The Literature ReviewTense choice, claim types, critique & writer’s voice

Aalto University: Workshop 3Sophia Butt

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Workshop 3: Aim & Overview

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to…• Understand the subtle variations in meaning conveyed

through tense choice in literature reviews• Identify the variety of claim types that can be

incorporated to express opinion/arguments in academic writing• Critique two literature reviews and identify the strengths

& weaknesses of each• Recognise the ‘writer’s voice’ in sample texts A & B

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Tense Choice in Reviews John, S. & van Geyte, E. (2010) Writing a Literature Review. Birmingham: EISU

• Some flexibility in tense choice is employed • Tenses can often convey specific, subtle, meanings• Tense choice also depends on the reporting verb (by

and large, when verbs are used to focus on what the previous researcher did (investigated, studied, analysed, etc.), the past tense is used; however, when it refers to what the researcher thought (stated, concluded, claimed, ...) more tense options are possible:

• Jones (1997) concluded that illiteracy is related to…• Jones (1997) has concluded that…• Jones (1997) concludes that…

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Exercise 1: Tense variation

• Studies have shown that the past simple, present simple and present perfect tenses are commonly used in citations

Complete exercise 1 on your handout…a) Why are the different tenses used in each example?b) Comment on the citational patterns in Texts i and ii.c) Rewrite the given text to improve the citational

pattern, verb choice and tense used.

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Exercise 2: Citations & Tense Choice

• See the five examples of citations provided in exercise 2 on your handout. Locate them in Texts 1, 2 and 3 on Teamwork and complete the table by focusing on:

• The value of the citation/reporting verb• Tense choice• Relevance of tense choice

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Making Claims in the Literature ReviewHart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage

• Writers can express their voice through claims• A claim is the declaration or assertion in an argument• But simply stating a claim does not automatically render

it acceptable• Hart (2001) classifies claims into five types:• Claims of Fact• Claims of Worth• Claims of Policy• Claims of Concept, and • Claims of Interpretation

• How would you define each of these claims? 6

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Claims of Fact Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage

• Statements of proposed truth• Commonplace in literature reviews• Require justification by evidence of the truth

• Examples:• In a recent study at Oxford University (2011),

psycholinguists proved that being multilingual generates a greater capacity for superior cognition and articulation.

• The University of Birmingham in the UK was voted University of the Year 2013-14 by the Times and Sunday Times Newspapers (2013).

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Claims of WorthHart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage

• Propose judgments on the merit of an idea• Can be used to explore the value of courses of action

or behaviour• Are usually associated with shared agreements as

proof of claim validity

• Example:• Standardised national testing in Germany is

preferred to coursework results in determining student knowledge of a subject area.

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Claims of PolicyHart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage

• Statements which set criteria or standards• Directly express what one ought to do• Demand susbstantial evidence to prove that the policy

will secure the desired results

• Example:• A three strikes and you’re out policy that penalises

students who absent themselves from classes should be introduced across the higher education sector in an attempt to combat poor attendance. This policy is commonplace in Scandanavia where absenteeism is rare.

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Claims of ConceptHart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage

• Define a proposition or idea• Tend to involve definitions which are justified by expert

testimony

• Example:• Groupthink is a ’blind adherence to the force of will

exherted by key members of the group, discounting any opportunities for consideration of dissenting opinion’ (Machi & McEvoy, 2009:67).

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Claims of InterpretationHart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage

• Include expert testimony, empirical research &/or statistical studies• Commonly used to build models, synthesise data &

order factual claims

• Example:• In his theory of the Hierarchy of Needs, Maslow

(1943) stated that before a certain level of self-actualisation can be reached, the basic needs of the individual must be fulfilled.

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Data vs. EvidenceAdapted from Machi & McEvoy (2009:71)

• When supporting a claim in their literature review, note that data and evidence are not the same…• Data: pieces of information • Information: value-free • Evidence: data is collected for a purpose, often with an

agenda, as evidence forms the basis of proof when making a claim• Data Quality: refers to the strength & credibility of the

data as evidence

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Qualifying/Negating Claims• Evidence for a claim is rarely one-sided• Ensure all (or at least two…) sides of the argument are

presented when making a strong claim• Hedging language is recommended, where relevant• When highlighting data/a claim that refutes own

position, consider how this can be negated…e.g.:• The UoB presessional questionnaire which was administered to

multidisciplinary students showed that 81% of postgraduates rated the programme as ’excellent’. Yet, when the University administered an identical questionnaire to discipline-specific students under the same conditions, the result was that only 74% rated the course in the highest category. What must be noted, however, is that the ratio of students on each programme is 1:2. 13

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Exercise 3: Identifying Claim Types

• Using the three texts on Teamwork, work with a partner to answer the questions in exercise 3 on your handout

• You have 30 minutes for this task before class feedback

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Analysis of Sample Reviews A & B

• Skim-read the sample Literature Reviews marked A and B on your handout.

• Exercise 4: Work with a partner to analyse the sample Literature Reviews to complete exercise 4.

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Final Re-Cap…Why conduct a Literature Review?Adapted from White, B. (2004) Thesis Skills. UK: Thomson and Davis, P. (2002) ‘Literature Review from Reviewing Literature’. Teaching and Learning Forum 2002. Curtin University of Technology

• To source existing information • To identify other researchers interested in topic • To conceptualise and synthesise grounded theory and

empirical data on topic area• To ensure thesis is not an unnecessary replication of

existing work (a duplicated topic focus may be acceptable – provided it contains a change to the methodology or theory, &/or it challenges previously doubtful results)• To confirm basic ideas about subject

• Cont’d…16

(cont’d…)

• To determine suitability/testability of a hypothesis• To inform research design and methodological

approach & to provide a focus for the research• To provide evidence of background reading• To enable inclusion of suitable citations in assignments

• Skills required:• Efficient data search techniques• Effective reading strategies• Note-taking & ability to identify key concepts• Summarising, paraphrasing & critiquing skills

• …any questions?

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Sources Consulted• Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project (4th edn.). Maidenhead: Open

University Press.

• Bruce, C.S. (1994) ’Research Students’ Early Experiences of the Dissertation Literature Review’. Studies in Higher Education. 19 (2): 217-29.

• Davis, P. (2002) ‘Literature Review from Reviewing Literature’. Teaching and Learning Forum 2002. Curtin University of Technology

• Hart, C. (2001) Doing a Literature Review. London: Sage.

• Jesson, J.K., Matheson, L. & Lacey, F.M. (2011: 32) Doing your Literature Review: Traditional & Systematic Techniques. London: Sage

• Machi, L.A. & McEvoy, B.T. (2009) Literature Review: Six Steps to Success. USA: Corwin Press.

• McKercher, B., Law, R., Weber, K., Song, H. & Hsu, C. (2007) ‘Why Referees Reject Manuscripts.’ Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 31 (4): 455-470.

• Nunan, D. (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP.

• Philips, P.M. & Pugh, D.S. (2005) How to Get a PhD (4th edn.). Buckingham: Open University Press.

• Ridley, D. (2008) The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students. London: Sage Publications.

• White, B. (2004) Thesis Skills. UK: Thomson

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