You must select a minimum of 6 peer-reviewed journal articles that are exploratory, quasi-experimental and/or experimental research studies (only one of your six articles can be qualitative research articles). ALL OF YOUR ARTICLES MUST HAVE A “METHODS” SECTION. You may also want to include citations from credible websites (.gov, .edu, .org), which often provide current statistics and information about your chosen area of Interest. That information can best contribute to your discussion in the first two sections of your paper, the “Introduction” and “Scope of Problem”. Information from credible websites are in addition to the 6 required
original research studies published in peer-review journals. These credible websites do NOT take the place of the 6 required original research studies! A literature review requires a synthesis of the research articles you have reviewed- you should not discuss each article separately! In the literature review, you should critically analyze and synthesize the literature of a topical area of interest. Use the following outline to format your paper
INTRODUCTION
*Introduction of the topic/problem
*Provide a brief explanation about why this issue is relevant to the profession of
social work
*Provide a brief description of what your paper is going to address
SCOPE OF PROBLEM
*Describe the breadth (who/what is affected) and depth
(impact/magnitude/severity) of the problem
*Discuss the population(s) affected most by this problem
*Describe how the population(s) are affected
*Define your variables of interest
*Explain why this problem is important to explore and address
PREVIOUS FINDINGS
*Describe previous studies about your chosen problem (refer to studies
SOCW 360/ Spring, *** -
METHODS sections, and synthesize this information)
- research designs
- sampling methods
- participants utilized in studies
- operationalization of independent and dependent variables
- statistical tests
- theories used (if any)
- hypotheses tested
- major findings
CRITIQUE OF LITERATURE
*Describe the strengths and weaknesses of previous studies methodology (i.e,
generalizability, measurement, cultural sensitivity, research design, threats to
validity, etc…)
CONCLUSION
*In general, describe what previous research has contributed to this topic of
interest
*Based on limitations of previous studies, describe how future studies can
address the weaknesses you identified
*Describe possible suggestions for future research by identifying potential
research questions, or relationships between variables that need further
exploration
*Close the literature review with a discussion of implications: Why is your
suggestion for future research important to the profession of social work?