School of Business, Public Administration and Information

MPA Program
COURSE SYLLABUS
Spring 2016
MPA 505 001; ANALYTICAL METHODS

SUPPLEMENT)#)6:))LITERATURE)REVIEW)PRACTICE))
Literature Review Practice Assignment
Due Date: Class 5, February 22, 2016 !
Literature)review)example.pdf)
)
Find)five)peer)reviewed)journal)articles)and)write)a)short)literature)review)(begin)
with)an)annotated)bibliography))
)
Tutorial)on)APA)style:)
http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm?__utma=185732729.2030382560.1356624952.13
58106599.1358276008.3&__utmb=185732729.6.10.1358276008&__utmc=185732729&__utmx=\
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a%20style&__utmv=\&__utmk=184243750)
)
A literature review refers to a collection of materials on a specific topic. The review evaluates
and reports on the main ideas of a particular subject area using synthesis. Synthesizing
information is not summarizing each article, but rather organizing the information by the main
points of the larger topic. Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys
scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant
to a particular issue, area of research, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation
of each work.

Front Matter: Include a title page; do not number the title page

Body Format: The body of your literature review is double-spaced pages using, Times New
Roman, 12 point font. You will need to cite all your sources using, APA. Each page of the body
of your literature review should have a header. The running header should contain an abbreviated
title for the report, your last name, and a page number flush right. Indicate organizational
structure within your literature review by using headings and subheadings. Make sure that
headings at the same level are written in parallel form. Also, make sure that headings at the same
level are consistently placed on the page as per APA style.

Introduction
• The Introduction must contain a research question or purpose statement in the first
paragraph to provide an appropriate context for reviewing the literature.

Dr. Helisse Levine, Analytical Methods, MPA 505, Spring 2016 17

 School of Business, Public Administration and Information
MPA Program
COURSE SYLLABUS
Spring 2016
MPA 505 001; ANALYTICAL METHODS

• Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic; or conflicts in theory,
methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research and scholarship; or a single
problem or new perspective of immediate interest
• Establish the writer's reason (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the
criteria to be used in analyzing and comparing literature and the organization of the
review (sequence); and, when necessary, state why certain literature is or is not included
(scope).

Writing the body: The remaining paragraphs need to synthesize your sources by topic relating
to the research question/purpose statement.

In the body, you should:

• Group research studies and other types of literature (reviews, theoretical articles, case
studies, etc.) according to common denominators such as qualitative versus quantitative
approaches, conclusions of authors, specific purpose or objective, chronology, etc.
• Summarize individual studies or articles with as much or as little detail as each merits
according to its comparative importance in the literature, remembering that space (length)
denotes significance.
• Provide the reader with strong "umbrella/transition" sentences at beginnings of
paragraphs, "signposts" throughout, and brief "so what" summary sentences at
intermediate points in the review to aid in understanding comparisons and analyses.

Writing the conclusion:

• The final paragraphs should contain a conclusion to your literature review summarizing
the outcomes of the research.
• Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body of
knowledge under review, maintaining the focus established in the introduction.
• Evaluate the current "state of the art" for the body of knowledge reviewed, pointing out
major methodological flaws or gaps in research, inconsistencies in theory and findings,
and areas or issues pertinent to future study.
• Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the
literature review and a larger area of study such as a discipline, a scientific endeavor, or a
profession.

Reference Page
You should have a page titled References, in which you will list the articles and books you have
cited in your paper. These references must be in APA style

Dr. Helisse Levine, Analytical Methods, MPA 505, Spring 2016 18