Writing the Literature Review

Tami Castillo - Learning Skills Adviser, Winifred Hirst, Subject Librarian, Matheson library

Overline
1. Literature Review what/some characteristics/features 2. Purpose/ content/ position 3. Sources 4. Critically analyse/ response 5. Note-taking

6. Organise notes / a plan

7. Maintaining your academic voice

definition
literature = the collection or body of sources in a specific research area review = critical analysis and evaluation literature review = critical analysis and evaluation of the sources in a specific research area.

Related genres
Annotated bibliography
Single text analysed
Reference + annotation (notes or short paragraph)

Critical review
Single text analysed
Reference + review (paragraph or more)

Literature review
Multiple texts analysed
Reference list + intext referencing Synthesised reviews paragraph or more (article) chapter (book or thesis) publication (journal or book) Honours/Masters/PhD thesis Student assignment

publication (subject bibliography) Research notes Student assignment purpose= evaluate source re research topic or assignment question

publication (journal) Student assignment

purpose= evaluate success of text in field

purpose= evaluate research on specific topic

Reasons to use A.B. / note-taking

1. Ease of organising/manipulating themes or categories 2. Assist with synthesizing research and development of ideas

3. Develop and maintain academic voice.

Features: What is a literature review?

A task which requires you to:

Critically analyze a range of information in a particular research field.

Source most relevant and timely scholarly works for your purpose Synthesize work to critically discuss, compare & contrast the different theories/ideas/views Identify gaps in reasearch Focus this work on your position Convince the reader of your position

What is your position or purpose for a literature review?

What is your position or purpose for a literature review?

Establish a theoretical framework for the topic Define important terms/concepts relevant to the topic Identify studies/models/authors pertinent to this topic

Establish the background to your own research:

What are the key theories / paradigms? What research has already been done? What are the gaps in this research that your own research will address?

The implication is that you begin reading with the following in mind:
a purpose + a set of research questions (promotes relevance and focus, saves time!)

Selecting Texts
What topic/ problem are you investigating?
What question(s) will you explore?
Identify the aims of your literature research.

What kind of material are you investigating & why?

Journal articles, reports, policies or primary historical data?

Does each text relate to your research topic & requirements? Who/What are the essential or key researchers on my topic?
Am I finding them? Are the sources valuable or often referred to in other texts?

Critically analyse your readings

What does this mean?

Critical analysis for a literature review

How does this fit into your understanding of the field? How does it compare to other research? Considerations for sources that you will use:
authority peer reviewed type of study objectivity methodology

Knowledge is generated through debate and argument

Academic writing contains multiple competing voices

(source: Simeon Sebastian Kormon/IAP-Group C/ADS 2010/ Liberia)

You need to pay attention to what writers do.

responding to what writers do

Pay attention to what the author is doing, as well as what the author is saying. For example, is the author: agreeing with, defending or confirming something? proposing something new? reformulating an existing idea to make a better explanation? dismissing someone elses position because it is inadequate, irrelevant, incoherent, or has other flaws? conceding that someone elses point has some merits but it needs to be changed in important ways? a combination of these strategies? other strategies?

what will you do?

What will you do?

Activity: Speak to the person next to you about where your ideas fit in with the research thus far. Will you agree, rebut? Reformulate? Is there a more appropriate theoretical framework or approach you will take? Is anything relevant left out of the source which you will include?

Note-taking
Annotate as you go
Single text analysed Reference + annotation (notes or short paragraph)

example 1
Bibliographical details:

written as for APA reference list

Summary of main points:

Research theme, main theories upon which research was based, methods used, main outcomes, discussion points etc.

