How to make a literature review of papers

How to make a literature review of papers

1. about the literature… “What does the literature show us?” “ Connect your ideas to the literature .” “ Survey the literature on the topic.” “Before we can create new knowledge, we must first know the current state of knowledge about our research subject”

2. Grad students (THE GRAD STUD!) have different backgrounds Not every grad student has done research Not everyone has experience reading the literature

3. What is a Literature Review? Surveys scholarly sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory Provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work Offers an overview of significant literature published on a topic Gives future research context by telling the story of work done so far (adapted from http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/ literaturereview.html )

4. Definitions “A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study” (Research Guides, USC Libraries, USC, 2010)

5. The purpose: to provide the researcher (and the reader) with an understanding of literature about the proposed research mainly focus at research problem . This includes the strengths and weaknesses! The literature may be related to the research project in several ways – through the problem , the objectives , the conceptual framework , methods and procedures , and result discussion . Studies can be related through both similarities and differences 5 Purposes

6. www.lib.ncsu.edu › documents › Grad Workshop Lit Review

7. Functions of Literature Reviews Establish research context Show why the question is significant Illustrate and describe previous research, including gaps and flaws – identified new area where research is needed Ensure that research has not been done before – Prevent duplication

8. Functions of Literature Reviews Understand the structure of the problem – they may reveal conceptual insights into the problem and/or suggest possible hypotheses for your own study Demonstrate your knowledge of the field Synthesize previous perspectives and develop your own perspective Provide idea and direction to future research

9. Digging Into the Literature A = Major works C B

10. Digging Into the Literature A = Major works C B = Studies that rely on major works

11. Digging Into the Literature A = Major works C B = Studies that rely on major works New! = Something new!

12. Digging Into the Literature – How? Aspect How? Major works Literature databases Colleague recommendations Cited work Related works Citation searching: Web of Science Google Scholar New information Articles alerts/RSS feeds Tables of Contents Put it all together, you have a literature review!

13. Not all literature should be included in the review – only “scientific literature”. This is literature which has been through a peer review process. This includes professional journals, formal research reports, university-affiliated bulletins, reports and monographs. Also includes similar publications by research foundations and international organizations. This does not insure that these are infallible, or even correct – but they have been through independent checks of accuracy and correctness. The Process

14. The literature…. What it IS : Scholarly communication A published record of research Challenging to read and digest Indexed, searchable with research databases What it IS NOT : Common knowledge i.e., handily summarized in Wikipedia Popular Publication If you just Googled it, you overlooked something. Newspapers, news magazines, or industry or popular publications Or available freely online (mostly). Though.. growth of open journal make this less relevant on campus: the “free” internet vs. library subscriptions “Even though not in lit review, any relevant source must be well referred”

15. Tools

16. Search Aid Standard search aids include indexes, abstracts, and bibliographies. These search tools are located in the research library and many now are computerized. But not all relevant materials are available electronically, so computer and hard copy searches are necessary. Also, many indexing and abstract services lag behind current literature (as much as several years) so it is useful to check current issues of major journals for relevant literature. Thesis/Dissertation abstracts should not be overlooked. 17

17. Key Words These are individual words and phrases which describe the topic you are studying. Selecting good key words is very important if too limited, you may overlook relevant literature; if too broad, you may spend time locating and reviewing literature with little relation to your topic. The best advise is to start with broad key words, then narrow to a more confined list Defining key words may be difficult – there are no specific guidelines- Focus on key words and phrases which define the topic 18

18. Reading It is often useful to start reading with the most recent publications. This allows: Focusing more quickly on current knowledge, Recent research often includes references to relevant earlier research First read the abstract or summary to determine relevance and whether to review the article. As you read, keep in mind that the central purpose is to identify and describe the relevance of the study to your research 19

19. Notes Be sure you have a complete citation of each source. Keep written notes – don’t rely on memory. Be thorough and systematic in keeping notes; note problem, objectives, methods, findings and conclusions Note questions, shortcomings or problems with the study. Notes can be on note card, full sheets of paper, or directly in word processing files (which can use the “search” function). 20

20. Develop an outline of the literature review before start to write. Start with an introduction section, and end with a short summary that pulls all the main points. need organization, use heading and sub heading to focus reader attention It should not be a series of unconnected summaries of studies, but rather a synthesis of previous related literature . The literature review should summarize, but not repeat information. Seek to analyze, compare and contrast the literature reviewed. 21 Writing the Literature Review

