planning an applied research project chapter 3 – conducting a literature review © 2014 by john...

Planning an Applied Research

ProjectChapter 3 – Conducting a Literature

Review

© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives» Compare insights from various scholarly articles

» Develop a clear purpose statement and research questions

» Make a case for your purpose statement and research questions

» Take notes in a manner useful to conducting a literature review


Key Terms» Abstract

» Annotation

» Annotated bibliography

» Bibliographical tools

» Literature review

» Order of reading a scholarly article

» Purpose of a literature review

» Perspective


Definition of a Literature Review» Description of the major findings in studies focusing

on a particular topic

» Comparison of insights from various articles and different authors

» Picture of the patterns and gaps of scholarship on a topic

» Coherent essay synthesizing current scholarship


Purposes of a Literature Review» Provides background to your research design

» Demonstrates patterns of research

» Builds credibility for your design

» Prevents rediscovering the wheel

» Benefits from others’ work

» Expands your thinking of the purpose statement

» Assists in the analysis of your findings

» Makes a case for your purpose statement and research questions


Finding Scholarly Articles» Review your research questions and purpose

statement

» Come up with key words and phrases that fit your purpose statement and research questions

» Search on your library website or using your local search engine to find articles

» Review the abstracts of the articles

» Save the ones that seem relevant


Finding Scholarly Articles (cont’d)» Start to build a bibliography of articles for your

literature review

» Use one bibliography to give you names to search and titles of other articles

» Save the articles (at least the references) during this part of the search

» Recognize that a wider net works better


Finding Scholarly Articles (cont’d)» Consider synonyms of key words from your

purpose statement and research questions

» Read abstracts of articles for key words

» Look in bibliographies for current scholar’s names

» Contemplate parallel topics and studies

» Conduct interviews of faculty members or others who know the field to find out key articles


Order of Reading Scholarly Journal Articles


Order of Reading Scholarly Journal Articles (cont’d)» Many people typically follow the pattern of:

˃ Abstract˃ Introduction˃ Literature review˃ Research design (sometimes called Method)˃ Research results and key findings˃ Analysis (sometimes called Discussion)˃ Applications˃ Limitations and Opportunities for more research˃ Conclusion or Summary


Order of Reading Scholarly Journal Articles (cont’d)» A more efficient method is:

˃ Abstract˃ Introduction˃ Conclusion or Summary˃ Research results and key findings˃ Limitations and Opportunities for more research˃ Applications˃ Research design (sometimes called Method)˃ Analysis (sometimes called Discussion)˃ Literature review˃ Introduction (again)˃ Full reading of entire article


What to Look for When Reading Articles» Insights or findings

» Type of research – quantitative, qualitative, mixed

» Structure of the research design

» Use of pilot study

» Research techniques – survey, questionnaire, experiment, focus group, observation, content analysis


What to Look for When Reading Articles (cont’d)» Type of sample

» Demographics of the sample

» Statistical methods of analysis

» Limitations of the study

» Suggestions for future research

» Dates of works cited in the bibliography


Taking Notes as You Read» Read an article fast

» Complete two annotated bibliography paragraphs

˃ Summary

˃ Assessment

˃ Other comments

» For each finding, write a paragraph and put the footnote in MLA or APA format at the bottom of the page (Mayo 545) or (Mayo 2013)

» Use separate pages on your computer


Taking Notes as You Read (cont’d)˃ Topics for note paragraphs:

˃ Methods˃ Findings˃ Limitations˃ Sampling˃ Validity˃ Opportunities˃ Contexts

» Write as many paragraphs as you think relevant or interesting or potentially valuable


Taking Notes as You Read (cont’d)» Make several copies of these notes

» Start a back up file

» After a few notes, write a paragraph or several and save it

» Write early and often


Evaluating Articles» Did they have an appropriate way of drawing those

conclusions from the data they collected and the ways they were analyzed?

» Are there qualifications to the statements that they can make from their research?

» What qualifications should they have made?» What limitations did they mention?» What limitations did they fail to point out or other

limitations you identified?» What generalizations do they draw and can they

draw from what they discovered?


Preparing an Annotated BibliographyLiterature Review Annotated Bibliography

» A coherent essay» Assessment of a field

of inquiry or area of research

» Written to build credibility for the article, proposal, or report

» Organized according to the logic of the argument

» A few paragraphs» Overall assessment of

a single article or document

» Written to provide future resource advice for scholars and researchers

» Organized according to alphabetical names


Preparing an Annotated Bibliography (cont’d)

˃ Three partsC A full citation in correct MLA formatS A summary of the contents of the article, book, website, or other document or source (including interviews)A An assessment, evaluation, critique of the merits, validity, or usefulness of the source

˃ Summary and comments indented after the bibliographical citation and in single spaced format


Making a Literature Review Effective and Interesting to Do» Consider what aspects of the subject might be

studied and what the investigators might have found from their work.

» Explore key authors in the article’s bibliography.

» Investigate parallel organizations or situations.

» Play with words that might serve as search terms.


The Research Hourglass» Topic» Purpose statement» Research questions» Literature review» Research design» Research method» Data analysis plan» Findings» Applications» Limitations» Opportunities» Conclusions


Review of the Class Session» Anything unclear?

» One thing that surprised me to learn from this class is …


planning an applied research project chapter 3 – conducting a literature review © 2014 by john...

Documents

john wiley sons

key articles

scholarly articles contdstart

various articles

bibliography of articles

clear purpose statement

research questionsmake

research questionssearch