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Reading Description:

Ragusa, A. T. (2012). Conducting a literature review. In Writing for the social sciences (pp. 83-113). Frenchs Forest, NSW : Pearson Australia. Reading Description Disclaimer: (This reference information is provided as a guide only, and may not conform to the required referencing standards for your subject)

Conducting a literature review

CHAPTER

KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES

84 Writing for the social sciences

5.1 Introduction

This chapter builds upon your growing knowledge about how to choose an appropriate research topic for your writing task and audience, commenced in Chapter 3. Chapter 5 will require you to recall the steps in the research process and research question crea

tion, as well as remembering that the same research question can be approached differently, as discussed in Chapter 4. Having thought about the relevance of social research, how aca

demic writing differs from everyday language and communication, what the terms 'qualitative methodology' and 'quantitative methodology' imply and how writing style , tone and form affect the messages conveyed, as presented in Chapters l and 2, you are now ready to move

on to literature reviews. A literature review is a 'critical analysis of the existing research lit

erature, theoretical and empirical , related to a research topic. It informs us of what is known and not known about our topic' (Walter, 20 10 , p. 43). By learning how to search, locate and compile research conducted by other authors, each with their own focus, purpose, skills and

resources, Chapter 5 will teach you how to conduct a literature review, which is typically undergraduates' first major 'output' in the process of 'doing' social research.

5.2 Where do I begin? Commencing literature reviews in

four specific steps

Let's imagine you have a vague idea of a research topic you wish to investigate. Rather than a short essay for a single subject, we shall pretend this is a major third-year research project.

Not as complex as an honours thesis , but a substantial project requiring an 8000-word report that consolidates what is known on a major topic. For simplicity, let's agree the broad

research topic is 'urbanisation'. The research question, yet to be created, must address the

broader purpose of the investigation. The purpose of the investigation is to examine whether the population growth being experienced in Australian metropolises is 'good' or 'bad'. The assignment instructions explicitly state you are required to 'think critically' about the topic and must 'provide solid evidence for your argument'. The implicit purpose of the assessment

is to serve as a vehicle for you to showcase your developing social science skills by conduct

ing an academic literature review. Where do you begin? I recommend you begin with the following four steps:

5.2.1 Literature review Step 1: Time management

Recalling your 'procrastination style' , or styles , identified in Chapter 3 , step one is to plan how you will tackle this project. The long-term goal, completion of the literature review, is

obvious. What remains ambiguous is how this will be achieved. Begin the task by obtaining a

paper or electronic calendar. Review each major event that stands between now and when the

task is due. Next, block out time each week so the 14 major tasks listed in Box 5A, Planning to achieve major literature review tasks, can be completed by your deadline. Although it might be hard to figure out how much time to allocate to each task, especially if this is your first

time writing a literature review, remember you can always return to previous tasks should you hit a stumbling block, or if one item takes longer than another to complete. For example, perhaps you uncovered a j ournal article that you think is crucial to your argument. A quick

read of the abstract reveals, however, it is only written in Swedish, or requires delivery from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Perhaps another reference you need is a book that someone else already borrowed from the library last week. Additionally, the photocopier is

broken and your memory stick is full so you can't save copies of the articles you found this morning anytime soon. Each of these stumbling blocks can and has happened to me in the

Chapter 5- Conducting a literature review 85

past! Try not to stress . Experience reveals 'crucial' articles can fail to live up to your expecta

tions, individuals do return books if they are recalled and there is always another task that

requires some work while you are waiting to complete another one.

Task 1 Task 2

Task 3

Task 4

Task 5

Task 6

Task 7

Task 8 Task 9 Task 10

Task 1 1

Task 1 2 Task 1 3

Keyword and social science database identification -tai lori ng each to your top ic and task Information searching- search i ng l i brary cata logues and databases e lectron ica l ly and manua l ly Form location and completion- i dentifyi ng req u i red forms, such as interlibrary loan requests for unavai lab le hardcopy items and/or de l ivery of journa l artic les from journa ls ne ither pu rchased nor subscri bed to by you r l i b rary Document retrieval- savi ng e lectron i c files and/or photocopyi ng or borrowing hard cop1es Reference management- creat ing a system to l i st and manage a l l i n formation co l l ected Reading and highlighting documents- tai lori ng notes to e l ectron i c and hardcopy formats Outline creation- maki ng notes about what docu ments exi st on each aspect of the top ic

·

Outline revision- u pdati ng your outl i n e as you read further about the top ic Writing commencement- sum maris ing key poi nts based u pon the l iteratu re read Argument development- deve lop ing an argu ment, or perspective, on the top ic i n l ight o f avai lab le a n d m i ss i ng i nformation, noti ng strengths a n d l i m itat ions o f past research Writing revision- refin ing the argument, proofread ing for grammar and checking for logical progression of thought, ba lance of top ic coverage, comp l et ion of key sect ions and evidence of assert ions Citation checking- ensuring a l l quoted and paraphrased information is correctly cited Reference list writing- formatt ing the reference l i st correctly and maki ng sure a l l references cited were used and a l l citations i n the text are l i sted i n the reference l i st

Task 1 4 Document completion- proofread i ng the final d raft i n l ight of assessment criteria, requ i red parts, overa l l 'flow' and qua l ity of the review and argu ments presented

The next section will help you learn how to choose keywords . Keyword selection may

seem trivial, yet it is truly an important first step in the literature review process . Subsequent sections will go through the process of searching for past research, figuring out what's important when reading others' research and selecting ideas from the growing mountain of infor

mation you will soon have uncovered. These preliminary steps will prepare you for writing a

literature review and will help you to understand academic social research better.

5.2.2 Literature review Step 2: Keyword selection

When it comes to selecting keywords, it helps not only to know what you are looking for, but also where to find the most useful information. Identifying keywords is a skill , much like writing, that develops over time. Unlike learning how to correctly use the English

language , learning how to choose keywords for literature review searches does not have steadfast 'right' or 'wrong' rules . Instead, successful keyword selection involves figuring out what approach will be the most efficient and appropriate use of your time . Returning to our example, please make a list of IO keywords you might use to conduct a literature review on the topic of urbanisation. Make sure the keywords will permit you to write a

review discussing whether Australia's metropolises are 'good' or 'bad' .


Keywords

l .

2 .

3 .

4 .

5 .

6 .

7 .

8 .

9 .

1 0.

How did you find this task? The degree to which you found it simple or challenging is likely to be related to your familiarity and knowledge about the topic.

Next, review each keyword and try to identify what social science discipline might conduct research related to the word or phrase. For example , I think the keywords 'housing' and 'traffic' might provide some useful insights about how land use and development in Australia's large cities, such as Sydney, affect people's perceptions of whether cities are 'good' or 'bad'. There are several disciplines which look at housing and traffic issues. These

include urban planning, geography, demography, sociology, environmental management, policy, law and political science, to name a few. Each discipline will approach the topic

from a different perspective and is likely to be interested in different issues related to hous

ing and traffic. For example , political scientists might have conducted research about how different local and federal governments implemented strategies and policies to alleviate , or prevent , specific conditions , such as poverty, crime or pollution. In contrast, demographers

may have examined how population growth in Australia's capital cities affected housing supply and demand or traffic flow. Aside from disciplinary-specific foci, each researcher will approach the issue from his or her particular interest - topically, methodologically and

theoretically. With this in mind, you will also need to consider if you only are interested in looking at any particular way an issue was examined. For example , after settling on a subtopic, such as traffic, you then might focus only on research that used a particular methodology, such as interviews , or studied urbanisation from a specific theoretical perspective ,

such as economic cost-benefit analysis. Alternatively, your review may choose to focus on a specific timeframe, such as post-2005 , location, such as which Australian city, and on

and on. For now, however, let's keep the issue simple so we can further explore how to conduct a literature search.

