wiriting a lit.review.bus,arts,ed

7/30/2019 Wiriting a Lit.review.bus,Arts,Ed.

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Writing the Literature Review

Tami Castillo - Learning Skills Adviser,Winifred Hirst, Subject Librarian, Matheson library


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Overline

1. Literature Review what/some characteristics/features

2. Purpose/ content/ position

3. Sources

4. Critically analyse/ response

5. Note-taking

6. Organise notes / a plan7. Maintaining your academic voice


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definition

literature = the collection or body of sources in a specific research

area

review = critical analysis and evaluation

literature review = critical analysis and evaluation of the sources in a

specific research area.


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Related genres

Annotated bibliography Critical review Literature review

Single text analysed Single text analysed Multiple texts analysed

Reference + annotation

(notes or short paragraph)

Reference + review

(paragraph or more)

Reference list + intext

referencingSynthesised reviews

paragraph or more (article)

chapter (book or thesis)

publication (subject

bibliography)Research notes

Student assignment

publication (journal)

Student assignment

publication (journal or book)

Honours/Masters/PhD thesisStudent assignment

purpose= evaluate source

re research topic or

assignment question

purpose= evaluate

success of text in field

purpose=

evaluate research on specific

topic


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Reasons to use A.B. / note-taking

1. Ease of organising/manipulating themes or categories

2. Assist with synthesizing research and development of

ideas3. Develop and maintain academic voice.


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Features: What is a literature review?

A task which requires you to:

Critically analyze a range of information in a particular

research field.

Source most relevant and timely scholarly works for yourpurpose

Synthesize work to critically discuss, compare & contrast

the different theories/ideas/views

Identify gaps in reasearch

Focus this work on your position

Convince the reader of your position


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What is your position or purpose for a

literature review?


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What is your position or purpose for a

literature review?

Establish a theoretical framework for the topic

Define important terms/concepts relevant to the topic Identify studies/models/authors pertinent to this topic

Establish the background to your own research:

What are the key theories / paradigms?

What research hasalready been done?

What are the gaps in this research that your own research will

address?


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The implication is that you begin

reading with the following in mind:

a purpose + a set of research questions

(promotes relevance and focus, saves time!)


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Selecting Texts

What topic/ problem are you investigating?

What question(s) will you explore? Identify the aims of your literature research.

What kind of material are you investigating & why? Journal articles, reports, policies or primary historical data?

Does each text relate to your research topic & requirements?

Who/What are the essential or key researchers on my topic? Am I finding them?

Are the sources valuable or often referred to in other texts?


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Critically analyse your readings What does this mean?


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Critical analysis for a literature review

How does this fit into your understanding of the field?

How does it compare to other research?

Considerations for sources that you will use:

authority

peer reviewed

type of study

objectivity

methodology


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Knowledge is generated through debate andargument

Academic writing contains multiple competing voices(source: Simeon Sebastian Kormon/IAP-Group C/ADS 2010/ Liberia)

You need to pay attention to what writers do.


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responding to what writers do

Pay attention to what the author is doing, as well as what the author is saying.

For example, is the author:

agreeingwith, defending orconfirming something?

proposing something new?

reformulating an existing idea to make a better explanation?

dismissingsomeone elses position because it is inadequate, irrelevant,incoherent, or has other flaws?

concedingthat someone elses point has some merits but it needs to be

changed in important ways? a combination of these strategies?

other strategies?

what will you do?


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What will you do?

Activity:

Speak to the person next to you about where your ideas fit in with

the research thus far.

Will you agree, rebut? Reformulate?

Is there a more appropriate theoretical framework orapproach you will take?

Is anything relevant left out of the source which you will

include?


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Note-taking

Annotate as you go

Single text analysed

Reference + annotation

(notes or short paragraph)

publication (subject

bibliography)

Research notes

Student assignment

purpose= evaluate source

re research topic or

assignment question

Bibliographical details:

written as for APA reference list

Summary of main points:

Research theme, main theories upon which research was based, methods

used, main outcomes, discussion points etc.

Strengths of study / arguments presented:e.g. Excellent literature review

Discussed limitations of study

Appropriate statistical analysis of results given that data was

Weaknesses of study / arguments presented:

e.g. Failed to consider

Study design not appropriate to achieve aims of the study. A better designmay be

Conclusions extrapolate beyond the scope of the data presented, e.g...

