CAROLINE MALTHUSTE PUNA AKO LEARNING CENTRE

THANKS TO DR SIMON NASH FOR USE OF HIS MATERIAL IN THIS PRESENTATION

Literature Reviews

Te Puna Ako Learning Centre

1 to 1Small groupsOnline via Moodle here:

http://moodle.unitec.ac.nz/WorkshopsDrop-in

Working with postgraduate students on assignment questions and planning

Introductions

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Name

What you know about your literature review assignment

What you particularly hope to find out

This workshop:

Introductions

Aims Identifying the purpose of a literature review Describing the key features of a literature review Identifying the differences between descriptive

writing and critical analysis A process for putting together a literature review

Types of Lit reviews in PG study

What is a literature review?

Think about: from your classes so far what do you think a literature review is?

How is a literature review different from: An essay? A book review? A critique? A complete thesis?

What is a literature review? All of these…

A critical academic discussion of the expert texts which are relevant to your topic of study

An essay about the state of research on your topic, possibly identifying gaps in knowledge

A survey of academic writing relevant to a particular issue, including summary, comparison and critical evaluation.

What does the reader of a lit rev want?

An OVERVIEW of key literature related to a specific question / topic / problem

This includes evaluation of strengths and weaknesses

Probably an indication of areas that could be further researched

In a thesis …?

Key tasks for the writer

Outline the background of the area relevant to the topic / question / problem / issue

Make it clear why the topic is worth investigatingIdentify and define key concepts and/or theories

and how these relateExplain authors’ perspectives, and previous

research studies that are most relevant to the topic

Compare authors’ views and discuss them critically

In a thesis…Make clear that your research is needed, and

identify the contribution your study may make.

Structure of a lit review…

Follows general essay structure

You might structure your LR by: Aspects, issues or themes related to the

question Chronology – past to present Analysis of different factors …

Look at LRs in your discipline - – Your lecturer / supervisor may give references or search on the Library website: Databases and Research bank

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Introduction – structure of the review

Issue/Theme 1:

Partial conclusion

Issue/Theme 2:

Partial conclusion Issue/

Theme 3: Partial

conclusion

Final summary and suggestions for research

Background, definitions of key terms and concepts

Key features of a literature review

Analysis What is the topic, why is it important, and what are

the issues?

Synthesis / relationships What views are expressed by different experts /

authors?

Evaluation / implications Identify strengths and weaknesses How do these ideas connect with practice?

Descriptive and critical writing– both are important

• What are the key concepts and theories?

• How have they been defined?

• What are the main points made by writers on this topic?

• If they did research, how did they do it?

• What conclusions did they reach?

• What are the key issues?

• How do one expert’s views compare with another’s?

• What are the links and relationships between different ideas?

• What ideas / themes / assumptions underlie the work?

• What theories influenced the writers / researchers you’ve read?

• What limitations / gaps do you identify in their work?

• How useful is the thinking of experts in relation to your plans? © Unitec New Zealand

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Report what authors say and do…

Neutral expressions: describe, show, discuss, report

Verbs that indicate author’s thinking: propose, hypothesise, predict, conclude

Verbs that indicate what author did: develop, examine, investigate, find, observe, study, analyse, use

Check whether the verb is followed by that or by a noun

Critique can be positive….

The analysis by X (2009) is directly relevant to… because..

This author makes a strong case for…The study by X effectively demonstrates that…X’s explanation of the concept of ____ is helpful

because itX and Y include a useful list of guidelines which

could help … when..

Critique can be negative…Verbs overlooked / did not consider / was limited to

Adjectivesquestionable / incomplete

Phrases Little information/attention/work/data/researchFew studies/investigations/researchers/attemptsNone of these studies/ findings/calculationsOther formsHowever/while…It remains unclear…It would be of interest to…It would be interesting to know to what extent…(Paltridge & Starfield, 2007)

It’s okay not to be definite…

• Suggest (that)• Imply (that• Infer (that)• Interpret• Assume (that)

Appear (that/to)LeadSeem toSupport …. (that)May / might be

it’s okay not to be definite…

mainly largely substantially typically most/mostly

probablyto some extentmore or lessin part/partly

Making evaluative comments

The authors provide a useful summary of ….

