LITERATURE SURVEY GUIDELINES
I. Purpose of the Literature Survey
The purpose of the Literature Survey is to give each student the opportunity to become as knowledgeable as possible about the field in which the applied project is being planned and conducted. It is designed to give the student a head-start on understanding how to proceed with the applied project based on what has been published and is available to educate the student on the topic.
The Literature Survey is based on a collection of materials on the topic of your applied project. This is accomplished by the student conducting research relating to their project’s underlying methodology, technology, and subject matter. The result is the Literature Survey, which is created as an essay describing the student’s research findings.
But keep in mind that the Literature Survey is not a theoretical exercise. Rather, it is a means of developing a foundational understanding of practice-based information needed to appreciate the optimal methods of proceeding with the project. The student researches and writes about the results of the research on what has been accomplished so far in the field pertaining to the applied project.
II. What should be included in the Literature Survey?
The Literature Survey should discuss published information and describe the current conditions in the field you are researching relative to your project. It should demonstrate familiarity with the activity accomplished to date by others and the current thinking in relevant areas, including what is known and what is unknown.
For example, what are the best practices relating to your project? Are there journal articles, case studies, papers, vendor literature, etc. that will give you a perspective on what has come before and what is the current thinking.
The Literature Survey should have an organizational pattern and combine both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the sources, and a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information that results in a clear presentation of the research findings. It could re-interpret older material or perhaps combine newer with older understandings. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates and different points-of-view. The student could also decide to evaluate or critique the various sources and provide an opinion on the most appropriate or applicable for the purpose of conducting the applied project. It is recommended that for purposes of our course students should mainly focus on current or nearly current information. This is especially true if your project involves information technology, web development, networking, databases, data communication, or other areas of IT where the most current information is especially valuable to an understanding of how to proceed with your project.
You do not need to create new information but, rather, you should report on the literature that your research has uncovered.
III. What kinds of literature should you research?
Your research can include any of the following: books, journal articles, papers, websites, best practices, case studies, vendor literature, etc.
IV. Where can you find the information needed for the Literature Survey?
There are any number of excellent sources for conducting your Literature Survey. You are free to use any library or on-line resources for your research. But here is a set of recommendations that you may find will be helpful in your work.
1. An excellent handout on Writing and Organizing Literature Reviews is available from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This paper provides an overview of the Literature Review and its major elements. But keep in mind that the Literature Review for our course is not for the purpose of pure research but serves as the basis of actionable knowledge that can be applied to your project.
It is available at: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/
2. NYU’s Bobst Library, to quote their website, “provides students and faculty members with access to the world’s scholarship and serves at the center of the University community’s intellectual life.” The 12-story Elmer Holmes Bobst Library is located in NYU’s downtown main campus. Bobst also provides a rich collection of books, journals, articles, and databases. This extensive collection of databases is of most interest to our course since they are ideal for conducting online research without having to actually go to the Bobst building (although it’s definitely worth visiting!). Some valuable resources follow:
a. NYU Virtual Business Library – https://guides.nyu.edu/vbl/
b. Ask a Librarian Service – http://library.nyu.edu/ask/
c. Guides for doing research in Business, etc. – http://guides.nyu.edu/?b=s
3. Gartner Reports- For projects involving IT, the Gartner Reports website provides a wealth of information on various IT disciplines and how they are applied in various industries. Some are tutorial in that they provide a broad understanding of a topic area, some are managerial summaries and some provide comparative analyses of various technology choices—among others. Access is free for NYU students and faculty. It is accessible via NYUHOME and the RESEARCH tab.
Citations
Once you have uncovered your sources of information and included information about those sources in your Literature Review you will need to provide a citation for each source in your paper. There are several styles used for citations but in our course we will use the APA citation style. There are many good resources on the web that explain how to do this. Once excellent resource is available from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It can be found at: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/citing-information/home . You only need to be familiar with the APA citation style and not MLA, Chicago, CSE, etc.
Fortunately, there also exist several online citation management tools that will help you create the proper APA format. NYU offers an informative page at: https://guides.nyu.edu/citations/tools
These Citation Management Tools enable you to:
• Import citations from databases, websites, catalogs
• Organize citations using folders and tags
• Attach PDFs, images, etc. to your citations
• Annotate your citations and/or PDFs
• Output auto-formatted bibliographies and in-text citations
You should consider ZOTERO or REFWORKS. The web page also has a link to a comparison chart.
Expected size and format of the Literature Survey
The Literature Survey should be a minimum of 5 pages and optimally 10 pages (or more). You may use Calibri 12 pitch or Verdana 11 pitch font for your text. Use a 1” right and 1.5” left margin.
Sample Literature Survey
Our course site contains a folder named “Resources.” Within that folder you will find a sub-folder named “Templates.” Within that sub-folder you will find a sample Literature Survey that was created by a student in a prior section of our course. This sample is an excellent example showing what is possible.
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SURVEY GUIDELINES FOR LITERATURE
I. What is the Purpose of the Literature Review?
The goal of the Literature Survey is to allow each student to learn as much as possible about the field in which the applied project is being planned and carried out. It is intended to provide the student with a head start in understanding how to proceed with the applied project based on what has been published and is available to educate the student on the subject.
The Literature Survey is built around a collection of materials related to your applied project’s topic. This is performed by the student undertaking research on the approach, technology, and subject matter of their project. The Literature Survey, which is written as an essay outlining the student’s research, is the end product.