Connections to other readings/ideas:

e.g. Research theme similar to Bosch (2009) but looked at different

outcomes (..); much better study design than Bosch (vs)

e.g. Research theme similar to Gardner (2008) but Gardners research

shows contradictory outcomes, mainly because his subject sampling wasbiased

example 1


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EXAMPLE 2(1) Trevor, C. O., Gerhart, B., & Boudreau, J. W. (1997). Voluntary turnover andjob performance: Curvilinearity and the moderating influences of salarygrowth and promotions. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 82(1), 44-61.

(2) In this article Trevor et al. review the influences of pay and job opportunitiesin respect to job performance, turnover rates and employee motivation.

(3) The authors use data gained through organisational surveys of blue-chip

companies in Vancouver, Canada to try to identify the main causes ofemployee turnover and whether it is linked to salary growth.

(4) Their research focuses on assessing a range of pay structures such as payfor performance and organisational reward schemes.

(5) The article is useful to my research topic, as it suggests that there arenumerous reasons for employee turnover and variances in employeemotivation and performance.

(6) The main limitation of the article is that the survey sample was restricted tomid-level management,

(7) thus the authors indicate that further, more extensive, research needs to beundertaken to develop a more in-depth understanding of employee turnoverand job performance.

(8) This article will not form the basis of my research; however it will be usefulsupplementary information for my research on pay structures.

Citation

Introduction

Research

Scope

Usefulness

Limitations

Conclusions

Reflection

Note-taking example 2


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Organize your notes into a plan

Where am I drivingthis story?

What is my refined research question?

Which research gaps do I wish to highlight?

Which research best leads into the rationale for my own?

What is the significance of my own research?

How will I demonstrate this in my writing?


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Structure of

present

research

- What aspects of the

question have/not been

investigated?

- Are there identifiable

categories of research

focus?

- What are most recentfindings?

- Are there widely

recognized gaps or

problems?

Your research

question,

insights and

understanding

- What is the purpose of

my literature review?

- What gaps in research

have I found?

- What approaches, recent

findings, do I find most

appropriate for myproject and why?

Structure of

your literature

review

- What is the best way of

presenting my findings

how do I reorganise my

readings and

observations to

accomplish that?

- How do I clearly presentmy theme?

- Can I identify an

argument in my literature

review?

Organize your notes into a plan


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How to structure the literature review.

M i t i i i


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Maintaining your own voice

Research in general problem solving suggests that planning, monitoring and

evaluation are important factors in performance (Flavell, 1987; Nelson &Narens, 1994). Schoenfeld (1985) reported a positive relationship between

metacognition and problem solving in algebra and geometry. However,

Wells and Mathews (1994) suggested high metacognitive activity may hinder

performance. Hence, there is some inconsistency regarding metacognition

and performance. In this regard, Lester (1989) argued that researchers need

to assess the role of metacognition in more specific areas such as novelalgebraic word-problem solving.

Similarly little attention has been paid to critical thinking in algebraic problem

solving. In fact, Rabinowitz (1986) argued that everyday thinking does not

involve logical thinking and as such formal logistics should not be taught atall. However Hatcher (1988), Paul (1990) and Potteret al (1991) among

others believe logical thinking and reasoning to be of critical importance in

problem solving generally. Indeed Norris and Ennis (1989) and Paul (1990)

have developed frameworks for analysing critical thinking in problem solving.


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Transitions for coherence

M i t i i i
http://www.smart-words.org/transition-words.html


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Maintaining your own voice

Research in general problem solving suggests that planning, monitoring and

evaluation are important factors in performance (Flavell, 1987; Nelson &Narens, 1994). Schoenfeld (1985) reported a positive relationship between

metacognition and problem solving in algebra and geometry. However,

Wells and Mathews (1994) suggested high metacognitive activity may hinder

performance. Hence, there is some inconsistency regarding metacognition

and performance. In this regard, Lester (1989) argued that researchers need

to assess the role of metacognition in more specific areas such as novelalgebraic word-problem solving.

Similarly little attention has been paid to critical thinking in algebraic problem

solving. In fact,Rabinowitz (1986) argued that everyday thinking does not

involve logical thinking and as such formal logistics should not be taught atall. HoweverHatcher (1988), Paul (1990) and Potteret al (1991) among

others believe logical thinking and reasoning to be of critical importance in

problem solving generally. Indeed Norris and Ennis (1989) and Paul (1990)

have developed frameworks for analysing critical thinking in problem solving.


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http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/gen

eral/lit-reviews/index.xml
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/genhttp://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/general/lit-reviews/index.xmlhttp://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/gen


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http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/hdr/write/5.7.html
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/hdr/write/5.7.html


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