1 Literature review

2 When you may write a literature review As an assignment For a report or thesis (e.g. for senior project) As a graduate student For a technical paper

3 Purpose of a literature review To show that you have a good understanding of the background of your topic of research or investigation. Things to do: –Include all the areas of research relevant to your topic –Give a historical account of its development –Show that you know who has done the relevant work via citations –Show the links between the various areas – correlations, contradictions, ambiguities, gaps –Show the weaknesses of other work and techniques –Show how your work will form an original contribution

4 Common difficulties The quantity of literature Lack of literature (sometimes) Getting started. Where do I look? Knowing how broad or narrow to make your review Knowing which paper to discard and which to keep Having the discipline to re-read papers to gain fresh understanding

5 What makes a good review? A good review presents the facts and goes behind the facts It needs to –Show the issues that have been dealt with in the past –Show the issues that need to be currently addressed –Show the correlations, contradictions, ambiguities, and gaps that exist –Give an analysis and commentary that makes it clear that you understand the issue –Show that you are imposing your view on the issue

6 The process of researching and writing a review Hints –Don’t worry about the volume of literature or that your supervisor may have given you a few specialized papers to start you off –Be systematic. Be focused and keep good records –Don’t rely solely on books and review articles. –Be cleverly selective –View the process of searching, extracting and filing material as an iterative process

7 The process - Types of sources Tertiary sources –Textbooks, original articles Secondary sources –Summaries of information, e.g. review articles Primary sources –Journal articles, theses, reports

8 The process - Steps 1.Consult a librarian about searching techniques 2.Be systematic about keeping records of the citations 3.First stage of finding information: find a book 4.Find some really good review articles 5.Choose the papers that appear to be KEY papers 6.Select and note the information you need from the KEY papers 7.Choose the topic headings for your review 8.Sort your information into the various topic headings 9.Select the FRINGE papers (less prominent authors) 10.Re-read your original review papers 11.Write up the review as a final stage

9 2. Be systematic about keeping records of the citations Use a computer to keep records –Use a dedicated software to help you (e.g. aigaion) Keep copies of every key document Note down the full details of the citation Check out the book information about –Journal citations –Books

10 4. Find some really good review articles You will need from one to four For a good review article you need to establish –The general overall sense of the topic –The areas that are relevant to your topic –Who are the most active researchers, and who are the authorities –The papers that are regarded as the most important

11 5. Choose the papers that appear to be KEY papers These are: –The most frequently cited papers in the review articles –The most frequently cited authors in the review articles –The titles that are the most relevant to your topic –The most recently dated – Get also older papers to show the development of the topic

12 6. Select and note the information you need from the KEY papers –How does the topic fit into a broader view of the research area? –Why is it an important topic? –What is known about the topic? –What is ambiguous, in dispute, unknown? Why? Also –Why do these gaps need to be filled? –Which gaps do you propose to fill in your research? –Why have you chosen them? –How do you propose to do it?

13 7. Choose the topic headings for your review Topics are not fixed Topics should be specific e.g. –Historical background –Standard techniques –Current technology

14 Possible structure of review Title Abstract Introduction Sections appropriate to the subject Conclusions List of references

15 Common mistakes Finish the review before you start to understand the issue Just giving an account of who did what and when Not telling a coherent story Not pointing out the gaps in the knowledge and any ambiguities. Not becoming involved Referencing errors

16 Writing the introduction Clearly state the purpose of the study (the motivation) Allow readers to understand the background of the study without consulting the literature Indicate the authors that worked or are working in the area and describe their chief contribution Indicate correlations, contradictions and gaps in the knowledge (to make space for your work) Outline your contribution