Parkinson’s Disease and Gait in the Elderly

This is a Literature Review Paper.
What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. A literature review (a.k.a. review of the literature) is usually found at the beginning of master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, research reports and journal articles, and grant proposals, or it may stand as a self-contained research essay. Literature reviews convey to readers the current knowledge and ideas that have been established (published) on a topic, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, and guiding readers to a reasonable conclusion about how to go about answering a specific research question based on the current knowledge. It summarizes, analyzes, and synthesizes information found in a set of scholarly sources (books, articles, dissertations, reports, etc.) in an organized and logical manner in order to answer a specific research question. Therefore, the literature review provides a reliable overview of the significant literature published on a topic. However, the literature review itself does not present any new primary scholarship (e.g., experimental results, theoretical models, etc.).
(APA 7th edition guidelines)
Major Paper Sections
Your essay will include 4 major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and Reference page. Use a minimum of 5 sources & your paper should be no less than 6 pages in length & no more than 10 pages. The number of pages does not include the Title Page, Abstract and the Reference page.
OUTLINE FRAMEWORK FOR PAPER
Literature Review Organization
Introduction: The introduction identifies and defines what the topic is or what the concerns are etc. It should explain terms and concepts that might be unfamiliar to readers. It should give an overall trend on what has been published about this topic, pointing out important gaps in research and guiding the reader to see how the specific claim being debated is the focus of this literature review’s research and analysis. In a “preview paragraph,” it should point out why the writer is reviewing this specific set of sources, explain the criteria used to select the literature, the specific criteria used in analyzing and comparing the literature, the organizational pattern used in the review, and, possibly, why certain types of literature are not included in the review (i.e., scope). In place of a thesis & or a hypothesis statement use a PURPOSE STATEMENT. Purpose statement example: The purpose of this brief review of the literature was to assess the influence of parents on the physical activity levels of their children.
Body: The body needs to be clearly organized according to a logical pattern (chronological, conceptual, methodological, oppositional, etc.). The body contains summaries of 4-6 individual journal articles, studies, reports, or other scholarly documents, giving as much or as little detail as is needed to present an effective comparison between sources. The scholarly texts are critically assessed according to specific criteria, such as authority, credibility, objectivity, reliability, methodology, scope, persuasiveness, currency, relevancy, biases, etc. The body paragraphs should start with effective “umbrella” or “topic” sentences and should employ effective “signposts” throughout, using transitional words and phrases to link sentences and paragraphs. At important points in the critical analysis and synthesis, the body should have a brief “so what” summary sentences that review what’s been established so far in the review in order to help in understanding comparisons and analyses.
Conclusion: The conclusion should re-summarize the major contributions of the sources being critically reviewed, keeping a narrow focus on the research question or purpose statement that’s established in the introduction. It should critically evaluate the “state of the knowledge” for the specific topic or claim, pointing out gaps in the research or methodological limitations (e.g., placebo-controlled trials, etc.) that should be addressed in future studies. It should lead to a clear thesis statement that answers the central research question associated with the topic or claim. This thesis statement should be carefully qualified, reflecting a good understanding of how the strength of your convictions should be tempered by the amount and quality of evidence and reasoning supporting them. The conclusion should attempt to give meaning to how the final analysis offered by the literature review relates to larger issues in the field, discipline, or profession.