5.2.3 Literature review Step 3: Library and electronic

literature searches

After careful initial consideration of the implications of your research focus and keyword choice, it is best to start searching before you attempt to further refine your ideas. Equipped with a few keywords, where do you begin? There are three major places to begin the litera

ture review search. These include the library, the internet and other individuals.

a) Accessing the library: catalogues, databases and resource type

The first place I recommend you begin your academic literature review research is searching your university's library catalogue. The library catalogue contains all resources held at your institution and typically includes books, journals , electronic media, such as DVDs and

CDs, archival data , such as old newspapers or documents no longer in print, and a range of other specific collections , such as theses and dissertations , items related to exhibitions,

research institute or centre reports , government documents , and more. If you are unsure


how to access or use the library catalogue, it is best to seek assistance from an expert, particularly a librarian. Librarians are very knowledgeable professionals who are often happy to assist you with learning how to obtain information needed for research. They also can advise what electronic and hardcopy resources might be available, as well as point you in the right

direction about how and where to access various databases.

There are several reasons why I recommend beginning your literature review search at a university library, rather than with the second or third resources listed. Two reasons will be discussed. The first and principal reason is: the library has done some of the hard work for you already ! Academic libraries have staff trained in the acquisition of relevant texts. In other words , if a resource is found in a university library, chances are it will be of reasonably good quality for use by university students. Of course this does not apply to every item you find in university libraries. Increasingly university libraries are acquir

ing items for recreational or pleasurable reading. Nevertheless , university libraries are far more likely to hold textbooks, research books and academic journals which will be useful for conducting a literature review. Searching university libraries may thus produce more

relevant resources than typing the same keywords into web search engines. We will discuss the internet next. For now, let's stay fotused on library research.

Hardcopy library collections fall into at least two categories : reference material (typically unable to be borrowed) and non-reference material (available for lending). The sec

ond reason I recommend beginning your search at a university library is because some of the most useful reference material available sits in university libraries' 'reference' sections. Reference material often is found in hard copy and readily found by perusing the library's

bookshelves. Reference materials of interest to social science students include encyclopaedias , yearbooks, the latest editions of academic journals and, sometimes, newly acquired books. These might vary by institution; for example, some libraries never let academic j ournals be taken out of the library, but, in my experience, this list is fairly typical of the

types of material unavailable for borrowing. So, in order to get the most up-to-date material , you might have to physically make a trip to the library and do some note taking and! or photocopying. Other material available at libraries is on microfilm. Microfilm may be

required to research historical records , but is often unnecessary for many social research

proj ects , unless they are historical in context.

Non-reference material, in contrast, relates to the vast majority of books and other mate

rial able to be borrowed. These might be more convenient to obtain, since you can take them out of the library and read them at your preferred time and location, but they might be already on loan, outdated or unavailable at the particular branch you are visiting. Thus, you might have to fill in a variety of forms to have the desired item shipped or recalled. This is another reason why I recommend beginning at the library. Library research, both manual

and electronic, can be more time-consuming and may involve a longer waiting period to

obtain the desired resources than internet resources.

After trawling through the library catalogue and bookshelves, you will be ready to begin online searching which should produce a plethora of academic books and journal articles.

Academic books come in two varieties : I) sole authored and 2) edited. Books written by a single or multiple authors follow a 'start to finish' format and typically contain an in

depth presentation of a topic. For example, The Experience of Middle Australia by Pusey (2003) offers a good example of a socioeconomic academic book you might wish to con

sult to explore urbanisation. In contrast, Demographic Change in Rural Landscapes, edited by Luck, Black and Race (20 10) offers several chapters on different topics and aspects of

demographic change, each written by different authors. Although this book might also be insightful, chances are some chapters may be relevant and others irrelevant. If you find a

chapter in an edited book useful to your research, be sure to keep a record of the citation to both the specific chapter, including page numbers , and the edited book in which it is


contained. Both bits of information will be required for your reference list. Textbooks and

encyclopaedias might also be worthwhile to consult, although academically they are con

sidered inferior resources when conducting social research. These resources are best used

to inform your broad reading about a topic and should be kept to a minimum when writing up your literature review and reference list.

In addition to academic books, journal articles and published conference papers are the principal means by which written social research is presented to professional communities.

The first place to begin online searching is with university libraries' electronic journal databases. Each social science discipline has a list of academic journals where researchers prefer to publish. This list corresponds to the difficulty and practicality of getting one's research

published. It also relates to journals' rankings by the Australian Government and 'citation

index' measures. Ideally, the criteria used to determine the quality of an academic journal relates to the rigour of the research published, professional status of its editorial board members and a range of other criteria which vary by time and place. As you gain familiarity with

reading academic journal articles , discerning differences in quality among journal articles will become more apparent. If you are unsure which journals are the best for your disci

pline, a good place to start is the discipline's professional association, such as the Australian

Psychological Association or the Australian Sociological Association. Alternatively, if you're conducting multidisciplinary research, searching the keywords 'journal' and 'ERA' on the

Australian Government's Australian Research Council website, <www.arc.gov.aulera>, will locate a long list of rankings for every academic journal in every discipline.

Although academic journals are rated according to their quality, the publication of academic research in one journal or another is also determined by research topic. For exam

ple, in 20Il, the journal Rural Society (RS) is an example of what is known as a 'C-ranked' j ournal. This journal's ranking is in contrast to that of the American journal of Sociology (AJS) , an 'A-ranked' journal, according to the Australian Government. What gets published in AJS differs greatly from articles in RS. Although AJS is ranked higher than RS, researchers wishing to publish rural social research may find it difficult to get published in AJS if the research topic, choice of methodology and/or disciplinary focus fails to conform to the jour

nal's requirements. Australian rural social research may be deemed 'irrelevant to' or 'beyond the scope' of AJS , even if it is of high quality. Further, there is a long sociological history of elitism associated with academic publishing. For these and other reasons, I encourage you

to not dismiss references located in one publishing outlet versus another when researching

your topic simply because of a publisher's (for example, Harvard University Press) or journal's status (for example, A- versus C-rated journals). At the undergraduate level, you do

not need to be overly concerned about the quality rating of specific academic journals. It is a good idea, however, to be aware of them so when you are sourcing journal articles you can at least aim for a variety. Personally, it is my experience as an editor of an academic journal

that articles published in lower-ranked journals are theoretically and/or methodologically

less rigorous than those published in outlets at the pinnacle of their discipline or multidisciplinary approach. Again, this does not mean good research is only published in high-ranked journals.

When trying to decide the strengths and limitations of each article read, always keep in

mind what the article contributes for your research purposes. For example, when researching the pros and cons of urbanisation, you might identify lack of attention to non-economic fac

tors , such as quality of life, as highly important. This may be overlooked among researchers

at all levels in one discipline, irrespective of the quality of their research. Alternatively, per

haps multiculturalism is a theoretical lens you wish to apply. As you read widely, you notice some articles discussing inner-city neighbourhoods in Sydney mention multiculturalism, yet

others ignore culture entirely. When writing your literature review, if multiculturalism is an

issue important to you, you should discuss the strengths and limitations of each book, book

Chapter 5- Conducting a l iterature review 89

chapter, journal article, etc. in light of this requirement, the one you created, that urbanisation

research that includes culture is useful for understanding key issues (which you would list) .

Finally, it is worth noting that students often find it hard to decipher what authors are try

ing to communicate in journal articles , particularly quantitative articles. Not only is journal writing a unique style, but the structure and content of journal articles may differ by discipline, topic and methodology. Journal articles present a limited 'snapshot' in time about an

issue which may leave readers wondering how examples discussed fit into a broader context. If you find journal articles complex or confusing, try reading more broadly around the keywords you used to locate specific articles. Further, should you find yourself at a loss about where to find additional information, a good place to start is to look up some of the refer

ences at the end of the journal articles . This process will also help you to understand how authors use others' works. For example, if an article by John Jones cited Marylin Kerrington,

then obtaining Kerrington's article will help you understand how Jones used and cited her work. Hopefully, Jones correctly understood Kerrington's ideas and reproduced/cited them correctly !

