Reviewing Literature

Louise Livesey

Academic Skills Adviser

This workshop will: − Explain what completing a review of literature involves− Offer tips on how to manage the reviewing process− Show you basic strategies for taking a critical

approach to literature at degree-level.

The Plan

1. Why review literature? What’s the point?

2. How to begin: tips for the first steps of reviewing

3. Managing your reviewing

4. Working critically with the literature.

 

What has made you book on today’s session?

TALKING POINT

1.Why review literature?What’s the point?

Activity 1: Why are you asked to review literature?Work as a pair or small group, and agree on a list of all the reasons why someone would be asked to review literature in their field of study/future profession.

• To check your research has not been done before so you do not waste your time.

• For ideas on how to approach your research, what methods are appropriate to obtain the type of information you want (NOT the answers you want!)

• Justifies the reason for your research – to show there is a gap in the field.

• To ensure you have a full understanding of the subject.

1.Why review literature?What’s the point?

Reviewing the literature gives you and your marker…

- A landscape of knowledge and key issues (Bell, 2005)

- It ‘locates’ your topic within a much larger field of information (Blaxter et al., 2006):

- It is “…a small piece in a complicated jigsaw puzzle; it does not stand alone.” (Ridley, 2008: 5).

The product…

Writing up a finished literature review

The process…Doing the reviewing

It is 2 things (Ridley, 2008: 2):

1.Why review literature?What’s the point?

2.How to begin: tips for the first steps of reviewing

Where do I

start?

Reading lists

Published literature reviews

Textbooks

Lecture materials

Dissertations & theses

Topic-specific databases

2.How to begin: tips for the first steps of reviewing

CataloguesSummonGoogle Scholar

General web search

The proposed topic of your research: plagiarism trends in higher education

Core search terms & searching criteria: plagiarism; HE; higher education; university; academic misconduct; academic malpractice.Journals only / 2000 onwards / HE only / quantitative studies onlySearched: Terms or combinations of

terms searched forResults of search (e.g. articles or books located)

Date of search

ERIC plagiarism + HE 21 - Larkham & Manns (2002); Ercegovac & Richardson (2004)…

23/09/14

Summon plagiarism + HE OR university

11 - 23/09/14

Google Scholar trends+plagiarism 7 - 24/09/14

• Be efficient – longer pieces of work review more literature before selecting. Keep track of your searches.

Adapted from Ridley (2008: 43)

2.How to begin: tips for the first steps of reviewing

Reviewing is about more than just reading

Reviewing

Appraising

Analysing Evaluating

Comparing

Selecting

3.Managing your reviewing

Once you have found potentially useful papers…

Preliminary reading and analysis

Scan all of the abstracts, executive summaries or chapter summaries first

Jot down your first impressions of each source – why might it be useful at this early stage?

Can you make any (early) rudimentary observations, comparisons or classifications? What are they?

Are there any patterns emerging? Are there any questions emerging?

Can you already discard some sources and follow-up on others?

3.Managing your reviewing

Focused in-depth reading

Look at:

- findings and their conclusions

- theory and its evidence

- documents and their supporting data…

asking questions to ‘interrogate’ them.

Go systematically through the sources you have decided to read.

Apply a set of questions or a process to the literature. Take

notes.

Take bibliographic reference information as you go.

Aim to do your reviewing ‘little and often’.

3.Managing your reviewing

4.Working criticallywith the literature

• The difference between exploratory and focused (Ridley, 2008).

• Take notes / map the text / annotate – TRANSFORM it (Cottrell, 2005).

4.Working criticallywith the literature

Try ‘different’ readings of different groups of texts.

Eating Disorders

Men and Masculinity

Body Image

Experiments

InterviewsRCTs

4.Working criticallywith the literature

Abstract > conclusions > introduction > findings/results

Applying similar

steps to all/most

literature you find

 

1. What is the purpose of the study?

2. What is the scope of the study?

3. What is the focus of the study?

4. What are the units of analysis?

5. What is the sampling strategy?

6. What types of data were collected?

7. How were the data managed?

8. What analytical approach was used?

9. How is validity addressed in the study?

10. When did the study occur?

11. How is the study justified?

12. How are ethical issues handled?

13. How are logistics handled?

(Hart, 1998: 49)

4.Working criticallywith the literature

What do we think a critiquing tool is?

(Cottrell, 2005)

TALKING POINT

Activity 2: Using a critiquing tool What is the blank example’s strengths and weaknesses?

4.Working criticallywith the literature

• Create your own critiquing tool:

Reading

WritingSearching

5. Summary of the literature review process

Specifying title and section headings for the lit review

Writing and revisiting drafts of your written lit review

Developing your argument: identifying source texts to support each step in your argument

This is the subject of anotherof our workshopsNote-taking,

summaries, informal writing

Developing categories and themes for the reading

Identifying theories, terminology, concepts, policy and methodology

Exploring ideas around the topic

Locating previous research in the area

Formulating research questions

Justifying research problem or issueto be investigated Adapted from Ridley (2008: 81)

Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project. 4th ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press

 

Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. & Tight, M. (2006) How to Research. 3rd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press.

 

Cottrell, S. (2005) Critical Thinking Skills. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

 

Ridley, D. (2008) The Literature Review: a Step-by-Step Guide for Students. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

 

Student Services. (2014) Why do I have to have a literature review? Brisbane St. Lucia: University of Queensland. [online] Available at:

http://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/phdwriting/phfaq23.html [Accessed 16.10.2014]

 

Thomas, G. (2013) How to do your Research Project. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

References:

Academic Skills Advice

• What do we do? Support undergraduate students with their academic skills by running clinics and workshops, having bookable appointment slots, and enabling students to access Instant Advice.

• When can you come for help? Everyday both face to face and on-line

• How do you get in touch? Email: academic-skills@brad.ac.uk or website www.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills

• Where are we? Chesham Building B0.23• Who are we? Michael and Helen specialise in Maths

Support; Lucy and Russell advise students on study skills; and I (Louise) deliver the workshops

Any questions?