The best way of writing the review part of the thesis depends on too many factors to discuss here but here is some general advice:

http://pareonline.net/pdf/v14n13.pdf

http://www.academiccoachingandwriting.org/dissertation-doctor/resources/writing-a-literature-review

http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13405/how-to-write-a-good-phd-literature-review

http://jameshaytonphd.com/how-to-write-a-phd-literature-review/

Hi Larbi,

I found the Literature Review the most difficult chapter to write yet ultimately, the most important. Read other Literature Reviews ( in your field) an (in your paradigm- qualitative or quantitative) to get a feel of how they are structured. Fundamentally, you are presenting an argument that defends your research question while surveying the existing literature. The argument can be constructed by demonstrating where your thesis builds on existing knowledge or where your research fills a gap in existing knowledge. So it's important to interact with the literature. After or during your investigation of existing research, start to group the literature under themes It's important as you read, to group like minded authors together rather than merely summarise a range of research papers one by one. Your examiners want to see that you are noticing how others' big ideas have evolved and been theorised. During your research you will need to keep updating your Literature Review so it's a chapter that keeps evolving.

Hi Larbi,

In addition to the above, your literature review needs also to have a search strategy, outlining where and how you searched for your literature to show how methodical your search was. So Google scholar, knowledge Web, BERA, Google, library journals and e-journals, library books, sources from conference, etc.. Some people like to use a literature review grid outlining in brief all the studies they have found on their research questions. You can find an example on Google. That is not necessary but may help you organise your thoughts and give your examiner a helpful summary.

Hi Latham & Khazem,

Thanks a lot for your contributions highly appreciated.

@ Lathem: if I get a similar part in other literature review that cites obviously other articles, how to use it ?

I'm not certain what you are asking. Can you explain it again?

I also am not sure what you mean, but I do not know whether you mean multiple citation. if you find an literature/ article/journal by someone citing other articles than you can say:

X author (2015) cites Y author (2013) and Z author (2014) in saying that education is important for .........

However, you need to use this critically to lend support to your argument or refute other positions.

Dima,

What I meant is that authors writing different texts are grouped together when they have similar ideas. Author X, Y and Z all support...

If I get a section in a literature review of an other thesis that investigates exactly what I'm looking for, I have just to summarize the section and cite the thesis or I have to read the articles cited in the literature review of that thesis, rewrite of my way their findings  and  citing them in my thesis.

hi larbi ... I think the literature review  as a chapter  is not important for your thesis  you can collected  all the national study and International for your  discussion ... and is important to make a problematical introduction ....

The best way of writing the review part of the thesis depends on too many factors to discuss here but here is some general advice:

http://pareonline.net/pdf/v14n13.pdf

http://www.academiccoachingandwriting.org/dissertation-doctor/resources/writing-a-literature-review

http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13405/how-to-write-a-good-phd-literature-review

http://jameshaytonphd.com/how-to-write-a-phd-literature-review/

You may begin with very general or historical matters, and progressively focus on your own research, so as to put it in perspective.  It should not be only a list of references, but be elaborated so that you show your knowledge of the field, or a good methodology to acquire it.

To reply to your question of 2 hours ago. You can save a lot of time, energy and paper by just citing the other person's thesis. Still, regard their thesis-book as being a windfall, and add the original references to your document library. You may wish to cite an important sentence or result, and it is best to do so directly rather than whitewash it through someone's thesis (which might be erroneous!).

Dear all,

Thank you for your interaction.

What is the best way for writing a good PhD dissertation literature review ?

You can refer to the following RG links:

https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_do_I_write_a_literature_review

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_the_challenges_facing_graduate_students_research_regarding_the_literature_review

In case you need a template to keep track what literature you'd reviewed & for future synthesis & literature review writeup, you can refer to this Excel template:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282604179_Excel_Template_for_Literature_Review_Catalog

Research Excel Template for Literature Review Catalog

Dear Larbi,

The literature review serves as the foundation of a research. It acts as the backbone of the research. The stronger and synthesized the literature review is, the better the research is. Generally, the literature review should include the conceptual, theoretical as well as empirical review of existing body of knowledge pertaining a particular field of study. The relationships among variables, their concepts, underlying theories should be covered in literature review section or chapter. It should start with conceptual review, then theoretical review and in the last the empirical review should be written.

Best Wishes,

Endeavour to establish research gap from the literature review. From the eminent authors, establish different views points, similarity, convergence, and divergence to inform your own findings in answering the research questions. Establish relevant theories to answer research questions or formulate your own conceptual framework to assist you in finding correct research methodology to answer research questions .