Reviewing Literature about Literature Reviews!

I ordered a book from the library. Being a distance learner, they shipped it to me which was great. Due to Covid-19 circumstances, the university's library is offering deliveries of books to reduce the number of people in the building. In September, I did actually go into the Hendon campus to collect a book and it was a ghost town! The book that I figured would help me structure my literature review was:

Ridley, D (2012) The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students. 2nd ed, SAGE Publications: London. 

To my surprise, most of the book that I scanned through was unhelpful. However, p108 explained how to introduce your literature review in a concise format. 

The introduction of your literature review is:

" - a brief historical and/or contemporary context for the research;

- a concise reference to research already carried out in the field;

- an outline of the research problem that needs to be explored as a result of a gap left by previous research or an issue that needs resolving;

- a justification for the proposed research

- an outline of the contents of the different chapters in the dissertation or thesis. " 

After a quick call with Adesola, I realised that I could write up my report first, then go back to writing my literature review - working backwards. In terms of learning processes, I find this way of laying out my work better for me. Writing my overview on the inquiry, the analysis, critical reflection essay and then coming back to writing the review, with the texts I included in the critical report. 

The way in which you learn is unique, do not be tied down to what other students may be doing!