Writing a literature review has been one of me deepest concerns when writing a paper. I have always thought that it’s the hardest part, but I was wrong. The literature review is as the word suggests “The review” of previous studies. It is what have others found out about a certain topic. In order not to write/suggest an idea that has been already written/suggested, we ”review the literature”, citing and quoting the ideas said. Now, “the how” depends on each individual. For me, it’s an exciting process, and here’s how I do the literature review step by step:

1. I collect articles that relate to my topic (i read the abstract; I download the articles I find related and ignore the ones that are not)

2. After collecting and downloading the articles, I would read the articles one by one thoroughly. While reading an article, I “digitally” hold the highlighter, and using different colors, I highlight ideas I would need in my literature review. Let’s say we‘re reviewing articles on (LFA) literary film adaptations, I would use a green highlighter for all the ideas that revolve around positive critics’ opinions on LFA for example, and a pink highlighter for the negative ones, a blue highlighter for highlighting ideas revolving around why adapters adapt, yellow highlighter for highlighting ideas revolving around how adapters adapt literary texts, etc…

3. On a separate word document, I prepare the articles‘ names, reference of each and the citations (in-text and parenthetical) under each one.

4. Then, I copy paste everything highlighted under each articles’ name.

5. Now that I have everything organized and clear, it becomes easier to imagine how the literature review will turn out.

6. Finally, start linking ideas with each other. Let’s say researcher X suggested negative points for LFA and researcher Y claimed that lFA have positive effects on literature, you link these ideas together. It’s like you’re telling people what have you read. You say, “according to X (2021), LFA have created a …. however, Y (2022) suggests that LFA have ….” And on you go.

All in all, for me, it’s a matter of organization and determination. It does take time but at the end you’ll find it worthy.

Kindly don’t hesitate to reach out for any further suggestions/questions.

Thank you for reading.

تحية طيبة:

لن أتحدث عن مجلة محددة بل سوف أتحدث عن المجلات الأدبية العالمية عموما خاصة تلك التي يتعامل معها الباحث العربي، فهي مقيدة بجملة من الشروط تجعل العمل معها صعب للغاية، منها أن كاريزما الأدبية للمؤلف العربي تختلف في ثقافتها عن الأخر.

Salutations: Je ne parlerai pas d'une revue en particulier, mais plutôt des revues littéraires internationales en général, en particulier celles avec lesquelles le chercheur arabe s'occupe, car elles sont limitées par un ensemble de conditions qui rendent très difficile de travailler avec elles, notamment le fait que le Le charisme littéraire d'un auteur arabe diffère d'une culture à l'autre.

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In working on the literature review section of research, the most interesting aspect is to mark those references that support our arguments and also those that don't. The ideas are generated only through considering the opposing views in mind. They can actually reinforce our own hypothesis.

Hi Judith,

Maybe this literature review paper could help you. In it was applied the PICOC and PRISMA methods.

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