As we finish this section, it is important to note research should not be faulted simply because its author failed to focus on whatever you wish she or he had focused upon. An

appropriate way to acknowledge such limitations in the literature is to explain the lack of

inclusion of speCific theories , methodological approaches, locations, social groups or whatever, as a 'knowledge gap'. A key purpose of literature reviews, in addition to explaining what

past research found, is to highlight what remains unknown. You therefore should group your

references and their findings in a meaningful way so you can help your reader understand which studies focused on what topics, why, and with what outcome or results . We will discuss the process of writing literature reviews later. Right now, let's move on to searching the

internet more broadly.

b) Accessing the 'world wide web'

Hopefully, you will be able to resist the temptation to 'Google' your topic before conduct

ing academic research even when using the internet to access academic databases. Should you choose to complete the second step first, you will have to sift through vast quantities of

questionable-quality information readily available on the web. Whenever you are ready to search the general world wide web, there are several different

approaches you can take. Most students tend to type keywords directly into various search engines and see what comes up. I call this the 'lucky dip' approach to research. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes unlucky. If this helps you to 'get it out of your system' , then go

right ahead. Set aside one or two hours for random searching and see what you uncover. Before you 'point and click' at every one of the thousands of web pages produced by this strategy, however, please consider following the six web-searching guidelines found in Box

5B, Guidelines for successful academic web searching.

1 . Use keywords consistently- changi ng keywords u sed each t i me you search wi l l p rod uce u n systemat ic resu lts. Try searc h i ng the same keyword u s i ng severa l d ifferent search eng i n es u nt i l you have exhausted that word. The pages appeari ng first are those the program be l i eves most c lose ly match you r search terms. After go i ng th rough the first few pages, proceed to the n ext search eng i n e and see i f the same pages resu l t. Once you no l onger find n ew worthwh i l e pages, p roceed to the n ext keyword and repeat the process.

(Continued)


2. Use general academic search engines first- searching with academic search engines , such a s Google Scho lar, i s more l ike ly to yie l d m aterial appropriate for inc l u sion in an academic literature review than searching Google a lone.

3. Avoid chat rooms, blogs, tweets and other opinion-based or 'social' sitesacademic socia l research seeks to provide information re lated to social patterns and trends , scientifical ly conducted experiments and other data which supersedes individua l opinions co l l ected in a non-research fashion. While some social science studies use these sites as a source of data, it's best to avoid them for literatu re rev1ews.

4. Prioritise government and non-government organisation websites- the Austra l ian Govern m ent, state and l oca l govern ments, U nited N ations , Worl d H ea lth Organisation , discip l inary-specific professiona l associations , u niversities , we l l - known corporations , such as Te l stra , or in stitutions re lated to the provision of h ea lth care, social we lfare, crimina l j u stice , etc., or topic-specific gro u ps and phi lanthropic organisations , such as Landcare or the Benevo l ent Society, wi l l have data of a more reputable q u al ity suitab l e to academic socia l science research than individ ua l websites, such as Spu n kyGirl 202 ' s homepage.

5. Note the date the site was updated and its author- internet data risks becoming dated j u st like information pub lished e l sewhere. Yet, the web can be u pdated more readily than books can be written. Th us, it may be acceptab le to use a fiveyear-o ld book, but not a 2005 website. Also, identifying web page authors , and their qualifications , can be tricky. Be sure to locate the sou rce of who said what.

6. Search for 'conflicts of interest' -the web is a largely u n po liced resou rce when it comes to assessing how, or if, whoever is p romoting something stands to benefit from its promotion. You m u st be extra-cautiou s to determine how information might be ' biased '. For instance, if you visited Dairy Australia's site and found them promoting the benefits of mil k, you might not be su rprised. E l sewhere, however, the con nection between a web page , its author and affiliations may be l ess transparent. Research reported on the web is a l so harder to trace back to the gro u p or organisation that fu nded the research , which m u st be open ly acknowledged in academic journa l artic l es.

Finally, when searching the web broadly for information for a literature review, it might help to recall the difference between basic research and applied research, covered

in Chapter 4. Being cognisant of the rationale underscoring a research proj ect may help you gain insight about why it was conducted in the first place, the types of resources

and funding available and any intended purposes, or anticipated use, of the outcomes.

Most private organisations and governmental departments carry out 'research' on a regular basis. This type of applied research, however, rarely resembles academic social science

research. Perhaps better labelled 'program evaluation' , applied research is often conducted as part of benchmarking or managerial exercises designed to improve performance or serv

ice delivery. Therefore , it is unlikely to follow stringent social science research methodology. In other words , samples may not be random, ethics or informed consent might not be obtained, data collected may not be anonymous and the anticipated use of the findings is

unlikely to be revealed. For these, and many other reasons, you need to treat research findings presented in popular culture (i. e. media) and general society differently. For example,

it is common practice for magazines to report 'statistics' , such as '89% of young men think the fragrance "this will make me popular" improved their ability to get a date'. Media sur

veys never seem to report how many people they asked, how the sample was collected, the

type of sampling frame used, and all the other details you will encounter reading academic

research journal articles and book chapters. In the current example , 89% might only refer to the majority of their IO young male colleagues questioned in a rush to get a news article finished on time.


c) Accessing non-written information

Some students turn to non-academic information as a means to augment, personalise or otherwise evidence the academic material sourced for a topic . Although such information does not qualify as academic research, there are specific situations when using your social

networks can help deepen your understanding of an issue. For example, let's pretend your next-door neighbour is a judge. You have known your neighbour for some time and feel suf

ficiently comfortable asking her if she wouldn't mind answering a few questions to help you with a research project after she finishes pruning her roses . This results in a mutually pleas

ant hour-long chat about her experiences as a successful professional woman in the legal field, as well as her opinions on the future of Australia's criminal justice system. Can, and if so how does this contribute to your academic research if you were writing a literature review

on gender and the legal system?

Similar to other information sources, you must consider the quality of the reference in question. Judges tend to be respected community members and have several years of profes

sional training and experience to back their assertions, at least those related to their profession. Nevertheless, a single judge remains just one individual who produces opinions from one human's perspective. This is why, no matter how knowledgeable or useful any individu

al's opinion may be, no matter who it is , for academic purposes it is categorised as personal

commentary. Personal comments can be referenced as Harrington (pers . comm.) , depending on the referencing system.

There are at least three cases when personal commentary might be sought for academic literature reviews . These exist in contrast with conversations conducted as part of focus groups, interviews or surveys, which might constitute the 'research data' component of your

social science project. First, individual advice may be sought to gain broader or deeper understanding of the topic. Such information may, or may not, be included in the final document

and might better be recognised in the 'acknowledgments' section of the paper. Second, it may

be desirable to get the opinions of 'key informants' as specific individuals with crucial knowl

edge. For instance, if you were writing a history project on retired political officials and had access to the retired mayor of your town, it might be highly useful to seek his or her opinion

about confusing or competing information you found in historical records, for instance. This

can help you better understand the relationship between academic research findings and

implications relative to the local environment or constituents . Third, some information is simply unavailable from academic sources. An example might be culturally relative infor

mation, particularly the stories and traditions shared by historically oral cultures, such as native peoples, or information which is too sensitive or illegal to be written down, such as Mafia records. Personally, I do not recommend undergraduates adding personal commentary

conducted for either of the last two reasons to undergraduate papers written for academic

assessment. The main purpose of learning how to write academic literature reviews is to gain

social research skills . Most individuals are well equipped to carry out casual conversations. Therefore, students' time is better spent learning how to access less familiar or everyday types

of knowledge by consulting the plethora of information available from other sources.

5.2.4 Literature review Step 4: Retrieving and organising information

Fairly early in the searching process you should identify how many references of each specific type you will aim to collect. For example, an 8000-word paper on urbanisation may require

at least 20 academic references, plus 5 websites referring to the most recently available sta

tistics, plus perhaps a few casual examples from news media articles or other contemporary sources. Personally, from the 20 academic references, I would expect my students to include up to 5 academic books (to gain a broad theoretical and historical knowledge of key issues

from disciplinary perspectives) and 5 book chapters or encyclopaedia articles , which might


provide case studies or comparative analyses of specific places, if available. The remaining 10 references I would expect to be academic journal articles , both quantitative and qualitative

in nature . This advice is purely based on my expectations which are in line with assessment norms at my university. I strongly encourage you to consult with your subject coordinators and/or supervisors to identify the literature review norms and expectations in both your dis

cipline and institution. Regardless of the type and quantity of information retrieved, it is imperative you practise

good record-keeping skills. Staying organised is half the battle of writing a successful literature

review. Time and again literature reviews include references that are not included in the reference list, contain incomplete citations, misspell authors' names, associate the title of a work

with the wrong author or fail to include complete publishing details, such as place of publication. This step in the literature review process is an exercise in detail management. There are a

few different ways you can manage all the details required to complete a literature review. We will examine two specific options: word processing and Endnote.

a) Staying organised using word processing

Although available, special computer programs are not required for you to stay organised

when writing a literature review. If you are more comfortable simply using word processing,

then this can be sufficient. I recommend that as soon as you begin the project you create a separate electronic folder titled 'literature review' . In this folder, place a copy of every electronic journal article collected whilst searching. If you viewed a website , 'cut and paste' use

ful information from the site into a Word document, along with the web address, or save it as an HTML file. Create a separate document for hardcopy resources accessed and used. If you can cut and paste reference details retrieved while searching electronic databases, then this

can save you extra time and typing. You might find it helpful to organise your Word docu

ment using the outline provided in Box 5C, Organising references using Word.

