A short guide to the Literature Review for students enrolled on MU3391 and MU3392

This guide will take only about 5-10 minutes to read through. We will look at the purpose of a literature review, consider some tips for finding and evaluating sources, and identify what form your review can take by examining some past examples of first class work.

Why do a literature review?

The literature review for MU3391 and MU3392 has a preparatory purpose. Think of it as a tool to help you do the following things:

• develop an overview of the research in your chosen area
• achieve deeper engagement with individual sources through identifying and evaluating key arguments, ideas and theories
• establish how useful/important each reading is to the development of your own dissertation

The process of surveying the literature, close reading, note-taking and then writing will help you deepen your understanding of your subject as well as open up avenues of enquiry. By the end of it, you will be in a more knowledgeable position with a much better idea about how to take your dissertation forward.

So, the literature review is a crucial first step. It’s also worth 20% of the total mark.

Finding and evaluating sources

Once you have identified a potential research area, it’s important to find out what literature already exists on your topic. Is there exhaustive research on your area so that there is not a lot more to say about it or, conversely, is there scant research so that it could be quite challenging to write about? Ideally, choose a topic that has a good body of literature behind it but which still offers space for further research – a space for your own contribution.

At the outset, your supervisor may be able to help you by pointing out key literature. This can give you a route into the important scholarship in the field. Remember to check the bibliographies of any recommended texts as these will suggest further readings to investigate.

But you will want to find your own texts - both primary and secondary literature. This is where the Library comes in. A good starting place is the dedicated LibGuide for Music where you can find a wealth of resources including journal databases, industry data, web resources and music scores.

If you get stuck, our friendly, expert Information Consultant for the School of Performing and Digital Arts, Stavroula Kiritsi, is at hand to advise. She can be contacted via Stavroula.Kiritsi@rhul.ac.uk

Reading and note-taking

Once you have identified some potentially relevant sources, skim through e.g. abstracts, chapter headings, introductions and conclusions to see if the text is worth a closer reading. Then set aside a quiet period for thorough reading.

The first thing to do is to map the discussion accurately.

• What are the main arguments, ideas or theories being put forward?

But also look critically at the text with these questions in mind:

• Is there adequate evidence to support an argument?
• Consider the quality of the argument. Are there any faults in the reasoning e.g. circular argument, false analogy, non-sequiturs, cause-and-effect (when there is none)
• What research methods are used – are they appropriate and rigorous?
• Are there any hidden assumptions that need to be questioned?
• Might there be other explanations apart from the one(s) proposed?
• Is the language over-strident? Does it show personal bias?

As you do this, ask yourself:

• How is this text going to be useful - what arguments, evidence and methods could inform my own research?
• What questions are raised that I could explore?

It’s a good idea to take notes while you read. The very process of note-taking will help you to digest what you have read. This is especially true if you re-articulate what you have read in your own words through summarising.

If you are looking for a systematic approach to note-taking that involves identifying and summarising key points, try the Cornell Method. It helps you condense all your reading responses into a manageable, searchable set of notes.

Two approaches to writing your Literature Review

If you have done the initial leg-work in finding sources, reading and note-taking, you are now in a very good place to start putting your literature review together.

There are two suggested options for the review. One is rather like an annotated bibliography and the other has more in common with the kind of literature review you might find in a book or academic journal. Both approaches are fine as they require critical engagement with relevant literature. You will need to provide an account of what your sources accomplish, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and say why they are important to your dissertation.

Option 1: The book-by-book approach

This approach sets out your review as a series of commentaries in which you discuss each of your major sources in turn. The commentary provides a summary of key content from a book, article or webpage along with critical evaluation and discussion of the usefulness of the source to your dissertation. Here is an extract from a literature review for a dissertation exploring the role of music for soldiers in armed combat.

Here is another example. This is from a review of the literature on the uses of social media in supporting successful musicians.

In this extract, although the writer comments on each source in turn, there is an attempt to relate the source to other literature. This then provides a slightly more synoptic account that links together the views of different scholarly voices.

Note that in each extract, the student writer use the first person ‘I’. This is acceptable when discussing how a particular source relates to one’s own work in preparing a dissertation.

Option 2: The survey and synthesise approach

With this approach, the aim is to evaluate the literature by looking across multiple sources in order to pick up threads of discussion which are then related to your own dissertation objectives. This requires some skill in synthesizing your reading in order to present a clear picture of the scholarly conversation.

By way of illustration, let’s examine selected extracts from a review that explores how audio-visual media contribute to the notion of ‘utopia’. In the introductory paragraph, the writer sets out the aims of the review, identifying topics for discussion.

In the following paragraph, the writer focuses on soundscapes by discussing the views of four different scholars. Notice how the writer inserts herself into the account by articulating her own views. By doing this we get a sense of her own emerging position in relation to the literature.

In concluding, the writer draws together threads from the review and, in the final sentence, underlines how her findings are useful to her own dissertation objectives.

TIP

The examples given here are by no means perfect but do suggest a couple of approaches to consider for your own literature review. To help you find an approach that is a good fit for your subject matter, a chat with your supervisor may prove very helpful.

A word about the language of evaluation

There are multiple ways of communicating our stance to the work of others beyond saying 'I agree with' or 'disagree with' a particular scholar.

A neutral report could be presented like this:

• Taruskin argues that historically-informed performance is ironically the ‘sound of now’

If you wanted to communicate a positive evaluation of his work, think about using certain verbs, adverbs and adjectives:

• Taruskin demonstrates that…
• Taruskin argues convincingly that …
• In his wide-ranging/thought-provoking discussion of …, Taruskin concludes that…

And here are some examples of negative evaluation. Be specific on shortcomings or areas for improvement.

• Taruskin attempts to argue that …
• Taruskin’s argument is flawed because…
• Taruskin’s argument overlooks the role of…
• Taruskin's argument would have been more convincing if he had...

For more ideas on how to express a critical point of view, check this Manchester University resource:

Further Advice and Resources

CeDAS offers 1:1 Writing Tutorials and Drop-Ins to help you develop your drafts before submission.

For clear advice on referencing, try this new subscription resource recently launched by our Library:

For a pick of the best online self-study activities about academic writing, check these resources curated by CeDAS: