Literature Review Peer Review

Authors: David, Jenna, and Aliya

Reviewers: Ginika, Kaila, and Christopher

  • What topic is this group reviewing? 

The group is reviewing different aspects of sleep and its importance. They also focus on how sleep is  influenced by our subconscious mind and how it impacts our health, memory, and functions.

  • Does the Literature Review include the following? (Yes or No, or explain)
    • Cover Page: No
    • Abstract: Yes
    • Introduction: Yes
    • Conclusion: Yes
    • References Page: Yes
    • At least three sources per section (if not, list the topic/section where this is not the case): 
      • Background of the Necessity of Sleep – only two sources
      • Dreaming and the Subconscious – only two sources
      • Types of Dreams – only one source
    • In-text citations in APA style? Not every in-text citation is written in APA style. Some citations were missing the year, but the years were mentioned when cited in the reference section. There was a lot of “IBID” mentioned in the citations, which is not used in APA formats.
  • Are there three or four sections with clear topics/ headers? List each focus here:
    • Background of the Necessity of Sleep
    • How sleep improves memory / function
    • Dreaming and the Subconscious
    • Types of Dreams
    • Sleep Deprivation
  • Describe the tone of the literature review. Is it consistent throughout? Are there shifts in point of view or level of formality? Does it read like a unified review or three-four distinct perspectives? Explain in a few sentences.

The tone and level of formality throughout the literature review is consistent. The writing maintains its point of view which makes the review read as a unified perspective. 

  • Are the sources mostly peer-reviewed? Some topics may require non-peer reviewed sources. Does it seem like the group made the appropriate effort at finding peer-reviewed sources?

Yes, the sources are peer-reviewed and mostly taken from the database provided by city college. The paper reads formally throughout and it flows well. The paper bifurcates into neurological and psychological components, initially talking about the neurochemical benefits of sleep, and in the subsequent section talking about dream theory. In a way, this might obscure the focus a little bit. 

  • In order of their appearance, describe each section and how it explains its respective texts. Do the articles connect to one another or are they merely summarized? Are the sources fairly summarized or is there an apparent bias or opinion?
    •  “Background on the necessity of sleep” section includes relevant texts that highlight the purpose of sleep across time and how not sleeping can impair reaction time and lead to danger. The articles connect well and are used to bridge different ideas. 
    •  “How sleep improves memory” section talks about positive neurological effects of sleep and how it prevents degenerative disease and is essential for long-term encoding of memories. Citations are relevant and help strengthen their claim. 
    •  “Dreaming and the subconscious” section talks about dream theories and the father of dream theories, Sigmund Freud. This is where the focus of the paper shifts into dreams. It also mentions another dream theory, but I would have liked to see more of them, as I know that there are about four or five dream theories in total. The citations are relevant and directly relate to what the dream theories discussed are. 
    •  “Types of Dreams” section talks about different types of dreams such as nightmares. I wish it would have included types of sleeping behaviors such as somnambulism (sleep-walking) and sleep talking. Section serves its function but it essentially defines a nightmare and lucid dreaming. 
  • Is there too much repetitive information between the sections? How could the sections be more distinct from one another? Explain in a few sentences either way.

The sections are very distinct, and the paper is fun to read because it looks at dreams through different perspectives. Neurochemical, physiological, and psychological are all considered and give the paper a lot of variety and excitement. Well thought out and well done. 

  • Does the order and organization of the sections make sense? Should they be reordered or refocused? Explain and/or make suggestions.

The order of the sections makes sense because it concurs with what is stated in the introduction of the paper. However, I think it would be best to be careful about writing too extensively about the neurological aspect of memory and sleep, just because the article is focused on dreams and the subconscious (from what I remember their group saying in class.) If you want the article to be about dreams, be careful not to overshadow dreams with the physiological stuff. If it is a general paper on sleep, then this is great. 

  • References Page
    • Are sources in APA format? Yes, the sources are in APA format.
    • Are sources in alphabetical order? No, the sources are not in order. The last three sources are not in order. The sources that begin with D should be after the sources beginning with B. Also, the source with the author Teusch should be before the source, The 4 Stages of Sleep.
    • Are sources formatted consistently? Overall, the format for the sources are consistent besides the last two sources that do not have any indentions. 
  • How does the document look aesthetically? Explain how it can be improved.
    • Neat? It is neat and looks pleasant.
    • Same font throughout? Yes, there is the same font throughout.
    • Clear section headers? There are section headers, however, some of the section headers arent in the same format and placement as others. Some of the indents, while some do not. This makes it kind of hard to decipher which is a section header when simply just skimming through the literature review. 
  • Describe the best features of this literature review in a few sentences. 

The best features of this are “Background of the Necessity of Sleep” and “Dreaming and the Subconscious”. I found both these sections to be overly interesting since it was describing one thing we do daily, which sleep. It was so interesting to learn why sleep is necessary, how it affects our lives, and what we are doing during our resting periods, where we lay unconscious. Nevertheless, this literature review was fascinating to read.

  • Describe how this literature needs to be improved in a few sentences. 

There are a few technical things that need to be fixed in this peer review, such as the reference sheet and section titles. Other than that, this peer review was very interesting to read about and has relevant information within it. Once those small technical errors are fixed, this will be a solid paper.