Writing a literature review is an important part for the thesis regardless of the academic level. That is, literature review remains an important part of the education process at both the master’s and postgraduate or a PhD level. However, there are some important differences between the levels. A literature review is supposed to show knowledge of a student of the academic literature on a specific topic. The review is based on screening of the available literature and selection of the most suitable sources. Hence, a literature review is about building an argument rather collecting a library. This means that a more complex projects such as those prepared at PhD level require more detailed and more critical review of the literature. Thus, the key difference is in size and scope of the review when it comes to differences between master’s and PhD levels. This article presents ten major differences between a literature review at a master’s level and PhD level.

Size of a literature review

The first difference is probably the most obvious and relates to size of the project and a literature review. Dissertations and other projects at a PhD level are larger than those at the Master’s level. The word count is larger and a literature review is also larger. For a Master’s project, the size of the review is typically up to 3,000 words and it talks a separate section of the paper. For the papers at the PhD level, a literature review is expected to be significantly larger and close to 10,000 words. This is a huge difference, which means that it takes a lot more effort to write a review for the paper at the PhD level. However, it is just the tip of the iceberg and there are more fundamental differences.

The nature of content

Another difference relates to the content of a literature review. At a PhD level, literature review needs to produce a higher quality of content. This means that it is deeper compared to a review at the Master’s level. As a result, there is more quality in the PhD level research, because it identifies the ga in the literature and articulates the way to fill this gap. At a Master’s level, the review is less focused and broader in its content.

More critical review

A literature review is about discussing specific topic from different perspectives. However, at the master’s level, it is broad and less critical. At a doctorate level, a literature review must be more critical and include a way more depth of research. The key is to find the research gap and propose potential solutions to this gap. In essence, a doctorate-level review is more productive for actual use of its findings than a Master’s level literature review.

More applied review at a Doctorate level

At a doctorate level, a literature review is more applied compared to a Master’s level literature review. A doctorate literature review should contribute to the scientific debate at least at some level. A master’s level literature review shows overall understanding of a particular subject. This means that a doctorate level literature is more applied in the nature. It provides deeper arguments and more applied findings that show how to sole a certain issue. In addition, the review can provide a different approach to a specific issue. Therefore, a doctorate level literature review is less theoretical but more practical than a Master’s level literature review.

More sources used

Another important difference comes from the number of citations used in the literature review at a doctorate level. Since the review is longer and more practical, it must involve a lot more discussion and more sources used. There is a need for more empirical findings and the related literature. Compared to a master’s level review, a doctorate level literature review goes deeper in the specific topic and relies on more literature evidence.

More original literature review

Since a PhD literature review must provide a new theory or method to a specific issue, it provides more original content compared to a Master’s level literature review. At a doctorate level, there is a need for more original research, so a literature review should provide something new whether it is a new theory or new methods. This means that a doctorate-level literature review is more productive for research.

More narrowly focused research

In addition, the doctorate literature review is about a specific problem. Hence, it involves more narrowly focused research compared to a Master’s level review. The review relates to a specific problem, so there is no need for overall background information. This is a distinctive difference between the two. The doctorate literature review relies solely on the original research, so it should be more focused than a Master’s degree literature review.

The need for peer review

Another important difference between the literature review at a Master’s and PhD levels comes the need for peer review of the paper. The PhD thesis is typically published in the journal and there is a need for peer review that will help in defence of your thesis. To the contrary, the Master’s paper requires no publication and peer review. Hence, it provides basic research and has less strict requirements.

More independent research

A Master’s dissertation provides good knowledge of what independent research is. At this level, the literature review is less complex and less independent. There is more need for external research and less depth in research compared to a PhD level review. However, it is a steppingstone to writing a PhD thesis paper.

More time-consuming process

Writing a literature review for a Master’s dissertation is a complex process and takes much time. However, it is not true compared to a doctorate level thesis, which is much longer and takes a lot more time and effort to complete. Writing a review for a PhD thesis is more time-consuming and there is a need for more complex work. However, it is more professional.