MIRIAD Skills Training The Critical Literature Review by Dr P.A. Sykas

Should it be comprehensive or selective? 1. To start with A literature is NOT a review of all the literature on a subject. It looks only at the relevant literature.

2. But do think laterally Being relevant doesn’t mean that the review is confined narrowly to your subject discipline. Or, you would risk failing to see alternative ways of studying the subject.

3. What is literature?

•Published work •Unpublished papers •Theses/dissertations •Conference presentations •Communications with other researchers

4. Literature presents the interpreted evidence of other researchers. Uninterpreted primary texts (such as works of art) are not included. 5. What are you looking for in the literature? First of all, one piece of literature can lead you to others that may be even more

relevant or useful: • by providing new keywords for search and retrieval, • by careful scrutiny of the author’s sources given in the references to find

additional material

6. Look for articles that review literature in your subject area. These will introduce key authors and concepts. Then read those authors in the original. Don’t rely on someone else’s summary. 7. What are you looking for in the literature? Prior research provides you with existing theory.

Theory can help you organise your topic. Seemingly unconnected pieces of information may be related together if they fit the theory.

A useful theory also illuminates what you are seeing in your research by drawing your attention to relationships that might otherwise have gone unnoticed, or been misunderstood.

8. What are you looking for in the literature? You are also looking at the literature in order to justify your research:

-to show it will address an important need -or shed light on an unanswered question.

9. What are you looking for in the literature? The literature search can also inform you about your proposed methods: The literature may reveal potential problems with your plan, or it may suggest

alternative approaches. 10. What are you looking for in the literature? A basic question to ask is: Do the previous studies reported in the literature support or challenge my existing understanding? Adapted from: Maxwell (2006) “Literature Reviews” in: Educational Researcher, 35 (Dec), pp.28-31. 11. The purpose of the literature review is to inform a well-planned study−

• to consolidate the focus, • to contribute to the conceptual framework, • to aid in the research design, • and to provide justification for the study

12. A metaphor is a descriptive word or phrase transferred to an analogous object or action. A relevant metaphor for the literature review might be an anchor. The anchor doesn’t predetermine the structure it anchors, but simply acts to connect and steady it. 13. Relevance is the key issue in conducting and assessing this type of review. Relevant works are those that have important implications for: the design, the conduct, or,

the interpretation of the study Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (2001) Surviving your dissertation, 2nd ed., p.59

14. A good literature review needs to be selective. It is taken for granted that the majority of source material you have read will NOT make it directly into the literature review. 15. Explaining the scope of your review The selection decisions should be stated in your literature review, making clear

the scope of the review: • demarcating what is and what is not within the compass of your

investigation • justifying those decisions, and • explaining why specific topics and material were selected

Ultimately, the selection process is guided by the aims and objectives of your research, which are established by your Research Proposal (RD1).

Adapted from: www.colinwatsonleeds.co.uk

16. So briefly, the literature review sets out:

• What are the key sources, the key authors and their influences? • What are the major issues and debates? • What are the key concepts, models, or theories (and their strengths and

weaknesses)? • What questions and problems have been addressed so far?

17. It is normally organised into sections based upon themes. How do you decide upon the themes? Often these themes are indicated by the topics referenced in your title. They are organisational categories: -that is, broad topics or issues that can be anticipated prior to the

evidence-gathering of your research. Adapted from: www.colinwatsonleeds.co.uk

18. The literature review can help you refine your subject by providing answers to

the following: • origins of the topic, • academic definitions of the topic, • context of the topic, • how knowledge on the topic is presently structured, • research possibilities that have been overlooked thus far.

19. The literature review also makes you familiar with: the strategies and methods of past researchers, ethical or access issues they came across, and their suggestions for further research.

20. And it is an opportunity to digest academic writing styles: the presentation of arguments, references, supporting evidence, signposts, summaries, syntheses, and conclusions. 21. But this is about the critical literature review. What is the CRITICAL aspect? The review must not only describe prior research; it must critically analyse:

• how key ideas relate together (synthesis), • how they have contributed to the development of your subject, • how they apply to your area of research, • the credibility and value of previous work, and the justification for further

research (yours!). Adapted from: www.colinwatsonleeds.co.uk

22. What we mean by synthesis: Linking (an example) “Johns and Dudly-Evans (1980) touched on the problems created by the

lecturers’ use of colloquial words and phrases… This use of informal language was also noted by Jackson and Bilton (1994) who investigated geology lectures given in English…” Jordan, R.R. (1999) Academic Writing Course, 3rd ed., p.94.

23. What we mean by synthesis: Development (an example) “Labov (1972) developed a sociolinguistic approach to narratives. He argued

that narratives have formal structural properties in relation to their social functions. Cortazzi (1991) applied Labov’s analytical framework to the study of occupational narratives. Riessman (1993) also considered narrative analysis as a methodological approach, and applied this approach to the study of personal relationships. However, while Riessman used structural analysis at an early stage, her work went beyond a search for such formal properties.”

