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A literature review will be the first phase of any academic research. It enables you to:-
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Find out the theory that underpins your enquiry
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Decide on relevant hypotheses and aims
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Select appropriate data to collect
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Choose a good location for fieldwork
Your reading and research should start with books, since this is where you are most likely to find reliable information and well-established theories and ideas about your chosen topic.
After this, you should use articles from geographical journals (Geography Review, Geofactsheets, Geofile) to gain a deeper understanding of a topic, and to broaden your knowledge of up-to-date case studies.
Finally, you can use the Internet to obtain additional material and secondary data, (maps, aerial photos), but you must bear in mind that anyone can write an article on the Internet and that the information it contains is not always reliable. You should read information objectively and try to avoid, or at least acknowledge, bias.
Task
Make detailed notes on the background theory of your topic. At the end compile a bibliography that includes a minimum of:-
3 books (Author, Date, Title, Publisher and page numbers)
2 journal articles (Geography Review, Geofactsheet, Geofile)
2 Websites (e.g. Google Maps, Digimap, BBC + date that you accessed them) |
Topics
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Ecosystems |
Microclimates |
Rivers |
Roads |
Retail | |