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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

Course: HUL 810, Communication Skills
Topic: Literature Review

Classes on this topic: 20 and 23 January 2014


Assignment Description
Complete a short literature review on the topic that is assigned to your discipline. Locate around 5-6
journal articles/books on your topic and write a 2-3 page literature review of the articles you have
selected.


Topics for Literature Review Assignment (by Discipline)

1. Civil Engineering: Climate Change
2. Chemical Engineering: Clean Energy Generation
3. Electrical Engineering: Artificial Intelligence
4. Mechanical Engineering: Recent Developments in Heat Pipe
5. Textile Engineering: Automotive Textiles
6. Management: Improve Productivity of Workers in the Workplace
7. Humanities: The Classic Novel
8. Computer Science: Sorting
9. Polymer Science: Nano Composites
10. Atmospheric Science: Atmospheric Layers
11. Biological Science: Virus-host Interactions
12. Physics: Physical Properties of Nano Material
13. Chemistry: Chemical Sensors
14. Energy Studies: Energy Scenario in India
15. Biomedical: Immunodiagnostic Techniques
16. Mathematics: Prime Numbers

A literature review is a coherent essay. It should be a review of the literature directly related to the
problem or topic under study, followed by an explanation of how your research question grows out
of that review. That is, show how you identify your own research focus in terms of the gap in the
previous research. Ground your study in a particular context of what is known about a subject in
order to establish a foundation for the topic or question being researched.

This assignment is for you to:
1. Identify and formulate an inquiry question that defines what you would like to learn
Assignment
Write an individual review on the topic assigned to your discipline. Make up a question and
formulate a rough thesis statement. The assignment should be submitted by 6.30 pm on
Thursday, 30 January 2014. It will be graded.
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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

2. Know how to search and locate literature (eg. journal articles) using library and Internet
sources
3. Analyse information found in journal articles
4. Synthesize new knowledge into a written literature review
5. Establish a context for your paper

Steps to Write your Literature Review
1. Formulate an inquiry question around your topic that specifically describes what you would
like to know about the topic.
2. Go to the library or search Internet sources to locate journals that include information on
your topic. Look for some key authors on the topic and also some less cited authors/articles,
maybe a couple with perspectives contrary/opposite to yours.
3. Read the articles abstracts and skim through them to determine if they correspond well to
your topic and inquiry question.
4. Read your selected articles and begin to sort and classify them according to their findings.
5. Organize your articles by sorting and classifying their findings in a meaningful way, always
considering your original topic and inquiry question.
6. Write an outline for your literature review.
7. Write your review.
8. Revise your review using the Final Checklist provided at the end of this handout.

























Class on 20 January 2014

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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review


What is a literature review?
Staple for research
used for theses and peer-reviewed articles
Situates current study within the body of literature
Provides context for the reader
Considers critical points of current knowledge
substantive findings
theoretical and methodological contributions to a topic
Usually comes within Introduction or as a separate section

Purpose
define and limit the problem you are working on
place your study in a historical perspective
avoid unnecessary duplication
evaluate promising research methods
relate your findings to previous knowledge and suggest further research

Functions
compare and contrast different authors views on an issue
group authors who draw similar conclusions
criticise aspects of methodology
note areas in which authors are in disagreement
highlight exemplary studies
highlight gaps in research
show how your study relates to previous studies
show how your study relates to the literature in general
conclude by summarising what the literature says

Objectives
Identify and analyse issues raised in the literature
Establish relationships among secondary sources
Identify similarities and differences between secondary research contexts, events, and issues
Form explicitly stated conclusions
Review summary, quotation, and paraphrase
Review organizing long reports; synthesis
Use transitions to show relationships and connections

Literature review
Is a secondary source
document that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere
Contrasts with a primary source
- original source of the information being discussed
- a person with direct knowledge of a situation
- a document created by such a person
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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

Involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of the original information


Science, Technology, Medicine
Primary source
original research papers written by the scientists who actually conducted the study
- Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions sections of research paper in scientific journal
Secondary source
summary of literature in Introduction of scientific paper
description of what is known about a disease or treatment in a chapter in a reference book,
synthesis written to review available literature
survey of previous work in the field in a primary peer-reviewed source

Humanities
Primary source
novels, poetry, play, documents that to be analysed
cases, constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations
Secondary source
books or scholarly journals, from the perspective of a later interpreter, especially by a later
scholar
peer-reviewed articles
autobiography if it is used to analyse another topic
first-hand accounts
encyclopaedias, dictionaries

The research question
1) An outline what others have done in your chosen area
2) A progressive narrowing to the gap in the research

Selecting Texts
1. Has the author formulated a problem/issue?
2. Is the problem/issue ambiguous or is it clear? Is its significance (scope, severity, relevance)
discussed?
3. What are the strengths and limitations of the way the author has formulated the
problem/issue?
4. Could the problem have been approached more effectively from another perspective?
5. What is the authors research orientation (eg. Interpretive, critical science, combination) and
theoretical framework?
6. What is the relationship between the research orientation and the theoretical framework?
7. Has the author evaluated the literature relevant to the problem/issue? Does the author
include literature taking in positions s/he does not agree with?
8. In a research study, how good are the components of the study design? How accurate and
valid are the measurements? Is the analysis of the data accurate and relevant to the research
question? Are the conclusions based on the data and analysis?
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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

9. In material written for a popular readership, does the author use appeals to emotion, one-
sided examples, or rhetorically-charged language and tone? Is there an objective basis to the
reasoning, or is the author merely proving what he or she already believes?
10. How does the author structure the argument? Can you deconstruct the flow of the argument
to see whether or where it breaks down logically?
11. In what ways does this book or article contribute to our understanding of the problem under
study, and in what ways is it useful for practice? What are the strengths and limitations?
12. How does this book or article relate to the specific thesis or question I am developing?

