Literature reviews require patience and diligence. Gall, Borg and Gall (1996) highlight seven common mistakes that people can make during the review process:
- Does not clearly relate the findings of the literature review to the researcher’s own study.
- Does not take sufficient time to define the best descriptors and identify the best sources to use in reviewing the literature related to one’s topic.
- Relies on secondary sources rather than on primary sources in reviewing the literature.
- Uncritically accepts another researcher’s findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis.
- Does not report the search procedures that were used in the literature review.
- Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them by chi-square or meta-analysis methods.
- Does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations in synthesizing qualitative literature.
Most students strive to read everything and most reading materials are trivial articles that are a waste of time. A lot of time is spent reading NOT writing. Writing helps to reflect upon ideas and foster a better understanding of information h and how information is connected to one another.
Reference: itdl.org