors, year; Authors, year, etc)
Previous studies find/demonstrate/indicate/show/suggest…XYZ
For example, a study by Smith and colleagues (2013) found that….
More recently, researchers have begun to examine….
According to the __________ perspective/framework/theory one would expect…
However, the authors did not consider/look at/examine/address….
Little is known about….
It is unclear if these findings are generalizable to other populations
Previous studies have failed to consider…