-ganising referen

Literatu re review for: Pros and cons of urbanisation in Austra l i a (topic/title of paper) Due date: 3 1 Decem ber 20 1 1

1 . References obtained:

( place 'x' in front of those read ) _x_ Author ( l ast name, first): Wi nston , Fred Z.

Title: How to live in the box Pu b lisher detail s: journal of Urban Studies, 20 1 1 , Vol. 3, I ssue 2, pp. 1 03-1 1 4 Top ic detai l s: Pros and cons of apartment livi ng i n America I nc l ude? No

__ Author (last name, first): Title: Pu b l i sher deta i l s: Topic details:

2. References requested:

Author (last name, fi rst): Title: Pu blisher details: Date req uested:


Box SC demonstrates one way you can organise information collected for a literature review. This is but one example and the possibilities are endless, so please tailor the document to suit

your specific needs and objectives. I find it helpful to identify if each reference will be included

in the final version of my literature review. It is up to you to decide if you should include all information collected, even if superfluous to the current study. I advise honours and postgraduate students to keep a record of all references collected so, as the list grows, for long or

in-depth research projects, it remains available should they suddenly change focus. Keeping all work previously collected for future consultation may be a waste of your time for other tasks.

If you are preparing to write an essay on a topic unrelated to your major, or which you are certain you will never look at again, at least for the next five years, then you may only wish to keep track of those references worthwhile to the current project. The aim is to not make this

organisational strategy so onerous or complex that it takes you away from the main task, which

is writing a literature review.

b) Staying organised using Endnote

Over time companies developed a number of software programs to assist researchers' management of references. One such program is called Endnote. The program Endnote does not refer to the-endnotes used as an alternative to footnotes in a document. Rather, it refers

to a program which is available for purchasing and/or downloading to assist you with reference management. Some universities offer this program as a free service available to

all students , or at least to research students . Should you wish to use Endnote, it is best to contact your university's Department of Information Technology to detect the program's

availability.

There are several benefits to using Endnote instead of a Word document. First, some electronic journal article databases permit you to directly download citation details into Endnote,

thus saving you time and typing. Second, if you are conducting a long-term project, or you

plan to continue researching the topic as part of your higher education, career or work, then you will be constructing an invaluable resource guide for yourself. Third, if you proceed to

publish from documents written using Endnote, some journals have the capacity to let you directly import your references from the program to their website. Fourth, and by no means the least worthwhile , is the ability of computer programs such as Endnote to permit you to specify the publisher's required referencing system, such as 'APA', the American Psychological

Association, or 'CMOS' , the Chicago Manual of Style, with a click of the mouse rather than reformatting every reference.

Despite the advantages of using referencing software , there are also disadvantages .

Hardcopy material will have to be manually typed regardless of whether you use Word or Endnote. As with other software , programs go in and out of fashion as well as require updating which might have costs associated with obtaining the latest version. Taking

time to fill in every optional field in the program might lead you to procrastinate , thereby spending more time perfecting the database than writing the literature review. Finally, if

you truly are not going to use all of the information again, perfecting a reference database

might simply be a waste of time . I highlight these considerations not to discourage you from using a software program, but rather to ask you to consider the pros and cons of each option prior to forking over dollars , or taking time for learning how to operate , and hence troubleshoot, another program in our typically time-poor society. This advice particularly applies if your primary purpose is to just finish up a bachelor's degree. Alternatively, if

you are seeking to become a postgraduate student, then I strongly encourage you to invest the time, and reap the rewards , of having a computer help keep your academic reference

records organised.


5.3 Literature reviews: The reading process

Assuming you spent sufficient time planning your topic, researching keywords, collecting books, articles and other information and compiled it all using some organisational strategy, you are now ready to start 'getting your head around' the main issues of relevance to your actual or preliminary research question(s) . But how, you might be wondering, can I ever get

through all this material, or ever know enough about this topic? Perhaps your search efforts resulted in little to no information being found. Or, perhaps you uncovered piles of data .

Either way, the next phase involves reviewing the preliminary material collected and revising your literature review strategy further, if required .

5.3.1 . . . but I searched everywhere and nothing exists

on my topic!!!

Let's begin with the less likely scenario of 'too little information' . If you uncovered too little

information on your topic, then it is highly likely your keywords and/or topic are too specific. In Australia , less research is done on many topics than in some other Western countries with large populations, specifically the United States . This does not mean no useful research exists

in relation to your topic . What it does mean, though, is you might have to think laterally to

locate relevant data. Perhaps your city of choice was Wollongong and your specific research question was: Between 2009 and 20IO how did inner-city living in Wollongong affect its residents' quality of life? I have not researched whether others previously investigated this

topic, but I will venture to guess a specific literature review would not result in much reading

material for you to write a paper on this research question. What is wrong with approaching our broader research topic, urbanisation, using this research question?

There is nothing inherently wrong with this research question. If you were planning a thesis

or dissertation, it might be perfectly acceptable. For an 8000-word literature review, however, it is problematic because it is too narrow. Conversely, if you set out to conduct a literature review of 'urbanisation in Australia' you would have the opposite result: too much information.

Conducting a successful literature review search requires you to find enough information on a sufficiently specific topic to create an informed discussion of a meaningful issue.

Should you find yourself finding too much, or too little , relevant academic research, review and revise the principal focus of your paper, and research questions, until you are satisfied. This might require some assistance from an experienced social researcher, so seek

out additional help if possible. Alternatively, obtain copies of past papers or students' writing samples so you can see what a 'good' literature review should look like . Then, you can scale the size of the project up or down accordingly.

5.3.2 Help ... I'm drowning in information! How to prioritise reading

material

Chances are all your searching will result in too much, rather than too little, information for you to read. Half of learning how to conduct a literature review involves figuring out

what not to waste your time reading. Remember, time is one of our most limited resources.

A downfall of some of the best and brightest students is becoming overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information that faces them when researching topics academically . A word of advice here: you need to become the 'master of knowledge' about your topic. It is up to you

to sit in the driver's seat and actively decide what information will best assist you to develop

the argument(s) you are seeking to put forth. just like learning how to say 'no' to social invitations, or other non-obligatory demands on our time, so too must we learn to say 'no' to

holding on to every bit of data resourced.

Chapter 5 - Conducting a literature review 95

Learning how to prioritise reading material will come with the more time you spend thinking about your topic. Recalling earlier sections of this chapter, it is best to prioritise using the best

quality information you can obtain. If something is very old (yet not a classically important piece of social theory or groundbreaking study, such as Pavlov's dogs) , obscure (for example, the perception of urban dwelling by adult male accountants who were boy scouts in the Bronx in 194 7 and now serve on the auxiliary committee for 'help the homeless learn to fish' foundation) , irrel

evant, contains a sample size that is too small (N = <10) , compares locations or issues largely noncomparable (for example, Paris and Dubbo) , has questionable methodology (social experiments on infants: will electric shock therapy solve the 'crying baby' syndrome in high-rise living?) , lacks

clarity of thought, contains few to no academic references, excessively references works by the

same author, or themself, was not published or is self-published, is completely incomprehensible

to you, or generally exhibits any other trait which makes you suspect it is simply unsuitable, leave it out!

5.3.3 How do I know if any of this information

is useful to me?

