What are the importance of literature review

The literature review performs a number of

important functions:

• It demonstrates to a Ph.D. committee that the student has read a large amount of

statistical literature to prove that the student is aware of the wide range of research

in theory and methodology related to the proposed research topic.

• It provides proof to a Ph.D. committee that the student has an deep understanding of

the published statistical research related to the topic of the dissertation.

• It should convince the Ph.D. committee that the student can communicate this understanding of the statistical literature and its relationship to the proposed research.

• It should support the originality and relevance for the Ph.D. research problem.

– This is done by identifying specific gaps in the statistical literature. That is, the

student identifies statistical questions that have not been answered and problems

that have not been solved.

– By identifying gaps in the statistical literature, the student can justify the originality of the proposed dissertation research. The originality can be an extension

of research that has been published or a modification of existing methodology or

theory that can be used to perform the Ph.D. research.

• In the proposal you will emphasize or stress the originality of the dissertation. Without a good literature review, you cannot convince your committee that that the proposed research is original.

• A dissertation may be unacceptable because the Ph.D. student does not clearly show

that the research problem is original due to a poor literature review.

• Remember: the Literature Review is more than a summary of publications. It provides

evidence that your research will be an original and relevant contribution to statistics.