Research Methods in Ethnography
Literature Review
Purpose of the Literature Review
The literature review provides the background for your team's off-campus research. During the course of your field research, you may refer to your literature review to compare your findings with existing research.
Content of the Literature Review
The following information should be included in your literature review:
• A summary of the history, political, economic, and social context of the culture;
• A comparative analysis of important research about your fieldsites and topic;
• A discussion of how your proposed research will clarify or expand on earlier research;
• A list of sources (a reference list, a.k.a. a bibliography) explicitly cited in your lit review.
Details
• At least 5 paragraphs, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font.
• This is about quality, not quantity, so make your words count-not a wordcount!
• The list of sources must come at the end and provide full citation information in MLA or similar consistent format for at least 10 sources. You may share sources with your team, but all work should be your own
Your research question should be stated clearly in the opening section, Section 1 (a.k.a the Introduction). This Section will discuss why you are interested in this topic followed by your roadmap for the rest of the essay, outlining the different themes uncovered by your review of previous research. Your next 3 sections should each have a topic sentence and each include:
• A different theme uncovered by your review of previous research on the topic or culture you are studying.
• How your proposed research could clarify or expand upon previous research (that you found in your bibliography-again with clear topic sentence and supporting data and citations)
• How this research can be useful or meaningful to stakeholders, and who those stakeholders are.
Your last section, Section 5, is your Conclusion. Revisit your research question and discuss the themes you uncovered in your literature review.