wri$ng’a’literature’review’ part’one:’the’role’and’purpose ... ·...
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Wri$ng a Literature Review Part One: The Role and Purpose of a Literature Review Copyright ©Heather McWhinney, 2017 Graduate Wri;ng Help Specialist, Student Learning Services
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Learning Outcomes for Part One
By the end of this presenta+on, you should be able to:
o Describe the role of a literature review.
o Explain the purpose of a literature review.
o Create a research space in a literature review for your own study.
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Overview of Screencast (Part One)
1. Define a literature review and explain its func+on.
2. Review the types of literature reviews.
3. Describe the purpose of a literature review in a proposal or thesis.
4. Explain how to create a research space (CARS) for your own study in a literature review.
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What Is a Literature Review?
o “The literature” is the body of scholarly work on a par+cular topic.
o A literature review is a formal analysis and assessment of this body of work.
o A literature review surveys, highlights, summarizes, synthesizes, interprets, and cri+ques this body of work.
o Literature reviews have strict conven+ons. They are even formulaic, but they do differ among disciplines.
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Types of Literature Review
o Literature review – an essen+al part of proposals, theses, research papers and reports.
o Review paper – a published ar+cle, which, instead of presen+ng primary research, synthesizes and may cri+que the work that has been done on a par+cular topic.
o Mini-‐literature review – an assignment that asks you to explore a restricted number of publica+ons in answering a par+cular ques+on.
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Purpose of the Literature Review in a Proposal/Thesis
o The literature review reveals what is known about your topic. It demonstrates how the literature you have chosen supports and explains the choices you have made about your study.
o Your research ques+ons should be the guiding principle of the review, which should be more than a descrip+on of studies in the field.
o The literature review synthesizes and cri+ques the literature.
o It exposes gaps, shortcomings, inconsistencies and debates from which your research emerges.
Sources: Locke, L.F., Spirduso, W.W., & Silverman, S.J. (2013). Proposals that work, 6th Edi+on. Los Angeles: Sage. p. 69, and Bitchener, J. & Turner, E. (2011). Assessing the effec+veness of one approach to the teaching of thema+c unit construc+on of literature reviews. Assessing Wri;ng: Studies in Wri;ng Assessment in New Zealand and Australia, 16(2), 17-‐36. Doi:10.1016/j.Asw.2011.02.002
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Purpose of the Literature Review (con%nued)
o The literature review shows how the gaps or shortcomings led to your own research ques+ons and research method.
o It should include only relevant works. These works should be cri+cally analyzed.
o In wri+ng the literature review, you build a case for your own study.
Sources: Locke, L.F., Spirduso, W.W., & Silverman, S.J. (2013). Proposals that work, 6th Edi+on. Los Angeles: Sage. p. 69, and Bitchener, J. & Turner, E. (2011). Assessing the effec+veness of one approach to the teaching of thema+c unit construc+on of literature reviews. Assessing Wri;ng: Studies in Wri;ng Assessment in New Zealand and Australia, 16(2), 17-‐36. Doi:10.1016/j.Asw.2011.02.002
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Purpose in a Nutshell
o To explain how and why you chose your research ques+on and method.
o To demonstrate how the literature you have chosen supports and explains the choices you have made about your study.
o To synthesize and cri+que this literature.
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The Task of Wri$ng a Literature Review The task of wri+ng a literature review consists of three main parts:
o iden+fying relevant literature,
o organizing the literature, and
o organizing and wri+ng the review itself.
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A Literature Review As a Story
o Swales and Feak suggest that literature reviews should tell a story.
o The story should indicate why you chose your study.
o It should be logical, persuasive and, above all, interes+ng.
o It should help the reader to see that your research maders to the world.
Swales, J.M. & Feak, C.B. (2012). Telling a research story: Wri;ng a literature review. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
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Placement of the Literature Review
o The literature review appears near the beginning of a proposal or thesis.
o Ohen the introduc+on contains a brief overview of the literature.
o This overview is typically elaborated on in a special sec+on of the paper that contains a more thorough literature review.
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Two Formats for First Sec$ons of Theses
Abstract
Introduc+on
Literature Review
Abstract
Introduction (with Lit Review)
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The Create a Research Space (CARS) Model
o Swales (1991) and Swales and Feak (2012) found that both introduc+ons and literature reviews in proposals, theses, and papers typically create a research space (CARS). The CARS model has three main moves:
o Establishing the research territory
o Iden+fying a niche
o Occupying the niche
Sources: Swales, J.M., (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research seMngs. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, and Swales, J.M & Feak, C.B. (2012). Academic wri;ng for graduate students: Essen;als tasks and skills. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, p. 331.
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Establishing the Research Territory
Swales (1991) and Swales and Feak (2012) indicate that you establish the territory by doing the following:
o Presen+ng background informa+on about the topic or problem.
o Demonstra+ng that the general research area is key, central, problema+c or relevant.
o Reviewing and synthesizing previous and current related research.
Sources: Swales, J.M., (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research seMngs. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, and Swales, J.M & Feak, C.B. (2012). Academic wri;ng for graduate students: Essen;als tasks and skills. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, p. 331.
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Iden$fying a Niche
Swales (1991) and Swales and Feak (2012) indicate that you iden+fy a niche for your research using one of the following strategies:
o Announcing a gap or shortcomings in the exis+ng research or a real world problem
o Ques+oning the findings or methods of the exis+ng research
o Indica+ng your inten+on to con+nue a research tradi+on
Sources: Swales, J.M., (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research seMngs. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, and Swales, J.M & Feak, C.B. (2012). Academic wri;ng for graduate students: Essen;als tasks and skills. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, p. 331.
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Occupying the Niche Swales (1991) and Swales and Feak (2012) indicate that you occupy the niche by doing the following:
o Sta+ng the nature and purpose of your research
o Lis+ng research ques+ons and hypotheses (ques+ons some+mes stated as objec+ves)
o Announcing principal findings (only in theses and papers not in proposals)
o Sta+ng the value of your research (op+onal)
o Indica+ng the structure of the paper or proposal (op+onal)
Sources: Swales, J.M., (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research seMngs. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, and Swales, J.M & Feak, C.B. (2012). Academic wri;ng for graduate students: Essen;als tasks and skills. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, p. 331.
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Iden$fy the “Moves” in this Abridged Introduc$on
Access to safe drinking water is essen+al for human health, yet natural processes and human ac+vi+es ohen put drinking water sources at risk (AANDC, 2013; Patrick, 2014). Drinking water protec+on varies greatly across Canada (Wood, 2014), but it is par+cularly weak on First Na+ons. In 2010, 75% of First Na+on on-‐reserve water systems assessed posed a threat to human health (Simms, Lightman, & de Loë, 2010). … One way for communi+es to sustain healthy water is to develop a source water protec+on plan (SWP), which aims to reduce the risk of waterborne contamina+on at the water source (Davies & Mazumder, 2003). SWPs also make economic sense for at least three reasons. … Although Saskatchewan has implemented SWPs in several communi+es in the south, no plans are in place in the North (Government of Saskatchewan, 2015). Furthermore, no feasibility studies appear to have been conducted on using SWPs in Northern Saskatchewan, the region of the province most at risk from unsafe drinking water. The purpose of this research is to fill this need by working with three communi+es in northern Saskatchewan to develop a source water protec+on plan.
Courtesy of a Former Student
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Summary
o A literature review synthesizes and cri+ques a body of work to support and explain the choices you have made about your study.
o Your literature review should create a research space (CARS).
o There are three moves in the CARS model: establishing the research territory, iden+fying the niche, and occupying the niche.