Write a 3 to 4 page literature review based on a minimum of eight sources: empirical articles reporting the results of original, primary research, found in peer- reviewed, scholarly journals.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW:Mental health and poverty

Write a 3 to 4 page literature review based on a minimum of eight sources: empirical articles reporting the results of original, primary research, found in peer- reviewed, scholarly journals.

The topic should be narrowed by reviewing the literature, so start broadly.

It must be approved by me. You may choose qualitative and / or quantitative articles.

You may choose a topic within your area of specialization within the social sciences.

Think of your literature review as the introduction to a larger work on the topic.

It should:

1) Highlight the importance of the subject.
a. Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern, thus providing an appropriate context for reviewing the literature.

b. Make sure you start with a thesis statement: Take a critical point of view about the literature – some perspective from which you organize your review.

Note:

You can only do this after you have spent considerable time analyzing your literature.

2) Situate your topic within the wider body of scholarly literature. Point out 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.

3) Describe and critically assess:

a. The major theoretical approaches to the topic.

b. The main empirical findings of the body of research on your topic. Summarize major contributions in the area, maintaining the focus established in the introduction  in other words, do not list the results of the studies one by one, but group similar results together. Or, demonstrate that findings are not similar, and point out the ways in which they differ, and why.

c. The methods used to study the subject, including an assessment of whether these methods affect the outcomes

d. To the extent you can with your small number of sources, 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. Eight studies are not enough to be really certain about your findings, but do what you can.

In other words, acknowledge the limitations of what you are doing.

4) Use a minimum of eight primary research sources drawn from the social science literature. Primary sources are those where the authors present the results of their own original research. You may also use other non-peer reviewed articles in your discussion, in addition to the eight key sources.

5) Avoid articles that are drawn from the pure science and medicine literature – journals such as Science, Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine, etc. (unless the articles are clearly social science in focus – check with me first).

6) Include the abstract and citation information as an addendum to your References if it has not been reviewed by me in the uploaded Draft Bibliography.

FORMAT:

Double spaced, 1” margins all around. Font size 12 point Times New Roman, or 11 point Arial. Include page numbers. Your last page (not included in the 3 to 4 pages!) should be a “Reference” or “Works Cited” page, cited in proper formats (APA or other standard format).

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