Dr. Steve Tippins says dissertation length matters less than clarity. He rejected a 280-page Chapter 2 for lacking focus and a 7-page literature review for being too brief. A good literature review shows what's known, identifies gaps, and explains why those gaps matter.
word count is nowhere near as important as clarity. As an example, I was a dissertation chair years ago on a committee, and a student handed me in Chapter 2 of 280 pages. And you're right if you assume I didn't read it, because I sent it back to him and said, "The goal of a literature review is not to explore or explain every piece of literature that's ever been written on a topic. It's to help the reader understand what has been done and what hasn't been done and why what hasn't been done needs to be done." develop the gap in the literature. Also, I once had someone turn in a 7-page literature review. 7 pages might be a nice book report for a junior or senior in college, but it's certainly not un— helping the reader understand, you know, the breadth of the literature and the gaps in the literature. I'd love to help you finish your dissertation so that you can go out and change the world.
