research methodology-01: review of research literature

Dr. Chetan B. BhattPrincipal,Government Engineering College,Sector – 28, Gandhinagar

Research MethodologyReview of Research Literature

© Dr. C. B. Bhatt, VGEC, Chandkheda

Unit - II

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Review of Research Literature: Purpose and use of literature review, locating relevant information, use of library & electronic databases, preparation & presentation of literature review, research article reviews, theoretical models and frame work. Identification of gaps in research, formulation of research problem, definition of research objectives.


Presentation Outline

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Research ProcessLiterature Search

Purpose and UseLocating Relevant Information

Citation Index ServicesSearch Engine

Bibliography management


Research Process

4

Identify Topic of Interest

State Unsolve

d Problem

s

Find or Develop Solution

Generate

Related Questio

ns

Literature Search

Documentation


Research Process

5


State Unsolve

d Problem

s


Generate

Related Questio

ns

Literature Search

Documentation

Literature Search (Review) is not one – time process, it is

iterative


Research Process

6


State Unsolve

d Problem

s


Generate

Related Questio

ns

Literature Search

Documentation

Research Proposal


Research Process

7


State Unsolve

d Problem

s


Generate

Related Questio

ns

Literature Search

Documentation

Research Papers/Progress report


Research Process

8


State Unsolve

d Problem

s


Generate

Related Questio

ns

Literature Search

Documentation

Synopsis


Research Process

9


State Unsolve

d Problem

s


Generate

Related Questio

ns

Literature Search

Documentation

Thesis


Research Process

10


State Unsolve

d Problem

s


Generate

Related Questio

ns

Literature Search

Documentation

Literature Search (Review) is not one – time process, it is

iterative

ThesisResearch Papers/Progress reportResearch

Proposal

Synopsis


Purpose of Literature Search

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A literature search serves three important functionsGives background informationDemonstrate your familiarities with research

in your fieldShows how your work contributes to body of

knowledge in your field


Review Report

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The review report demonstrateWhat others have accomplished in your filed

and how your work differs from works of others.

You demonstrate your understanding of the relevant works of others and your ability to summarize this information, for convenience of your reader


Finding Sources

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Sources of literature are –LibraryInternet

Sources are generally described as –Primary: primary sources are “materials of that you

are directly writing about, the raw material of your own research”

Secondary: books and articles in which other researchers report the results of their research based on (their) primary data or sources

Tertiary: tertiary sources are “books and articles based on secondary sources, on the research of others”


Primary Sources

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Examples of primary sources are data sets, computer runs, computer programs, scale models, drawings, and engineering notebooks. A well-kept engineering notebook can provide valuable information for later documentation of test conditions and assumptions, materials used, observations as well as measurements, and unusual occurrences that prompted further testing.


Secondary Sources

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Examples of secondary sources include conferences, proceedings, journals, and books. Journal articles are often the most current source of information on a topic of study that is new or subject to rapid change. Lists of references at the end of each journal article can provide leads to further sources.

Engineering journals are typically field-specific.


Tertiary sources

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Examples of tertiary sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, guides, and handbooks. “Dictionaries and encyclopedias are excellent starting points for research. They can provide general background information to help narrow or broaden the focus of a topic, define unfamiliar terms, and offer bibliographies of other sources.


Problems for novice researcher

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As a beginner researcher, two of the most common problems one might encounter are –Not knowing where to

find sourcesOnce sources are

located, not knowing how to sift or sort through excess of information to determine what is useful

Where are resources?

Where I am? What is useful?


Systematic ApproachFor literature Search and Bibliography Management

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Problems for novice researcher

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Where are resources?

Where I am? What is useful?

1. Not knowing where to find sources


A Search Plan

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Consider how the topic progress through the research documentation life cycle.There are two approaches –

1. Look for books that are currently accepted reference text in your research area and find out who has cited them in recent years.

2. Look for original (seminal) reports, papers or these written by known experts and see who has cited them in recent years.

For these two approaches; Citation Index becomes a very important source.


Citation Index

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A citation index is a kind of bibliographic database, an index of citations between publications, allowing the user to easily establish which later documents cite which earlier documents.

Major citation indexing servicesThere are two publishers of general – purpose academic citation index (available to library for subscription) are –Thomson Scientific publishes ISI (Institute of Scientific

Information) citation index in print and CD form, available on line with name “Web of Science”; which in turn part of “Web of Knowledge”

Elsevier, which publishes “Scopus”, available online only. IEEE Xplore (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org)ACM (Association for Computing Machine) Digital Library (

http://dl.acm.org)

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/

http://dl.acm.org/


Universally Available Free Citation Tools

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Universally available free citation tools are –CiteBase (http://www.citebase.org); not yet

complete for academic evaluation. However papers’ abstract are available.

