Resources for S-CAR Students Abroad

Research methodology is a discussion of the methods used in your research. It includes the reason behind the methods used in the research, the theoretical concepts informing the selection of the methods, and a literature review about the methods other scholars have used when studying the topic. Locate information by searching the name of the method or theoretical framework (survey, interviews, positivism, hermeneutics, etc).

A literature review is an analysis of the ongoing conversation on a topic, question, or issue. A strong literature review organizes existing contributions to a conversation into categories or "threads." For each category or thread, a literature review might highlight particularly interesting books or articles, then briefly cite or mention other instances

A literature review answers questions like:

• What is the current state of the literature/research on your topic?
• What are the major contributions to the study of your topic? What do they say?
• What are the "threads," themes, or categories in the conversations about your topic? Do you find any of these particularly valuable? Why?
• What are the major disagreements or debates on this topic? Are there any areas of consensus?
• Do you see anything missing or otherwise problematic in the literature?

Recommended reading: Jeffrey W. Knopf (2006). Doing a Literature Review. PS: Political Science & Politics, 39 (01):127-132. doi: 10.1017/S1049096506060264