21. Some Tips for Writing Do not reference a source of an idea without actually having read it Direct quotations can be useful, but use sparingly. Be reluctant to reproduce graphs or tables. Write as you go: don’t wait until you’ve finished searching the literature Set some times to write regularly, and do it! Start with the easier sections (probably not the introduction) Jot down notes and ideas and keep them handy Get feedback, and don’t take it too personally Aim for a style that is clear, simple, and straightforward

22. Giving credit for thoughts, ideas, efforts and contributions of others is an important ethical issue. Plagiarism is the failure to give credit for an idea or research result to it’s originator. The style used in referencing may vary with the type of publication, as well as your personal preference. Footnotes (notes at the bottom of the page) or Endnotes (similar notes placed at the end of the paper) can be used, if allowed. Most commonly used is parenthetical referencing , which provides the author’s last name, year of publication, and sometimes the page number. eg. (Ethridge, 2004, p.122) Another possible style is to use a number in parentheses eg. (4), with a numbered References list at the end of the paper. Many other style are available but search for your publisher style for the correct one. The cited references then all appear in the Reference section at the end of the paper. 23 Referencing

23. Writing and revision RefWorks Work with Articles and Brain Overview of the Process Research and Collect Information Topic

24. Overview of the Process Topic Initial topic won’t be your final topic! Choose, explore, focus Refine as you go based on: Availability of research – too much? too little? Discovering new ideas Writing progress

25. Overview of the Process Research and Collect Information Topic Search databases Find, evaluate, and select articles

26. RefWorks Work with Articles and Brain Overview of the Process Research and Collect Information Topic Save your work in a citation mgr. Read, analyze, synthesize Develop your conceptual framework

27. RefWorks Work with Articles and Brain Overview of the Process Research and Collect Information Topic Refine topic? Use your citation manager to stay organized

28. Writing and revision RefWorks Work with Articles and Brain Overview of the Process Research and Collect Information Topic

29. Self Assignment Writing a Literature Review

30. Self Assignment Proceeding (use following outline) Develop draft topic Discuss with advisor, colleagues Find a literature review (or book/chapter) Identify key terms and concepts Use bibliography to find sources Search the major disciplinary database Check with colleagues, a librarian Each will have different ideas of where to search! Determine scope and facets of topic Collect useful, current sources

31. Self Assignment Proceeding… Search other key databases (another discipline?) Round out understanding of scope, facets, terms, concepts Search a Citation database Best ones: Web of Science, Google Scholar Web of Science has better tools Scholar can complete picture Identify key/seminal papers/research Identify key researchers, research centers, journals Trace citations back and forward

32. Questions that come up… How do I know I have the “right stuff”? How do I know when I’m done? How do know what’s important? No set answers…for each individual to decide.

33. Tips… Use a citation management system Your word processor may have them Other greats are: RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, etc. Always get the complete citation information Article title, journal title, author, year/volume, pages, abstract Keep track of searches, notes, ideas, etc. Fully citing sources = avoiding plagiarism

34. Read Synthetically: Pull it All Together Look at all articles to identify relationships Classify or group papers, or paper sections, by topic, method, theme Compare and contrast papers addressing similar questions Discover relationships between sources Discover critical gaps and disagreements Fit within the generated outline, or adapt outline

35. The Synthesis Matrix Tool to aid in writing a document showing synthesis Based on a grid Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Concept 4 James, et al. xxxxx xxxxx Chung xxxxx xxxxx Levy xxxx xxxxx

36. Models of Paper Structures “Stringing” Model: Organization of a Simple Summary Paper Introduction Paragraph 1: Summary or description of article 1 Paragraph 2: Summary or description of article 2 Paragraph 3: Summary or description of article 3 …and on… Summary and conclusions “Synthesis” Model: Paper showing Synthesis of Sources and Sequencing by Theme Introduction--Introduce context, topic, importance, research questions, overview Theme A: Introduce concept or theme, discuss/compare the relevant parts of papers 1, 3, and 4 Theme B: Introduce concept or theme, discuss/compare the relevant parts of papers 2,4, and 5 Theme C: Introduce concept or theme, discuss/compare the relevant parts of papers 5 and 6 Final paragraphs --Summarize and highlight conclusions, unresolved issues, identify possible next steps in research and/or practice.

37. Reference: www.liberty.edu › media › Avoiding_Plagiarism The Literature Review - NCSU Libraries: www.lib.ncsu.edu › documents › Grad Workshop Lit Review Methods for Literature Review, Chapter 9, Lau F, Kuziemsky C, editors. Victoria (BC):  University of Victoria ; 2017 Feb 27. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/ literaturereview.html )

38. Thank you