Structuring the Review
Difference of approach
While Jones (1982) argues Smith (1990 ) claims that
From distant to closely related
Smith (1991) and Jones (2001) both show that However Hutchison (2002)
demonstrates that
Chronologically
Early marketing theory owes its development to Many studies contributed to for
example, Jones and Smith (1986). Hunt (1987) was recognised for but later Jamison (1999)
showed that

Each section of the review should fulfil specific purposes:
Introduction: Introduce the purpose and scope of the literature review, including the key
issues the review will address
Body: Using relevant headings, the body should take up each question/issue one at a time
and discuss how the authors of the articles respond to that question or issue. Students
should relate the sources to one another and to the key point.
Conclusion: A brief final paragraph should bring this section to a close by summarizing
what the literature says about the topic overall

Critical Review Language
Information prominent:
Research indicates that (Becker, 1997, p. 9) (usually present tense)
Weak author prominent:
Research has shown...
Some have argued that (Becker, 1997, p. 9) (usually present perfect tense)
Author prominent:
Becker (1997, p. 9) argues that (usually present tense)


Use a range of Critical Review Language
Becker rejects the idea that
Becker questions the idea that
Becker investigates the idea that
According to Becker
Becker undermines the position that
In Beckers view
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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

Beckers point seems to be that


Developing your position

YES Yes, but Yes, BUT NO No, but No, BUT
Does the author agree with your thesis statement? Give full citation information and page
numbers.
Does the author disagree with your thesis statement? Make a note, and give full citation
information here too!

Clarify
Roughly how many sources should you include?
What types of sources (books, journal articles, websites)?
Should you summarize, synthesize, or critique your sources by discussing a common theme
or issue?
Should you evaluate your sources?
Should you provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions
and/or a history?

A final checklist
Before you submit your literature review, consider the following questions :
1. What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that my literature review helps
to define?
2. What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory?
methodology? policy? quantitative research (eg. on the effectiveness of a new procedure)?
qualitative research (eg. studies )?
3. What is the scope of my literature review? What types of publications am I using (eg.
journals, books, government documents, popular media)? What discipline am I working in
(eg. nursing psychology, sociology, medicine)?
4. How good was my information seeking? Has my search been wide enough to ensure I've
found all the relevant material? Has it been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material? Is
the number of sources I've used appropriate for the length of my paper?
5. Have I critically analysed the literature I use? Do I follow through a set of concepts and
questions, comparing items to each other in the ways they deal with them? Instead of just
listing and summarizing items, do I assess them, discussing strengths and weaknesses?
6. Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective?
7. Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful?







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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

Class on 23 January 2014

Role of Literature Review
Locate the research question within scholarly debate relevant to our concerns
Discover what has been done and represent it: Dont reinvent the wheel
Let the reader see the history of the question; demonstrate that we have done our homework
Identify what has not been done, or what has not been done well

A research question provides more than one reasonable answer. So, the literature review:
Describes the search that was conducted
Summarizes, analyzes, organizes the various responses
Explains why different scholars provide different answers for the same or related questions
The literature review reports the conclusions of researchers;
more importantly, tells the reader HOW the conclusions are reached

Three Stages
identify and collect literature
de-construct academic literature ask questions of the literature
form arguments, then reconstruct and transform them into a new work that benefits the
subject area

Identify and Collect Literature
Assess sources
Read the text
Summarize the authors main points: make notes, annotate
Check for relevant sources:
- Author: expertise, reputation, credibility, target audience
citations, articles, books
- Publication: reputation, target reader/researcher
front/back cover, submission guidelines, editorial board



You can use the matrix given below to organize your articles:

Source #1 Source #2 Source #3
Discipline

Evidence

Methodology

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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

Critical/
Theoretical
Concepts

Conclusions/
Answer


Transition Words

For continuing a common line of reasoning:
consequently
clearly, then
furthermore
additionally
and
in addition
moreover
because
besides that
in the same way
following this further
also
pursuing this further
in the light of the... it is easy to see that

To change the line of reasoning (contrast):
however
on the other hand
but
yet
nevertheless
on the contrary

To restate a point within a paragraph in another way or in a more exacting way:
in other words
point in fact
specifically

For opening a paragraph initially or for general use:
admittedly
assuredly
certainly
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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

granted
no doubt
nobody denies
obviously
of course
to be sure
true
undoubtedly
unquestionably
generally speaking
in general
at this level
in this situation

For the final points of a paragraph or essay:
finally
lastly

Transitional chains, to use in separating sections of a paragraph which is arranged
chronologically:
First ... second ... third ...
generally ... furthermore ... finally
in the first place ... also ... lastly
in the first place ... pursuing this further ... finally
to be sure ... additionally... lastly
in the first place ... just in the same way ... finally
basically ... similarly ... as well

To signal conclusion:
therefore
this
hence
in final analysis
in conclusion
in final consideration
indeed

Sequence or time
after
afterwards
as soon as
at first
at last
before
before long
finally
first... second... third
in the first place
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Pallavi Narayan, HUL 810, Literature Review

in the meantime
later
meanwhile
next
soon
then