ABSTRACT
This chapter and the next concentrate upon a crucial component of all qualitative social work research, that of the literature review. Literature typically provides not only the foundation of so much social research but also its life-blood. We draw upon other people’s work not in a parasitic sense but to help us support, better understand and contextualise our study and findings. We look in this chapter at the purpose and key stages of a review and also how to carry out critical evaluation of any literature. We also then look at some key sources of information and evidence as well as other priorities such as keeping records. The next chapter then explores the methodology of a review, including for a literature-based project or dissertation.
