ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a critical reading of Lewis Ellison’s dissertation literature review, elucidating the challenges she encountered before and during the data collection phases of her qualitative study about an African American family’s digital literacy practices. She invites readers to review the methods and approaches she used across multiple drafts, along with feedback from committee members and peer readers. This chapter reveals some of the common mistakes made by researchers as well as a framework for the self-reflection and assessment needed to craft a feasible literature review for a dissertation. This chapter is not about providing a “must have” step-by-step process, but it does offer students specific and useful strategies for planning, searching, and writing reviews. The chapter ends with recommendations for both budding and advanced doctoral students. Lewis Ellison’s aim is to give students the opportunity to consider what might work for them, as methods for conducting literature reviews continue to evolve.