Once all the superfluous information is culled, return to the writing outline you created for

the document. To identify if 'good quality' information is useful for your paper, first read the

abstract, or summary, of each document obtained. Second, write the document's title (or author's last name(s)) plus each heading or subheading in your outline to see where and if it

might be useful. You might find some very intriguing articles that simply contribute nothing to the argument you are making. If worthwhile, you might mention them at the end of the paper as alternative explanations, research trajectories , etc. , or you may wish to simply leave them out altogether. Continue to briefly read each paper, determining how, where or if each

reference may fit into your document. Once this process is finished, review your outline to see

if you have insufficient, or too much, information for each section. Next, make a note of any unanticipated topics or issues uncovered from your searching. Explore each of these further, as needed, returning to the library and web to locate more information or clarify any discrepan

cies, competing arguments or debates in the literature which arose, until you are sufficiently satisfied (or time runs out ! ) .

5.3.4 Close reading of relevant literature

Informed by your outline and a casual reading of all your 'useful' references, it is time to

begin reading each reference very closely. Use a highlighter, pen or other device to note the

important points each author makes. Write notes in the margin, circle any concepts or words you do not understand (to look up later) and think critically about the arguments being

made. In a notebook, or separate Word document, you may wish to jot down your thoughts

in response to the author's arguments. To help you practise reading in preparation for literature review writing, please locate an

academic book chapter or journal article so you can complete the 'Literature review reading exercise' described in Box SD. Schedule an hour or so to practise subjecting your chapter or

article to the following 'critical reading questions' located in Box SD. Although it is unlikely you will have sufficient time to subject every article , book or book chapter to these questions, simply reading a couple of examples with these questions in mind will help you to develop

your critical reading skills. Learning how to read academic material, for both content and

critical intellectual engagement, will vastly improve your ability to construct an effective literature review. Once this exercise is complete, please proceed to the next section which

discusses how to write a literature review.


Instructions

Writing a literature review involves critically engaging with the academic research and theories available for a topic. Locate an academic journal article or book chapter of your choice and reflect on each question below to critically think about the arguments, data and information it offers.

5.3.5

1 . What is the author's key argument? 2. Do you agree with the position taken or the argu ment( s) being made? Why or

why not? 3. What assum ptions does the author make? I n other words, what information does

she or he assume you know or what stereotypes is she or he making about the topic, sam p le, etc.?

4. H ow cou ld this topic have otherwise been examined? 5. I s the evidence provided sufficient, or of sufficient quality, to support the c laims

made? 6. Cou l d this research be better conducted in another way? I f yes, how so? 7. What underlying theoretical assum ptions are made? 8. Does the research approach the topic from an 'a-historica l ' or 'a-theoretical '

position? I n other words, does it fail to present the topic within an historica l and theoretical context? Or, does it presume the issue to be u niversa l ly app licab le (i.e. the same in a l l times, p laces, cu ltures, etc. )?

9. Are the conc l usions drawn consistent with the data presented? Or, does the author make 'grand assertions ' that exceed the scope of the research project cond ucted?

1 0. Are the references of sufficiently high q uality? Wou l d looking up any of the author's references provide additiona l resou rces of use to you r topic and research task?

Reading and assessing qualitative and quantitative research

Qualitative research and quantitative research differ considerably in their aims, writing style and research methodologies . Subsequently, your reading, interpretation and approach to including these complementary, yet different, research types in your literature review requires you to exercise different evaluation strategies when reading qualitative and quantitative studies. If you are conducting multidisciplinary research, this adds another dimension to

the complexity of conducting literature reviews because research expectations, theories and

methods can and do vary widely, even within the social sciences . In Chapter 6 we will compare qualitative and quantitative writing examples . Here, to specifically help you determine

and develop your reading comprehension skills related to social research methodology for writing literature reviews, I draw upon and expand some of the general guidelines offered by Galvan (2006) , which are summarised in Box 5E, Assessing qualitative and quantitative research for writing literature reviews, to help you start thinking 'like a social scientist' .

After obtaining material for your literature review, identifY whether each piece of research is qualitative, quantitative or a blend of both. Next, apply the 'assessment criteria' below to determine the rigour and quality of each piece of research. Use the notes you take for each study to help you figure out how you will summarise, compare or otherwise convey the findings of each study in preparation for writing your literature rev1ew.


Assessment criteria for qualitative research

1 . IdentifY whether the work was conducted individ ua l ly or by a research team. 2. Check if the researchers sought external advice or expertise. 3. Review the sam pling frame, or strategy, used. 4. See if participants checked transcripts or the analysis for agreement of

interpretation. 5. Examine if sufficient demographics are inc l uded to describe the sam p le. 6. Question if the q ualitative methodo logy used is wel l app lied, exp lained and

referenced. 7. Check the description of participants, use of descriptive statistics and presenta

tion of data is c lear and appropriate.

Assessment criteria for quantitative research

1 . I d entifY if experiments were used. I f not, refer to the research as a 'study', not 'experiment'.

2. Review the samp ling frame. 3. Check if the researchers aimed to detect causality without conducting experiments. 4. Use a 're l iabi lity measure ' to calcu late the 'test-retest' and 'interna l consistency'

re liability of the research instru ments (i.e. q uestionnaires or tests) used. 5. Question the va lidity of the research instruments and the 'response rate '. 6. Check for variation in how the same variab les are measured in different studies. 7. Examine the demographics of both the samp le and popu l ation across studies. 8. Consider if the 'statistical ly significant' fi ndings are indeed meaningfu l.

Source: Summary of Galvan ( 2006) .

Additional information to help you apply the criteria listed in Box SE for assessing different types of academic research is included in this section. Learning how to assess studies' strengths and limitations requires a solid understanding of social research methodology and data analysis for both qualitative and quantitative research. Rarely will knowledge of one,

to the exclusion of the other, be sufficient. Hence, this section seeks to provide you with key foundational concepts for reading, and hopefully eventually understanding, the reporting

of qualitative and quantitative research without seeking to replace research methods or data analysis subjects . The information contained in the following two sections will make the most sense to those with an elementary knowledge of social science research methods. If this is the first time you are encountering the terminology included in these sections, I strongly encour

age you to obtain a social science methods textbook. A deeper understanding of these concepts

will be required in order to fully comprehend most academic research articles encountered whilst reading in preparation for writing a literature review. Hopefully, this brief overview will

at least help you to identify areas where you need to seek further information.

a) Reading and assessing quantitative research

When social scientists , particularly psychologists , speak of 'true experiments' (Galvan, 2006,

p. 45), generally they are referring to a study that contains a 'trial group', otherwise termed a 'test group', and a 'control group' . A 'test group' contains individuals or things which are

administered something aimed at producing a change. For instance, if doctors are trialling the effects of a new medicine, then those in the 'trial group' will receive the drug and those

in the 'control group' will not receive the drug (typically they will receive what is known as a 'placebo' , or sugar tablet, so only the researcher knows which tablet indeed contains the real

medicine) . Hence, they are ultimately seeking to measure what physiological or psychologi

cal change the real drug induces .


All participants in a true experiment should be included using random sampling methodology. In a random sample, every person in the population has an equal chance of being

included in the study, as you may recall from Chapter 4. In an experimental case, the sample would be all those included in the study, such as volunteers who agreed to participate in a drug trial, and the population, the entire group we hope to learn something about, might be all Australians with a certain disease . Collecting a random sample helps to reduce uncontrollable bias, or unanticipated contamination of one's study. Random samples, or experiments where participants are randomly assigned to receive (or not receive) a treatment, are therefore the gold standard for quantitative experimental research because they remove bias.

Sometimes it is impossible to collect a random sample. Non-random samples may be inherently biased. For instance, imagine you want to compare university students' performance. Unless every student has an equal chance of participating, then factors outside the

study may cause whatever results were found, rather than the variables. For example, if I take

a non-random survey of my internal students, then all my distance education students who do not study internally (due to preference, jobs , child care, geography, etc . ) will be excluded. Hence, the topic of my study, perhaps 'preference for online education' , may well produce biased findings . Imagine a key finding was 'students prefer physical classrooms to online

classrooms'. This finding may well be biased if I only surveyed internal students who enjoyed face-to-face education or never tried online education.