CiteSeerX (http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu) Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com)Microsoft Academic Search (

http://academic.research.microsoft.com)

http://www.citebase.org/

http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/

http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/

http://scholar.google.com/

http://academic.research.microsoft.com/


Next step in literature search

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After locating and reading at least the abstract of these papersCategorize the available papers by topic and

authors’ technical interest in a topic. (As most of the work is interdisciplinary)

Then look at the reference list for new papers. (As not all citation search provides similar result)

There are two possibility one may haveHave too few informationHave too many information


Have too few information

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If you have too few or no information, then topic might be too narrow –Look for new topic heading or terms any

newly found used for information cataloging. Search for that term in database

If search still yields little information, get help from library personnel or expert in field of your research.


Have too many information

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Plan to scale down your search to a manageable amount.

Specific aspects of a filed of study are often listed in annotated bibliographies.

Journal specific to a field can be a good resource.

Get advice from expert.


Another sources of information: Search Engines

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OAIster database (freely accessible); http://www.oclc.org/oaister/; Union catalog of millions of record available as open resource by Open Archive Initiative

Ebookee (http://ebookee.com) by tradepub (they provide many digital magazine at no charge)

Complete Planet O’Reilly’s CD Bookshelf (book accessible on-line)WebBrain (mind mapping site, provides

perspective of individual/organization) Google …and other general purpose search

engine

http://www.oclc.org/oaister/

http://ebookee.com/


Another sources of information: Library services

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INFLIBNET (http://www.inflibnet.ac.in)Networked Digital Library of Theses and

Dissertation (http://www.ndltd.org) paid service (individual member charge is $25)

etd@iisc (http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/); eprints@iisc (http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in/)

The DBLP computer science bibliography (http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/index.html)

http://www.ndltd.org/

http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/

http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in/

http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/index.html


Lost in Cyber Space/Information Overload

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Where I am? What is useful? So

much of information



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Information Overload / lost in

cyber space

Where I am? What is useful? So

much of information



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Information Overload / lost in

cyber space


Tools to Manage Research

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Best Practices

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Keep bibliographic trailKeep track of sourceUse tool to search resources on your desk -

topUse bibliography management tool

Use standard template (Microsoft Office/LaTeX/OpenOffice) for writing papers, reports, and thesis


Keep Track of Resources

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Location of resourcesDate of accessTitleAuthorsPage numbersYear of publicationLibrary Call Number (LCN), International

Standard Book Number (ISBN), International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)


Search resources on desk-top

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There are many tools available for desk-top search. Use one of desk-top search tool of your choice.Copernic Desk Top Search (

http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/index.html) (free home version)

Google Desk Top SearchWindows Desk Top Searchand ….many more

Disk catalog tool

http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/index.html

http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/index.html

Bibliography Management Tools: Features


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There are six basic requirements expected from a bibliographic manager. Listed down below is a functional decomposing of these requirements.

Search: Search all the available academic/non-academic databases. Store: Store the reference and possibly a soft copy of the reference.

Viewer: View soft copy (doc, pdf, etc.). Annotate: Keep notes on the reference.

Overall: Just a single note on the reference Anywhere: A note anywhere in the document

Communicate: Import from and export to different formats. Import (BibTex, End Note, XML, etc.) Export (BibTex, End Note, XML, etc.)

Platform: Run on different platforms (Linux, Windows, etc.) Presentation: Present the data to some standard formats.

Formats (MLA, APA, etc.) Document (doc, pdf, html, etc.)


Bibliography Management Tools: Off - line

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Some bibliography tools are –JABREFMicrosoft Office Citation and Bibliography ToolsZotero (Bibliography plug-in for Firefox) and have

plug-in to insert citation in MS-Office and OpenOffice.

EndNote by Thomson Reuters (paid)On-line tools

WebCite (archive web pages)OttoBib.com (alphabetic citation creation for

Books from a list of ISBN)KnightCite (free online tool hsted


Bibliography Management Tools: On - line

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On-line toolsWebCite (archive web pages)OttoBib.com (alphabetic citation creation for

Books from a list of ISBN); http://www.ottobib.com/

KnightCite (free online tool hosted by Calvin College; http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/)

http://www.ottobib.com/

http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/


Writing Style

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There are various research writing style such as –APA Style (American Psychological

Association)Chicago Manual of Style/ Turabian StyleColombia Guide to Online Style (CGOS)MLA (Modern Language Association) StyleHarvard StyleCBE Style (Council of Biology Editors)LSA (Linguistic Society of America)

Templates are available for all these style and Bibliography management tools generate citation in various style.


References

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Lois E. Reed, ‘Performing a literature review’ (publication journal is unknown)

Other resources references are in slide as web link.

research methodology-01: review of research literature

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