Strengths of study / arguments presented:

e.g. Excellent literature review Discussed limitations of study Appropriate statistical analysis of results given that data was
Weaknesses of study / arguments presented:

publication (subject bibliography) Research notes Student assignment purpose= evaluate source re research topic or assignment question

e.g. Failed to consider Study design not appropriate to achieve aims of the study. A better design may be Conclusions extrapolate beyond the scope of the data presented, e.g...
Connections to other readings/ideas:

e.g. Research theme similar to Bosch (2009) but looked at different outcomes (..); much better study design than Bosch (vs) e.g. Research theme similar to Gardner (2008) but Gardners research shows contradictory outcomes, mainly because his subject sampling was biased

Note-taking
EXAMPLE 2

example 2
Citation

(1) Trevor, C. O., Gerhart, B., & Boudreau, J. W. (1997). Voluntary turnover and job performance: Curvilinearity and the moderating influences of salary growth and promotions. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 82(1), 44-61. (2) In this article Trevor et al. review the influences of pay and job opportunities in respect to job performance, turnover rates and employee motivation. (3) The authors use data gained through organisational surveys of blue-chip companies in Vancouver, Canada to try to identify the main causes of employee turnover and whether it is linked to salary growth. (4) Their research focuses on assessing a range of pay structures such as pay for performance and organisational reward schemes. (5) The article is useful to my research topic, as it suggests that there are numerous reasons for employee turnover and variances in employee motivation and performance. (6) The main limitation of the article is that the survey sample was restricted to mid-level management, (7) thus the authors indicate that further, more extensive, research needs to be undertaken to develop a more in-depth understanding of employee turnover and job performance. (8) This article will not form the basis of my research; however it will be useful supplementary information for my research on pay structures.

Introduction

Research
Scope Usefulness

Limitations
Conclusions Reflection

Organize your notes into a plan

Where am I driving this story?
What is my refined research question? Which research gaps do I wish to highlight? Which research best leads into the rationale for my own? What is the significance of my own research? How will I demonstrate this in my writing?

Organize your notes into a plan

Structure of present research
- What aspects of the question have/not been investigated? - Are there identifiable categories of research focus? - What are most recent findings? - Are there widely recognized gaps or problems?

Your research question, insights and understanding

- What is the purpose of my literature review? - What gaps in research have I found? - What approaches, recent findings, do I find most appropriate for my project and why?

Structure of your literature review

- What is the best way of presenting my findings how do I reorganise my readings and observations to accomplish that? - How do I clearly present my theme? - Can I identify an argument in my literature review?

How to structure the literature review.

Maintaining your own voice

Research in general problem solving suggests that planning, monitoring and evaluation are important factors in performance (Flavell, 1987; Nelson & Narens, 1994). Schoenfeld (1985) reported a positive relationship between metacognition and problem solving in algebra and geometry. However, Wells and Mathews (1994) suggested high metacognitive activity may hinder performance. Hence, there is some inconsistency regarding metacognition and performance. In this regard, Lester (1989) argued that researchers need to assess the role of metacognition in more specific areas such as novel algebraic word-problem solving.

Similarly little attention has been paid to critical thinking in algebraic problem solving. In fact, Rabinowitz (1986) argued that everyday thinking does not involve logical thinking and as such formal logistics should not be taught at all. However Hatcher (1988), Paul (1990) and Potter et al (1991) among others believe logical thinking and reasoning to be of critical importance in problem solving generally. Indeed Norris and Ennis (1989) and Paul (1990) have developed frameworks for analysing critical thinking in problem solving.

Transitions for coherence

Maintaining your own voice

Research in general problem solving suggests that planning, monitoring and evaluation are important factors in performance (Flavell, 1987; Nelson & Narens, 1994). Schoenfeld (1985) reported a positive relationship between metacognition and problem solving in algebra and geometry. However, Wells and Mathews (1994) suggested high metacognitive activity may hinder performance. Hence, there is some inconsistency regarding metacognition and performance. In this regard, Lester (1989) argued that researchers need to assess the role of metacognition in more specific areas such as novel algebraic word-problem solving.

Similarly little attention has been paid to critical thinking in algebraic problem solving. In fact, Rabinowitz (1986) argued that everyday thinking does not involve logical thinking and as such formal logistics should not be taught at all. However Hatcher (1988), Paul (1990) and Potter et al (1991) among others believe logical thinking and reasoning to be of critical importance in problem solving generally. Indeed Norris and Ennis (1989) and Paul (1990) have developed frameworks for analysing critical thinking in problem solving.

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/gen eral/lit-reviews/index.xml

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