Other sampling considerations which must be assessed when reading quantitative research

relate to the conclusions drawn. Quantitative research that seeks to identify causes, yet fails to use a random sample to conduct experiments, may produce inferior findings, which in statistical terms means they are prone to more 'error' . Another common fault of quantitative research is the tendency to use a non-representative sample and then try to make broad generalisations back to the larger population. Handing out a survey to your neighbours and then trying to draw conclusions about the entire city where you live is an example of both over gen

eralising and conducting a non-representative survey. It is often cost and time, as well as access

to the desired sample, which limit researchers' ability to obtain suitable and random samples . It is unlikely, however, that researchers will highlight the weakness of their study. It will

largely be up to you, as the critical reader, to uncover any hidden biases or flaws. You may

come across research which conducted a 'causal-comparative' (Galvan, 2006 , p. 46) study whereby researchers attempt to understand a current condition, such as alcoholism,

by looking for prior causes. Like random samples, using this research methodology also opens the study up to greater criticism for being biased. In this instance, there might be many rea

sons why someone became alcoholic which lie beyond those things the researchers thought to examine as part of the study. Non-experimental studies may measure changes in behaviour,

but they do not attempt to change participants' behaviour. In contrast, social experiments seek to determine 'cause and effect' relationships. Remember, experimental studies seek to scientifically measure and know why a change occurred, such as why a particular drug does or does not

produce an effect. Non-experimental research, in contrast, seeks to observe or compare, but not experimentally change behaviour.

The concept of reliability is a common criteria used to assess quantitative research. Checking whether others' research is 'reliable' , and specifically calculating 'reliability' , requires

at least a basic working knowledge of statistics . As a concept, reliability refers to whether a research 'instrument', which means the tool used to collect the quantitative data (that is, survey,

experiment or questionnaire) , is able to consistently reproduce the same outcome every time it

is used. For example, if I wanted to determine the reliability of a social survey about drinking behaviour I intended to use to conduct alcoholism research, one way I could check the survey's

reliability would be to administer the survey in one of my large introductory subjects during the first week of the semester. I would then re-administer the same survey in the second week of the semester to the same students. By calculating and comparing each individual student's


response provided in the first week with the same individual student's response in the second week of the semester, assuming no major life or environmental changes occurred between the first and second administration, I could determine the survey's reliability by figuring out how

much or little each of the two scores differed. Known as 'test-retest reliability' , when the same research tool is administered within a two-week timeframe, it is reported to be 0 .81 reliable, which fits the accepted range of above 0 .75 and between 0.00 and 1 .00 (Galvan, 2006, p. 46) .

Conceptually, the 'test-retest reliability' check is measuring whether the same students will

receive the same scores during both events. Unreliable tools will yield different results for the same individuals when repeated. In other words, a poor survey might find students who scored

'low' in week one, scored 'average' or 'high' in week two and vice versa.

The term 'internal consistency reliability', obtained by calculating the Cronbach Alpha statistic, refers not to differences in scores when the same test is repeated, but rather to an inter

nal failure of the tool or its administration (Galvan, 2006, p. 47) . Let's take the same alcohol usage survey as an example. Should the survey questions be interpreted differently by different people, or should the researchers who are analysing the questions change how they interpret, or score, questions from one survey to the next, then the result will be low internal consistency. When reading a quantitative piece of research that reports Cronbach Alpha, which ranges

between 0.00 and 1 .00, you should look for a score over 0 .75 . Alpha scores lower than 0 .75

signal the tool used may suffer from internal inconsistency. just because a research tool yielded the same results time and again still does not mean it

is sufficiently suited to measure what you are seeking to measure. To determine this requires checking for validity. Three different types of validity exist: construct validity, criterion

related validity and content validity. Elaborating on how to determine each lies beyond the scope of this book. Social science students interested in advancing their quantitative research

knowledge should consult one of the many quantitative research methods , social science statistics or data analysis books available which offer in-depth coverage of social statistics.

For the purpose of gaining an elementary understanding of quantitative research reporting

whilst reading to write a literature review, we shall very briefly explore the concept of statistical validity. Validity coefficients are expressed using the italicised small letter r and should have a score over 0.30 but less than 1 .00. Conceptually, the concept of validity refers to the notion

that a research instrument indeed measures what it claims it measures. Grade Point Averages (GPAs) , for instance, are said to be valid measurements of students' academic performance.

Imagine you received academic points every time you made a monetary donation to the university. Therefore, the wealthiest students could readily purchase high GP As without studying,

simply by making donations. In this instance, GPAs would fail to be a valid measure of academic performance. Additionally, research tools can be invalid if they are used with the wrong

population. A questionnaire with high validity for university students is unlikely to be valid for preschoolers. Similarly, a psychological tool useful for measuring self-esteem might be useless for determining athletic ability.

Quantitative research which fails to even mention the concepts of validity and reliability,

provides no detail regarding how the statistics were calculated, how the sample was obtained, fails to discuss the sample size, details or population, or offers no references related to any of these, should be signals to you, the reader, that the author is clueless that such concepts, and

the need to report them, are important. This may be indicative of the quality of the quantitative research conducted, or might indicate the author is trying to avoid drawing attention to

problematic methodology or data. In brief, a bit of commonsense thinking, along with statistical rigour, is desirable for high-quality quantitative social research.

Response rates and statistical significance are yet other important figures to consider. A study's response rate refers to how many participants took part in a study in relation to

how many were invited to participate. While there is no definitive basis for determining acceptable response rates , in survey research a response rate of 50% is typically considered

1 00 Writing for the social sciences

acceptable, 60% good and 70% very good (Rubin & Babbie, 2008) . If you mailed 1 00 surveys out and only received 35 fully completed surveys in response to your request, then

your response rate would be 35%. It is becoming common knowledge that Australians are

over-surveyed. Coupled with lack of time or interest , this makes achieving a sufficiently high response rate using random sampling very hard work. Non-random sampling tends to produce high response rates - if researchers have access to specific social groups using networks and contacts . For example, my co-workers and students might be far more likely to

consider completing one of my surveys than a random resident in the Northern Territory. Thus, social scientists note response rates around 25% are common for national random surveys even while cautioning to treat studies with low response rates and non-random

samples with much caution (Galvan, 2006) . Moving on, let's briefly consider how you might 'assess' the 'findings' component of social

science research studies. If you start to find this section 'over your head' , I strongly encourage you to consult extra resources. For a thorough discussion of how to interpret quantitative

research reporting, please see:

Chapter 8, 'Analysing Quantitative Data' , in Walter, M. (20 1 0) , Social Research Methods, 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chapter 1 6 , 'Quantitative Analysis' , in Sarantakos , S . (2005 ) , Social Research , 3rd edition. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

If you're ready to continue , let's review some basic quantitative data analysis so you can continue to gain a rudimentary understanding, or recall past information, presented on the topics below.

We shall first consider what it means if you read 'two variables were strongly correlated'. What is a correlation? When researchers say there is 'an association' or 'correlation' between

variables , they mean the variables move in an identifiable pattern: they both go up, they

both go down or one goes up and the other goes down simultaneously. For example , if the variables 'employment' and 'spending' are correlated, this might reveal: high employment and high spending are 'positively correlated' , low employment and low spending are

also 'positively correlated' , or, less likely, high employment is associated with low spending

('negatively correlated') . It is interesting to note the terms positive and negative do not comply

with their everyday meanings when discussing correlations. Positive correlations go up or down and negative correlations go in different directions. Beyond showing how variables do,

or do not, move in similar patterns, social scientists test for the significance of the relationship between the variables.

Correlations are reported as 'correlation coefficients' and range between - 1 and + 1 . A correlation of 0 is the weakest while a correlation closer to either - 1 , which indicates a strong negative

correlation, or + 1 , which indicates a strong positive correlation 0accard & Becker, 1990) , is the

best - with one exception. The exception is you do not want to find a correlation that equals +

or - l . This is because of a concept known as 'homogeneity', which basically means there is a risk that the two variables might be measuring the same thing.

The type of correlation test used depends upon the type of data involved. The most common association measure used by social scientists is 'Pearson's correlation coefficient' , expressed as

'r'. You will see how this is reported in the next chapter when we discuss how to write quantitative research findings. Just remember how to interpret the number. If r = . 55 , what does this mean? When trying to interpret a correlation coefficient, use the following guidelines: less

than 0 .20 shows a very weak relationship , 0 .21-0 .40 is weak, between 0 .41 and 0 .70 is moderate , between 0 .71 and 0 .91 is high and above 0 .91 is very high (Sarantakos, 2005) .

