Conducting a Literature Review in Political Science: Comments on Approaches, Functional Significance, Processes and Challenges in the Digital Age

Abstract

Literature review is an unavoidable stage in scientific research and writing. It reflects both familiarity with the stock of knowledge in a subject/topic area and scientific maturity. Unfortunately, students of political science and social sciences tend to undermine, neglect, or take this research activity for granted. There are at least two possible explanations: unawareness about its significance and the practical ways of conducting a standard literature review. This paper attempts to bring back the seriousness of conducting a literature review. It examines the functional significance of conducting the literature review, some associated challenges and possible practical ways of overcoming them. The findings indicate that cognitive awareness about the academic and social significance/ function of the process is fundamental in getting students practically engaged in it. There is, therefore, a positive correlation between our capacity to conduct a literature review and our cognitive feelings of the necessity to do so. When students know that without a literature review, they may not be graded positively, they are more likely to become serious in this stage of research methodology.