Writing a Literature Review for a PhD Dissertation
Dr. Nada Alqarni led a training workshop entitled "Writing a Literature Review for a PhD Dissertation" during a webinar organized by the Scientific Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies Unit of the College of Languages and Translation at King Khalid University on February 26, 2025. This session primarily targeted PhD candidates within the College of Languages and Translation.
In her presentation, Dr. Alqarni focused on defining what a literature review entails, elaborating on how to compose it effectively, structure such chapters, navigate the entire review process, and ensure linguistic precision. At the outset of her discussion, she referenced Hart (2018) to define a literature review as an analytical evaluation of existing scholarly work pertinent to the researcher’s current study. She noted that academic writing is influenced by various considerations; thus, crafting a literature review is affected by factors including comprehension of the intended audience, research objectives, structural organization, and presentation style. Furthermore, it is crucial to gauge the readers' familiarity with the topic alongside their informational needs and expectations regarding the chapter's content. Dr. Alqarni stressed that clarity, systematic flow, and coherence are essential attributes of this chapter.
The primary goal of a literature review is to substantiate the research being conducted, as explained by Dr. Nada Alqarni. To achieve this objective, researchers must synthesize existing literature to highlight gaps in knowledge that their current study aims to address.
Additionally, she pointed out common pitfalls encountered by PhD students, such as incorporating references lacking sufficient detail to align with their central theory or thematic analysis. Dr. Alqarni also illustrated appropriate tense usage within literature reviews while underscoring the importance of conciseness, avoiding verbosity, steering clear of plagiarism, and maintaining research integrity in written work.
The workshop proved to be highly interactive and was ultimately a significant success.