When studies report 'significant' findings, correlations or otherwise , this should be inter

preted cautiously. Just because the relationship between two variables , such as studying and


high GP A, are significantly related does not necessarily mean that one causes the other. A significant relationship between variables simply means a mathematical test revealed the likelihood that studying and earning a high GPA are more likely to be related to each other than by mere chance. If something occurs by chance, then, like flipping a coin to make a decision,

the issues involved are irrelevant. For instance, the chance of you getting a multiple-choice question right, when there are four answer options, is 25%. Mathematics verifies the prob

ability that something occurs due to chance . For the purposes of writing a social science

literature review, you do not need to know mathematical equations. You will , however, need to think about the size of the significant relationships reported and the type of statistical test

the researchers used to determine significance.

Reading the correlation coefficient (r)number is meaningless unless the relationship was first found to be 'significant' . Many statistical tests , such as Pearson's r, Chi square (x 2) and

t-tests , require the researcher to test for significance. The statistical term 'significance' refers to how much confidence we can have that what was found in our sample can be used as a guide to 'generalise' , or make predictions, about the broader population. In other words, if we

conducted a survey using a random sample of 800 residents living in Albury, how sure we can be that the responses those individuals offered actually reflect the answers all Albury resi

dents would give if we surveyed each and every one of them is measured by significance tests.

Significant relationships are reported by a 'significance level' using a number between 0 and l . The closer the number is to 1 , the less significant the findings. Basically, all significance tests attempt to measure the probability of something happening, such as the probability

that if you are employed you will spend more money. Significance levels , or probability, are reported using the 'alpha' symbol, which is '

a'

. Social scientists accept a minimum alpha level of 0.05 and hope for one of .000, which shows the highest significance possible. In the quan

titative literature, you're likely to encounter three levels of significance reporting, which will appear as : (p < 0.05) , (p < 0 .01) and (p < .00 1 ) . just remember, the lower the significance

level the better because it means it is less likely something found was caused by chance.

You will encounter two important numbers when reading quantitative reports using basic social science statistics. The first number will appear after an italicised letter which alerts you to which statistical test the researchers conducted, such as r or x2. Step one is to make sure this is

an appropriate test to use for the type of data being measured. You should consult social research methodology books to obtain a clear understanding of when to use and how to interpret each

significance test. Second, evaluate the number to see if it fits the description for 'low', 'moderate',

or 'high' correlation if it is a correlation coefficient, or the interpretations offered in the social science methodology textbook for the other statistical tests. Third, you should review the 'level of

significance' offered for the test. Again, findings reported at the p < .001 level are the most sig

nificant. When both 'findings' are reported, you want to ideally locate 'very strong' statistical test findings found at a high level of significance because these may indicate important results were found, such as (r = .80, p < .001) .

The last sentence in the prior paragraph cautions 'may indicate' because comparing and contrasting quantitative research studies requires an understanding of the reported size and type of significance tests researchers reported. It is possible for even a relatively small difference between variables to be significant. This had led some researchers to report 'a relatively

new statistic called "effect size", which measures the size of a difference between groups of participants relative to the differences among individual participants' (Galvan, 2006, p. 52) . Should you see an effect size reported, it is advised below .25 reveals a small difference and above .50 shows a large difference (Galvan, 2006) . To help you determine if findings revealing

'small differences' are meaningful or not to the topic requires investigation beyond statistics , such as questioning the meaningfulness of the findings to the issues and knowledge available.

Determining if findings are meaningful requires you to exercise professional judgment. When writing a literature review, the example offered by Galvan (2006, p . 52) shows how


you might report findings found from reading literature revealing several studies that ana

lysed computer-assisted instruction in English and found it led to small, yet statistically significant, increases in students' grades:

In a series of true experiments at various colleges throughout the United States , experimental groups receiving computer-assisted instruction in English composition consistently made very small but statistically significant gains than the control

groups and mathematics achievement. On average, the gains were only about one percentage point on multiple-choice tests . Despite the statistical significance, these very small gains make the use of the experimental treatment on a widespread basis

problematic because of the greatly increased cost of using it instead of the conventional (control) treatment.

If this was your writing, you would have to note somewhere in the paragraph which studies you reviewed. An appropriate place to include citations to your references, as discussed

in detail in Chapter 7, would be at the end of the first sentence. This would permit readers to know which experiments found these results . The following two sentences are insights the author deduced from reading the studies' findings . Hence, neither of these sentences would

require referencing. Significance measures are largely affected by sample size . Typically, if a study has less

than at least 30 participants Qaccard &: Becker, 1990) , quantitative statistics should not be conducted unless appropriate steps have been taken to 'normally distribute' the sample.

A discussion of normal distribution is beyond the scope of this book, but if you wish to

explore the topic further, look up 'z scores' . In general , just be aware that the absolute minimum number of cases required varies by statistical test. Failure to report how small sample

sizes were adjusted to permit advanced statistical analysis (beyond 'descriptive statistics' which simply report percentages and 'frequencies' , such as how many participants were

men or women) may indicate a lack of statistical awareness, and therefore confidence in the

findings . Other 'red flags' you should note when critically reading quantitative research relate to how

variables are measured and the demographic profile of participants in relation to the targeted

population. Let's consider the first issue, variable measurement. Returning to the alcoholism research example, a first step when reviewing the literature would be to identify all the different

ways alcoholism was defined. Next, read and review how researchers approached explaining and measuring alcoholism by taking note of what variables , or attributes , each study sought to measure. Social scientists usually include a range of demographic variables (age, gender,

ethnicity, occupation, geographic location, etc . ) and several content-specific dependent and

independent variables relevant to the topic which are (hopefully) informed by past research and/or theory. If, when reading journal articles investigating alcoholism, you noticed discrep

ancies in definitions (for example, alcoholism in one article referred to drinking a minimum number of drinks per week and in another article referred to binge drinking plus minimum

drink consumption) , then this might affect the conclusions drawn.

Many factors might explain discrepancies across research studies on the same topic . For example, different research tools may produce different findings (for instance, interviews led to one conclusion and medical experiments led to another) . Answer categories may

affect outcomes . For instance , surveys with close-ended questions, such as Likert scales

with answer options ranging from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree' , can produce different findings than open-ended questions such as, 'Do you consider yourself an alcoholic? ' Researchers in different cultures or locations , or studies conducted at different points in time using similar methodologies , can produce radically different findings . This list can go

on and on . Each example provides you with ample room to compare and contrast so you can ev idence the knowledge gaps, strengths and weaknesses of existing research. In addition


to what is mentioned, be sure to take note of variables and demographic details omitted.

Focusing exclusively on urban populations , undergraduates , men and/or Caucasians are classic drawbacks in the history of social research. The point, however, is not to berate or

insult previous research for its limitations or faults . Rather, the purpose of critically and intently reviewing research findings in the literature is to prevent repeating past mistakes,

identify new areas of research required and ensure future researchers are equipped with the best knowledge possible to commence researching. These are the details you should aim to offer in your literature review.

b) Reading and assessing qualitative research

Similar strategies are commonly employed when reading and assessing the quality of qualitative and quantitative social research. Although qualitative research only tends to use statistics for descriptive purposes, such as describing what percentage of participants fit each demographic category, this does not mean it is any less rigorous than quantitative research.

The first recommendation Galvan (2006) offers is to identify whether a team or individual researcher conducted the research. Qualitative research relies more heavily on individual, and what some quantitative researchers perceive to be subjective, approaches to data analy

sis. Being reassured that a research team collectively reviewed and agreed upon the interpretation of, for instance , interview transcripts , is one way qualitative researchers can aim to achieve 'reliability' , addressing any concerns about subjectivity, as understood quanti

tatively. Regardless of whether an individual or team conducted the qualitative research, I recommend, when reading and trying to determine the quality of qualitative research for discussion in the literature review, you focus on the qualitative methodology cited and references used, as well as the depth of explanation about how interpretations were obtained.

