What is the point of a literature review?

A provocative question to start this post: "What is the point of a literature review?" The slightly less confrontational wording would be "What is the purpose of a literature review?". Before beginning this module it seemed obvious to me that without looking at the existing literature I would't know where to start my research but the experts confirm there is far more to a literature review than that.
According to Swetnam and Swetnam (2009), a literature review serves four main purposes:

• "It shows that you have read widely around your chosen topic.
• It demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory.
• It acknowledges the work of others.
• It informs and modifies your own research."

In other words, it should define the current state of research in your chosen area and critically analyse it.

Bell (2010) takes Swetnam & Swetnam's points further and states that the literature review is paramount to becoming, and demonstrating that you are becoming, an expert in your chosen field. For Bell this task not only informs you about current research but also helps to define the parameters of your study. The literature review should also make clear any gaps in the existing research and point out any unresolved controversies.

Arthur et al. (2012) confirm the above but add perhaps the most important (and most difficult) point: a literature review should demonstrate how your research will contribute to the pool of exisiting knowledge. For someone who is really just starting in research this seems like quite a lofty goal.

Nevertheless, I hope that over the next week as I finish writing my literature review I will be able to meet all of these expectations.

Sources

Arthur, J. et al. (2012), Research methods and methodologies in education, Thousand oaks: Sage.

Bell, J. (2010), Doing your research project (5e), Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.

Swetnam, D. & Swetnam, R. (2009), Writing your dissertation (3e), Oxford: howtobooks.