For this assignment:

• Strive for clarity and conciseness in your problem statement. Knowing exactly what you are seeking is the best way to focus your search productively. Before returning to the Capella library to continue your search for scholarly sources, carefully review the feedback you received on your two earlier assignments (Research Topic Investigation and Problem Statement). Use the feedback you received from your instructor to tighten and clarify your problem statement.
• Review the sources you have already found on your topic, including the ones you found for your Week 4 assignment, and refine your list of key words that will help you focus your search productively. If you need some help with this process, review the resource Get Critical Search Skills.
• Continue your search, looking for those sources that seem to most clearly address the topic and problem area you chose. As you review a potential resource, first read the abstract. Then, if you are not sure how valuable that source will be, skim the article to identify the key points and evidence provided. In this manner, begin compiling your list of potential sources. You may need to consider at least 20–25 sources before you can come up with the 10–12 you need to represent current knowledge in your topic area.
• Read the articles in depth, starting with those you believe most directly address your problem area. For a method to accomplish this process, review the Locating Common Themes in a Literature Review presentation. You may want to use the Capellapillar process described in that piece.
• Look at the results of your reading (or your Capellapillar, if you used that approach). After analyzing the various points of view, synthesize the ideas to create as clear a picture as possible of what you believe to be the current status of knowledge in your topic and problem area. Be clear about what is known and what questions remain.

Writing Your Draft Literature Review

1. Write a clear problem statement. This should be the latest version of your problem statement.
2. Describe each of the major viewpoints you encountered in the literature. Compare and contrast the differing viewpoints, pointing out ideas that appear to be shared, as well as those areas where different authors took differing approaches.
3. Write your conclusion. In this case, it is only a statement of what is not yet known—sometimes referred to as a “gap in our knowledge on the topic.” Synthesize a summary of the state of knowledge on your topic by using critical thinking approaches you have learned in this course. In addition, this conclusion must include an explanation of why it is important to study this topic.
   • Because your literature review comes before research is conducted, you do not yet have any conclusion from your own research, only a statement of what is, and is not known, based on past research.
4. List your references.

Notes

Please note that:

• The draft literature review does not contain a Methods section, because you have not yet conducted research.
• The resources you list as references should include those you identified in your research topic investigation for the Week 4 assignment. As a result, you have already completed a significant part of the search for resources.

Submit your assignment as an attachment in the assignment area.

Additional Requirements

Your assignment should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations should be formatted according to current APA style and format guidelines. Note that this means you must include an abstract, title page, and reference page.
• Number of resources: A minimum of 10 scholarly resources.
• Length of paper: A minimum of seven typed, double-spaced pages, not including the abstract, title page, or reference page.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.