A Review of the Literature With Your Hosts Writing Center Staff and Faculty

Objectives Explore the Role of the Literature Review by examining: –The Definition –The Purpose –Strategies for Accessing the Literature –Strategies for Reading the Literature –Strategies for Crafting the Review

Questions to ask What is the specific research problem that the literature review seeks to resolve? What type of literature review is to be conducted (theories, policies, methodologies)? What is the scope of the literature review (journals, books, popular media)?

A template to keep in mind Compile –Gather the literature Critique –Determine the value Categorize –Organize according to common denominators Comprehend –Understand the content well enough to teach it. Compose –Write the literature review.

Literature Review Defined Any collection of materials on a topic. –Scholarly peer-reviewed articles –Government documents –Conference proceedings –Personal communication –Unpublished pamphlets –Internal documents

Purpose of the Literature Review To convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic. –Strengths –Weaknesses –Oddities

Purpose of the Literature Review Allows a researcher to demonstrate: –Information seeking skills, that is, the ability to scan the literature efficiently to identify a set of useful articles and books. –Critical appraisal skills, that is, the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies.

Purpose of the Literature Review Provides a handy guide to a particular topic. Useful reports keeping a professional updated on what is current in the field. Emphasizes the credibility of the writer by establishing their authority on a topic. Provides a solid background for a paper’s investigation.

Accessing the Literature Carry out a comprehensive literature search. –May be disciplinary or interdisciplinary. –Review all types of publications (journals, books, govt. documents, popular media). –Start with a broad range and then narrow. –Review all internal references. –Consult with others.

Reading the Literature Active Reading means asking questions. –What is similar in the literature (methodologies, philosophies, assertions, interpretation of evidence)? –What is different? –What are the gaps, that is, what requires further exploration? –What stands out?

Reading the Literature Active Reading continued… –Has the author formulated a problem/issue? –Is it clearly defined (significance, scope, relevance)? –What is the theoretical framework? –How is the theoretical framework related to the research perspectives? –Is this a good read?

Reading the Literature Keep track of the following: –Perspective –Problem or issue –Specific claims –Evidence –Objectivity –Persuasiveness –Results –Conclusion

Reading the Literature Annotate. –Ask questions, jot down ideas, highlight. Keep detailed notes. –Note the source. –Track keywords –Note themes. Consider a chart or a table. –A matrix can help.

Writing the Literature Review In the body you should: –Group articles according to common denominators (examples?). –Summarize articles as each merits according to its comparative importance in the literature. –Provide the reader with direction, leading them back to your research problem and to the “so what” and “who cares.”

Writing the Literature Review In the conclusion you should: –Summarize major contributions while maintaining the focus established in the introduction. –Demonstrate the gap in the research, returning the reader to your specific problem. –Provide insight into the relationship between the literature and your original research, use the language of a social scientist.

Counterargument No one who is working on their dissertation enjoys coming across material that seems to refute a major premise Pretending there are not two sides does not make it true Tackle the best points of the other side Look for intersections This is not a cage match; it is research

Common Problems –Reliance on textbooks or books that are not peer reviewed –Reliance on websites of questionable worth –Reliance on secondary sources –Using wikipedia or other online encyclopedias to substantiate definitions

Secondary Sources Identified by: (Cass, cited in Boss, 2003) Another type of secondary source involves pulling citations from a reference list (e.g., from a textbook) and pasting them into your reference list. The reference list is not a bibliography.

Academic Integrity Cutting and pasting a series of abstracts is not reviewing the literature. Remember to place the scholarship in the context of your study (this requires that you synthesize). Researchers write for a discipline, the literature review should be understandable to an outside audience. Stealing other people’s words or ideas without giving them credit is unethical.

Avoiding Plagiarism  Copy all materials used as sources (or keep electronic copies of original articles).  Put names of authors next to all notes that you take. If you have quoted the material from the source, use quotation marks.  Soon all students will be required to submit their dissertations to Turnitin to help you spot “careless omissions” and to make corrections prior to the final submission.

Direct Quotes  Avoid them unless absolutely necessary.  Randomly pick 10 journal articles - you will rarely see quotations used.  Excessive quotations means the work really is not yours. You are just “parroting” others.  If you use more than a few quotations, your committee will likely send you back to paraphrase and integrate through synthesis.

Elements of Style  Revise and rewrite until it flows. Revision is everything!  Do not overwrite (don’t include every study; only include what is essential for the literature review for your study). Write simply and in short, complete sentences.  Avoid jargonistic writing; make sure your reader understands you.  Stay objective, and write in non-biased language.  Omit unnecessary words.  Be mindful of grammar and punctuation rules.

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