Writing Your Literature Review

Institution: see Organisers & Supporters

Programme of study: International Research Workshop

Lecturer: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katharina Stornig (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen)

Date: see Workshop Programme

Max. number of participants: 20

Credit Points: 5 CP for participating in the whole IRWS

Language of instruction: English

Contents: All research, whatever the discipline and however original, draws on existing studies. Any research project necessarily positions itself in relation to existing empirical, theoretical and methodological debates. This course provides practical insight and advice on how to write a literature review (Forschungsstand) providing an overview of the “state of the art”. The course will begin with insights on tips, tricks and tactics for tackling the literature review, including collecting and synthesizing literature, summarizing existing debates, and providing advice on academic writing in English and German. The sessions will also involve group work and focused feedback on individual projects.

There are no pre-readings for the course. Some general handbooks that are useful are listed below. However, we would require that each participant sends us at least one week in advance of the course an extended abstract (Exposé) of their research project.

Patrick Dunleavy. How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation. Palgrave: 2003.

Jose L. Galvan. Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. University of Michigan: 2004.

Ansgar Nünning/Roy Sommer, Hrsg. Handbuch Promotion. Forschung – Förderung – Finanzierung. Metzler: 2007.

You have to register for the International Research Workshop to participate in this course.