Using Loop Learning and Critical Dialogue in Developing Innovative Literature Reviews

A comprehensive literature review that integrates and synthesizes peer-reviewed research surrounding a problem is a prerequisite for making an original contribution to a field and profession. The literature review in a doctoral dissertation is a required component, but most of these reviews suffer from bounded, linear thinking, limited scope, and little effort to go outside of the existing literature on a topic, either in content or in analysis. The intent of this paper is to explore concepts of loop learning, dialogic processes, generativity, and methods of communication to reveal common perceptions regarding the review of the literature, widen the process and perspective of selecting, review, and critically evaluating the literature, and present models that could improve both the process and the outcome of scholarly research. [For Full Proceedings, see: ED562107.]