These studies have emphasised ……, which may be important because….

This survey of the literature suggests that this approach might be effective when….

It seems, therefore, that further investigations are needed in order to…

Generalise but then discuss and reference the literature…

Although considerable research has been carried out on the relationship between brand identity and corporate reputation, it is not clear whether a strong brand builds reputation or whether other factors are involved.

The research has tended to focus on ……, rather than….

May point out limitations

“To date the research has not addressed whether or not students who are bullied are also likely to......”

“Benold and Michaels (2008) do not seem to have considered the most important question of whether bullied students are.........”

“The research methods used suffer from some limitations concerning students’ confidentiality......”

Before you start searching or reading …

What are the key questions about the research question that you might need to explore?

Write a list of possible questions about your topic.

Start by writing your topic as an overall question and then look for questions it includes (sub-questions)

As you search for and find material…

Adjust and scoping the topic and questions:Think about key concepts and links ways people have studied the topic time-sequenced development of the topic indicate the links between them. add to or change this as your knowledge of the

field grows.

Start with more general material…

Books, including textbooks, can provide a general introduction to a topic.

Chapters in edited books and journal articles will probably be more specific.

Journal articles which report on research studies will be more specific again.

Reviewing the literature: process

Determine your purpose What is the question or problem at the centre of

your research?Decide what to read (scan, skim, select) and

how to read itEngage critically with the readings (study)

Ask questions as you readMake notes and organise your ideas

List the important topics or themes to be coveredWrite throughout the process

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The process cont.

Engage critically with the literature Ask questions as you read Do you compare, analyse, discuss strengths and

weaknesses? (go beyond listing and summarising) Have you found contrary studies?

Organise your ideas List the important topics or themes covered Use a conceptual framework

Write throughout the process

“It’s like putting an octopus in a box”

After some reading, write 1-2 pages

My idea for a research question / topic is ….This is a significant topic to study because…Researchers who have studied this topic say…They consider the key factors to be…They debate the issue(s) of…There is room for more work on…

Writing the literature review

Make an explicit connection between the thesis topic and the literature being covered

Integrate evidence from sources so that it becomes part of your text

Write in paragraphs

Referencing

See Te Puna Ako Learning Centre’s Moodle resources here: http://moodle.unitec.ac.nz/mod/resource/view.php?id=10923

Plagiarism occurs when writers use other people's ideas and words in an assignment and present them as their own ideas and words, without acknowledging or referencing the source.

What lecturers / supervisors look for:

All key literature is includedThe focus of the LR is clearNot‘a list of everything I’ve read’All sources are relevantWriter shows a good understanding of previous research on the topic

Relationships between ideas are clear

There is critical analysis of the ideas

References

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Cottrell, S. (2008). The study skills handbook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Davies, M. (2012). Study skills for international postgraduates. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Godfrey, J. (2009). How to use your reading in your essays. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ridley, D. The literature review: A step-by-step guide for students. London: Sage.

Swales, J., & Feak, C. (2004). Academic Writing for Graduate Students: A course for nonnative speakers of English (2nd Ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Waldvogel, J. (2001). Email and workplace communication: A literature review. Language in the Workplace Occasional Papers, 3, 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/centres-and-institutes/language-in-the-workplace/docs/ops/op3.pdf

University of Canberra. (2008). Writing a literature review. Retrieved from http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/literature

University of New South Wales. (2013). Getting started on your literature review. Retrieved from https://student.unsw.edu.au/getting-started-your-literature-review

Wallace, M., & Wray, A. (2006). Critical reading and writing for postgraduates. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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