Inevitably, some of these overlap, but I see no particular virtue in the categories remaining mutually exclusive. Many aspects of research methodology intersect with each other, and this area is no different from any other in this respect. Readers will differ over what they see as legitimate or dubious ways of using the literature. I would ask only that they keep my two subtexts in mind as they read. In the earliest stages of research, the researcher is a hunter, following tracks through only partially familiar territory.
Some tracks turn out to be false trails, leading nowhere.
But currency has built into it the notion of value. A literature review can be evaluative, weighing up the merits of previous work - ideas of criticism, analysis and interpretation are all part of this evaluative element. 1.3 Literature as building block Traditionally, the literature review has often been described as the foundation stone on which one's own work is built. This fits with views of science as progression from previous work and 'adding to knowledge'. 1.4 Literature as scaffolding Research is expected not only to ask questions, but to address a problem.