Okay I am currently doing my dissertation, and this is gonna be for the lit review section of it
The working title and research question for this entire dissertation is
Working Title
Academia to Employment: Quantitative Insights into Student Perceptions of Career Readiness
Research Question
To what extent do students perceive that university has prepared them for their future careers?
All of the following needs to be covered in this section
- Brief Introduction (what is being covered in the chapter)
- Definitions and anything interesting about the key constructs
- Empirical studies related to these
- How are your key constructs related to each other
- Empirical studies substantiating the same
- Any model / framework / theory that you can use as an overarching frame and the reason as to why you have used them
- Research gap in the literature (only the ones that you are going to cover through your study)
- For Quantitative Studies – hypothesis
- Brief summary of the chapter
So it should look and cover stuff like this
1. Brief Introduction
- What is being covered:
- State that this chapter reviews key literature related to student perceptions of university career readiness, defines the central constructs, summarizes relevant empirical studies, explores how these constructs are related, outlines major theories and frameworks, identifies gaps in the literature, and states the research hypotheses.
2. Definitions and Key Constructs
- Define main terms:
- Career Readiness (What does it mean? Skills, attributes, employability)
- Student Perceptions (Why perception matters, subjective vs. objective preparedness)
- University Preparedness (Role of curriculum, employability support, work-based learning, etc.)
- Interesting aspects:
- Mention national/international benchmarks (e.g., NACE Career Readiness Competencies, UK’s “Graduate Outcomes”)
- Trends in higher education and employability.
3. Empirical Studies on Key Constructs
- Summarize previous research:
- What have studies found about how students rate their own readiness?
- How do universities attempt to prepare students (careers services, internships, etc.)?
- Are there differences by course, gender, background, or institution?
4. Relationships Between Key Constructs
- Discuss links:
- How does university support/services affect perceived career readiness?
- How do perceptions of readiness relate to actual employment outcomes?
- Is there a link between academic achievement and perceived/employment readiness?
5. Empirical Studies Substantiating the Relationships
- Cite studies:
- Studies showing correlation/causation between university factors and career readiness perceptions.
- Contrasting views or null findings.
6. Models / Frameworks / Theories
- Introduce an overarching framework:
- E.g., Career Readiness Competencies (NACE, CBI), Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Career Theory, or similar.
- Explain why it is relevant:
- E.g., “This framework helps conceptualize the multifaceted nature of career readiness, including skills, attitudes, and environmental factors…”
7. Research Gap
- What’s missing in current research that your study addresses:
- E.g., “Few studies have quantitatively examined student perceptions of career readiness across multiple disciplines at UK universities using anonymous, large-sample surveys…”
- Gaps in how perceptions vary by student demographics, types of support, etc.
8. Hypothesis (for Quantitative Study)
- State your hypotheses, e.g.:
9. Brief Summary of the Chapter
- Wrap up:
- Summarize what has been covered and set up the rationale for your methodology and research design.
And as for the metholdy and research design I’m gonna be doing a survey that will be going for a minium of 100 responses you can build from there
also as for the word count its a minium of what I set but you can go up to 3k
I have also along with examples of good disserations that marked well, uplouded some of my own sources for you to use in the lit review along with those you shall find and deveolp