hi,

am preparing my first year report and i have decided to hand in the 10,000 words from my lit review chapter. My problem is not the lack of 10,000 but the fact that am not too sure anymore :( what a lit review should contain. should it say a lit bit about all the areas that you will be looking at in your thesis, or is it ok, just to introduce your thesis topic in the context of surrounding literature in the area. E.g., if the topic is on the role of iodised salt in modern cooking. In the lit review, i would talk about cooking in general and how iodised salt comes into this. Then chapter 2 - talks about how salt came to be used in modern cooking. chapter 3 - how society reacted to it. chapter 4 - the effects of using salt, on trends in modern cooking. ch.5- the role of salt in modern cooking. ch6 - the role of iodised salt in modern cooking. am i going round in circles? Thesis is to have 8/9 chapters all together.

or did i just have a panic attack????????

i understand a lit review to be an overview of work in your field, pulling out the good and bad points and saying where your work fits and does something new. Google "how to write a lit review" and you will find loads of unis with good lists of questions to help.

I think it really depends on your subject area and field. E.g. I dont have a literature review at all (What no literature review I hear you gasp!) cos it doesnt fit in with my methodology. I reckon ask your supervisors, but sounds ok what you're planning to hand in now

thanks hillyg. DJ - some students on my course all don't have lit revs. I think it depends on a supervisor. some prefer you do them in the end.

I'm a bit confused. Surely the decision about whether or not to do a lit review is dependent on the research methodology rather than your supervisor?

InD - i'm not sure i get what you're driving at from your brainstorming. elaborate?

thanks InD