A scientific literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are important resources for scientists. They provide historical context for a field while offering opinions on its future trajectory. Creating them can provide inspiration for one's own research, as well as some practice in writing.
Most scientific authors express their awareness of the existing body of scientific literature and knowledge pertinent to their studies. Science is a continually evolving field where professionals continually make new discoveries, studies, connections and experiments based on the findings of previous scientists. A scientific author references the existing studies or experiments related to their findings and explains how their research connects to, revises or builds upon previous knowledge.
More to Learn . . .
BEFORE YOU GO . . . What have you learned? Put Your Knowledge to Work! . . . Identify 3-5 science articles related to your summer research topic, read them and create an Annotated Bibliography. Assignments should have the following headings: Line 1 = Subject - Scientific Writing Assignment; Line 2 = Last Name, First Name; and Line 3 = Institution. Please email your assignments to rodom@auctr.edu.