The best literature reviews are not individual summaries of articles; rather, they are a combined synthesis. In scholarly writing, to synthesize means to bring various ideas and pieces of information together. In this “bringing together,” new comparisons are drawn and new meanings derived. So, even though you are reporting on information in four different articles, you are also molding that information into a new and unique story you are telling about the research topic.

For a visual, you might think about each piece of information within a theme as a strand of yarn or rope.  You weave those strands together, put them against each other, twist them, and eventually you come up with a beautiful shape. In the literature review, this “weaving” looks like comparing, contrasting, and analyzing the articles in relationship to one another and the social work profession.

In this Assignment, you write a short literature review on your research topic, keeping the principle of synthesis in mind.

To Prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources on writing a literature review. You may also wish to consult the Writing Toolbox in the left navigation of your classroom for additional resources relevant to writing your literature review.
• Review the annotated outline you submitted last week and any feedback you have received from your Instructor.
• With this feedback in mind, write a 2-page literature review based on your annotated outline.  

By Day 7

Submit a 2-page literature review demonstrating what is known about your topic and any identified gaps. The literature review must include at least four of the peer-reviewed research articles you found. 

At the end of your literature review, write 1 to 2 paragraphs answering the following question:

• How will you change, refine, or focus your research question based on your exploration of the literature? Provide justification.

Make sure to include appropriate APA citations and a reference list.