Literature reviews help to provide boundaries of what is known about a particular field and serve to guide researchers in their quest to uncover the mysteries and nuances of a selected issue or problem. A well-developed review of literature is essential to a thorough, well-considered paper. Whether the writing is intended for a high-end scholarly journal or a student’s weekly assignment, the literature review pertains to uncovering the body of knowledge that previous researchers have generated. It is a savvy researcher who is able to take advantage of the existing base of knowledge in the creation of a new line of inquiry. A literature review should be conducted at the beginning of a research study.
Identify a particular area of criminal justice.
Define the area’s boundaries by explaining the methodologies and statistical techniques used.
Describe the specific canon of literature found.
Define the field in general.
Critique the field, including areas requiring further examination.
The literature review
Must be three to five double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.) (sample Literature Review (Links to an external site.) in the Ashford Writing Center).
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must use at least five peer-reviewed sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
