Intro vs Lit Review

In my opinion, the Intro/IBackground chapter of a thesis should focuses on the CONTEXT of the research problem. Meanwhile, the Literature Review chapter should be dedicated to show what we already know about the problem.

For example:

Real World problem = People with chronic illness are consuming supplements not approved by government agencies. These supplements may cause harms or adverse consequences. Why do people keep buying and consuming these products?

Research problem = A recent model based on the socio-technical system provides an explanation of systemic factors that affect the ability of people with chronic illness to take care of themselves. Using a biological systems analogy, the body has mechanisms to protect and heal itself. In understanding how the body protect itself, it would be important to know the viruses, bacteria and other agents that may cause harms. Can the external threats to self-care be measured and integrated into the existing socio-technical model?

Intro/Background:
1) the size of the supplement market
2) the existing regulation and laws regarding production and marketing of supplements
3) the amplifying effects of social media to communicate information to people with chronic illness
4) the prevalence of chronic illness in the country
5) the cost associated with the treatment of chronic illness

Notice how the background materials may include perspectives from different areas (legal, business, politics, epidemiology etc). These materials help us to see the research problem with more clarity. If we see a picture of a girl crying (without any background image), how would we explain her flowing tears? If the background image is her mother holding a big card saying "We're going to Legoland!", then we can conclude that she is crying of a pleasant surprise. However, the if the background image is a birthday cake that had gone splat on the floor, our conclusion of her emotional state would be different.

Literature Review
1) What are the factors contributing to people seeking complementary and alternative medicine? (note that it may not cover studies about supplements directly)
2) What other models are there in the literature that explains self-care among people with chronic illness? (what competing models or explanations are available?)
3) What are the marketing strategies that marketers use to promote their products to the consumer? (note that specific strategies for people with chronic illness may not be covered in the literature)

Depending on the maturity of the research area, you may find different amount of evidence regarding your research problem. Some students are frustrated because they could find only 1 relevant paper. Some are frustrated because they found too many papers. Your role as a researcher is to know when and how (1) to expand a narrow or shallow area, and (2) to zoom in a well-researched area. Both situations may represent the availability of research growth area (as opposed to 'gap in the literature').

You can refer to the 'Real World' problem and the problems' context (i.e. Background chapter) to judge whether or not your study is worth doing. If the chronic illness prevalence is less than 0.0005% of the population, it might not be an urgent problem to address. However, the prevalence is 50% of the adult population, it means there are MANY people affected; thus a research project on the topic is justifiable.

So, does your Literature Review chapter read like an Intro/Background chapter?