What variables and questions related to the problem have already been studied and how does that to relate to the question being posed in the study you are proposing?

Typically, a review of the literature is extensive as it should address all known aspects of a problem and describe how the problem has been studied in the past.  For example,

1. What variables and questions related to the problem have already been studied and how does that to relate to the question being posed in the study you are proposing?  Are the previous study findings applicable to today’s practice?
2. Who were the subjects in these other studies and how do they compare with your proposed subjects?
3. What research design, theoretical framework, data collection tool(s), statistics, etc., were used; and how do they compare to what you are proposing?

A good review of the literature lays down the proverbial breadcrumbs for future researchers to follow the rationale for how we arrived here from there.  Sometimes it means we state the obvious, and other times it means we identify conflicting outcomes, outdated paradigms, gaps in practices, statistical test results to questions similar to ours, or suggest questions for future research.  This assignment will give you a good understanding of how to compile the research findings needed for writing financial reports, grant applications/reports, business plans/Pro-forma, practice policies, processes, academic reports, clinical case studies, etc.

NRAO Majors:  The review you write for this assignment should be a good start for your scholarly project due in your final MSN course.  You and your advisor will work together to complete this requirement.

Upon successful completion of the Literature Review assignment you should be able to:

• Address an identified problem through a systematic synthesized review of the literature.