Adapted from: Coffey & Atkinson (1996) Making Sense of Qualitative Data, pp.57-58 24. What do we mean by synthesis: Application (an example) “John Styles (1993) asserts that consumer goods come packed with

associations, values, and meanings that subsequently change through ownership… For example, people often value an object most when it remains just beyond reach; acquiring the object may decrease its value… Hence, Arjun Appardurai (1986) urges us to look at such goods within ‘regimes of value’ as they enter particular contexts that change over space and time… This concept of value regimes is adopted here…”

Adapted from: Smart Martin, Ann (2008) Buying into the world of goods 25. Don’t exclude references that contradict or question the case you are presenting. It is important to explain: why those works aren’t applicable to your study, or, why they have been rejected. 26. What do we mean by synthesis: critique (an example) “Susan Brownmiller’s Femininity (1984) exemplifies a false dichotomy with regard to women’s dress. She sees the erotically appealing as being in direct conflict with the serious and functional… This stance goes back to Puritan values, where the ‘artificial’ is inferior to the ‘natural’… My study of cinched waists rejects such moral judgements of dress, and seeks to express the perception of the wearer not the viewer with regard to the erotic.”

Fictional with apologies to Elizabeth Wilson on Feminism and Fashion 27. On writing: Amanda’s idea Amanda Ravetz suggests the idea of visually imagining the authors in your review confronting each other in discussion. Try to convey to your reader the distinct character of their thought and argument.

28. On writing: the “who done it” device. Another idea is to model your review on a detective story:

•Your research question is the mystery. •The various theories or themes are your suspects. •The authors selected for review provide clues and false leads. •Your analysis of their work provides you with hunches. •These lead to further reading that turns up new clues. •Your synthesis leads to insights to be investigated in your research.

29. How much do I write about each author’s work? The amount of attention a study receives in your review depends on its

relevance to the proposed research question. 30. Say you are studying Graphic design for Manchester shops : Studies of urban culture or retail architecture impact on one aspect of your work,

and would be used for broad contextual information Studies of graphic design for retailing touch on two aspects of your work and would

be given moderate coverage A study of Liverpool’s graphic designers working in retailing relates strongly to

three aspects of your subject, and would probably get detailed coverage. 31. Critical review: Self-evaluation

• Have I structured my review through a set of concepts or themes, comparing authors with each other in the ways they deal with these?

• Do I assess their work, discussing strengths and weaknesses? • Have I cited and discussed studies that are contrary to my perspective?

Adapted from: Dena Taylor: www.writing.utoronto.ca 32. Critical writing is aided by critical reading Read for ways of thinking about the subject matter:

• How is it argued? • What concepts and theories are used • How is the evidence used and interpreted? • What are the unargued assumptions? • Are the conclusions warranted?

Dena Taylor: www.writing.utoronto.ca 33. Write as you go along. It will help you if you follow a template for evaluating the content of the main pieces of literature as you go along. The rubric I suggest here with only five elements is simplified from those that many academics suggest. You can develop your own.

34. A. Introduce the idea State the topic or purpose of the article and the problem it studies, or the

direction it takes. You might want to use the journalist’s device of “who, what, why, when and where”, along with “how”. An example:

(What) Taylor undertook a study of violence among inner-city adolescents to

understand its causes. (Why) The increasing toll in young lives and crime control costs makes this research imperative. (Who) Her study surveyed 15- to 18-year-olds (Where) in Moss Side (When) in autumn 2005 (How) using attitude questionnaires to find their views on the causes of violence.

Adapted from: Rudestam (2001) Surviving your dissertation, p.207

35. B. Summarise the relevant content Aim at a broad summary in your own words that will help you recall what the article

was about. You can structure your summary under the author’s sub-headings, allotting a

sentence or two to each heading that is relevant Record detail when there is an aspect of particular significance to your field or to

your research aims Record material in full that you may wish to quote. 36. C. Concepts and leads Using keywords, note down:

•definitions •important concepts •theories

37. D. Note authors or articles referred to that you may want to explore and study in the original. 38. E. Assessment of application to your research Locke, Spirduso & Silverman (1999) claim that a relevant research report is

one that contributes an important concept, finding, or method to your study’s conceptual framework or design, provides a necessary piece of the argument that explains or justifies your study, or both.

Considering these factors, assess the work’s relevance or implications for your

proposed study.

39. An example of inattention to relevance “Barger and Duncan (1986) raise difficult questions about the assumption that

doctoral candidates should do creative scholarly work, and outline what they feel are the psychological, theoretical-methodological, and institutional contexts required for creative work (p.4).”

The reviewer here does not indicate what Barger and Duncan actually said

about these issues, or discuss how this work relates to their own argument or conclusions.

40. Citations

• It is best to get into the habit of citing works in the correct format, accurate and complete, from the start.

• Take care to distinguish citations to other authors made within the article from the author’s own writing by using “cited in” references.

• It is useful to note down the library name and shelf mark where you accessed a book in case you need to return to the item much later.

41. To summarise in a few words Krathwohl and Smith (2005, p.50) describe the essential tasks of a literature review as follows: -survey a select group of studies that provide a foundation for the proposed subject. -discuss these studies in sufficient detail to provide an understanding of their relevance, -describe how they contribute to the study; and -indicate how the study moves beyond them. 42. There are some additional sources that may be used in practice based research, such as identity memos, thought experiments and concept mapping. The identity memo describes your experiential knowledge of an aspect of your subject at a point in time, usually leading up to the research. More information on these sources can be found in: Joseph A. Maxwell (2008) “Designing a Qualitative Study” in: Bickman et al. (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Social Research Methods, pp. 214-253.