Two subsequent yet related recommendations involve similar concerns about reliability. The utility of whether an individual researcher, or research team, consulted experts 'external' to the project is highly contingent upon the expert's qualifications and the relevance of the

expert's knowledge to the topic. For instance, if you were conducting interviews about 'experiences of Indigenous Australians' , with the purpose of presenting findings from the perspec

tive of participants , then it would be very important for you to have the interview questions reviewed by an Indigenous Australian before the study was conducted. Additionally, the participants should receive a copy of the research findings prior to their publication to ensure accuracy of interpretation. Even if you are an Indigenous Australian, it would also be to

your advantage to have others look at both your research tools and interpretation of find

ings because no single person can represent an entire culture, ethnicity, gender, etc. Every individual will bring his or her own biases and background to reading scientific research. No

matter how hard we try, our experiences affect our social perceptions. Alternatively, if the stated aim of a qualitative research project was to use social theory to interpret the data, then

asking an Indigenous elder if a poststructuralist feminist interpretation of their comments

was correctly applied may not produce the insights desired. In this case, the researcher's demonstrated knowledge of the specific theory and/or the checking of one's data analysis

with a collaborator or expert in poststructuralist feminism would be more appropriate. The purpose of this guideline is to recognise and actively identify any presuppositions brought to

a project as well as confirm whether fastidious preparation was made to minimise bias and accurately interpret the data .

Sampling frames differ for qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research often relies on convenience or purposive samples. Purposive samples, which involve purposefully identifying those individuals best suited to include in the study due to the i r unique characteristics and experiences, are often preferred, but there are times when us ing a convenience sample is legitimate and valid. Qualitative researchers often explo re top i l·s for which it is harder to obtain participants . A specific aim of qualitative research is oft ,· n to


'give voice' to marginalised individuals . When the research purpose is to reveal the perceptions , experiences or situation of a unique group of individuals , then it is not desirable to try to generalise findings to a bigger population. When reading qualitative research, if you find

an author is attempting to use the experiences from a small group of unique individuals ,

such as five homeless people, to make claims about the issue in society more broadly, such as homelessness in Australia , this is undesirable. Any such statements, or assertions , must be qualified using words such as 'may indicate' or 'could inform' .

Please keep in mind that just because research is qualitative does not mean the report

ing of numerical data should be avoided. Qualitative researchers often use percentages and other descriptive statistics to describe their sample. Knowing the demographic details of par

ticipants is helpful for readers to contextualise and interpret the findings. Lack of such data should be pointed out, particularly if and when it impacts on the reporting or understand

ing of key findings. On the other hand, not all qualitative research involves the collection of either demographic or primary data (for example, interviews and focus groups) . Historical comparative and narrative research may, or may not, be suited to the presentation of demo

graphics. It is therefore best to let the topic , and focus of the study, guide your expectations

regarding how and what data is collected and presented. Finally, it is important to check that all research has sufficiently obtained ethics clearance

and informed consent from participants. Any funding used to support the research should be clearly acknowledged, as should the assistance received from others regarding the develop

ment of ideas . All methodologies and theories used should be well defined and explained, or at least referenced so readers can consult the literature to decide for themselves whether the author's interpretation and use is correct. Regardless of methodology, assumptions and assertions should be sufficiently evidenced and any vague terms, such as 'most participants', should be clarified. In quantitative studies, there is less tolerance for numerical ambiguity than

in qualitative research. If a qualitative study uses terms such as 'few' , 'many' , 'some' , then at least a statement clarifying what these terms mean in relation to the project (for example, few

= <25%) is essential . Otherwise, readers may well interpret the results differently than the author intended.

5.4 Literature reviews: The writing process

You are ready to begin the writing process after you feel you have at least a novice's understanding of the topic . Do not expect to become an expert on the issues overnight! Still , it is

important to not put writing off until you feel you have mastered a topic, which will often be too late and is a form of procrastination. You might find some of your earlier ideas or infor

mation get relocated, or deleted, from the final draft, but it is worthwhile to at least begin summarising some of the key points and findings after you have read a handful of documents completely. So, without further fanfare, let's examine how to start writing literature reviews.

5.4.1 How to begin writing a literature review

With most of the preparation and library and web searching behind you, it is time to begin writing the review. Literature reviews, like other forms of writing, differ slightly in scope and

type depending upon disciplinary style. Thus, I cannot overstate the importance of obtain

ing a good exemplar on which you should model your writing. This section offers a general approach to writing literature reviews in the social sciences .

Undergraduates new to writing literature reviews tend to take either a topical or a chrono

logical approach to presenting information. A 'topical' approach organises information found according to topic. For instance, all prior research related to the broad topic urbanisation could

he explored by listing research conducted on each sub-topic located during the literature review

sl·arches. Details related to 'migration', 'housing policy', 'infrastructure' and 'social attitudes' , for


instance, would proceed in methodical fashion, often proceeding from historical studies to the

most recent data collected. On the other hand, some students may be more likely to approach the topic purely chronologically by writing a long history of the issue. Some might begin with the colonisation of Australia, the creation of its cities, the growth and development of inner-city Sydney and suburban neighbourhoods, and so forth. Intrinsically, there is nothing 'wrong' with

either method. A limitation to both approaches, however, is the tendency to merely summarise

the 'facts' uncovered. Summarising social science research topics is a good way to earn merely a pass grade.

Why? The answer relates to the reason why you are conducting a literature review in the first

place. A literature review is the first step in a longer research process. As noted in the last section, the purpose of a literature review is to establish both the available knowledge, and

knowledge gaps, the investigator is able to locate from a close reading of all available data , studies and theories. Merely summarising what others said reproduces existing information. In other words, it fails to contribute any 'new' ideas. For the purpose of learning how to write

literature reviews, let's consider a few examples contained in Boxes SF, How NOT to write a literature review: Modified excerpt from an unpublished manuscript and SG, How TO write a literature review: Student examples. Beginning with the example offered in Box SF, please read the instructions and complete the practice exercise.

Instructions

Read the excerpt below from a literature review written about workplace discrimination. Next, answer the questions that follow. Finally, rewrite the paragraph using the tips for writing good literature reviews offered in section 5.3. 5. Use the space provided or attach additional sheets of paper as required.

I rwin ( 1 998) identified most study respondents experienced workp lace discrimination. Many respondents identified having been denied work-re lated entitl ements inc l uding carer's leave and su peran nuation benefits that other emp loyees received ( Irwin , 1 998). Embrick, Walther & Wickens ( 2007) found Heterosexuals ' attitudes towards gay peop le have remained negative in emp loyment and contin ue to exc l ude others from the workp lace. Hearn & Parkin ( 1 995) fou n d white working-c l ass heterosexua l ma l es are one gro u p who said they exc l uded gay peop l e from emp loyment. White , straight men did this by maintaining a 'boys c l u b ' that exc l uded women , peop le of co lour and gays ( Embrick, Walther & Wickens, 2007). P lug and Berkhout (200 4) fou n d that homosexual men earned l ess than similarly q ualified heterosexual men. According to Plug & Berkhout (200 4) gay women earned more than similarly q ualified heterosexual women.

Source: Adapted from Ragusa and Aaron (20 1 1 ) .

Review questions 1 . Why d o you thin k this examp le is offered for ' how NOT to write a literature

review'? In other words , what makes the paragraph a poor examp le? 2. What are the strengths of the exemp lar? 3. What English language (grammar, sentence structure, word usage, paragraph

structure , punctuation , capitalisation , abbreviations, etc. ) changes cou l d you make to improve the writing qua lity?

4. What is the main argument presented? Has sufficient evidence been provided to su pport the c laims made? Why or why not?

(Continued)


Writing exercise

Writing high-quality literature reviews is an academic skill publishable in its own right. If available, you might find it helpful to locate a published literature review on the topic you are trying to research. Published literature reviews collate and synthesise the main research and theories available for an issue as well as identify potential areas for future research. Reading and carefully reviewing published literature reviews is an excellent way to learn how to write them. It will teach you how to balance breadth and depth of presentation as well as model how foundational

or classical studies are complemented by more contemporary research. If relevant to your current

research topic, it may also nicely summarise the current state of the literature, at least from the author's perspective. If you are fortunate enough to locate a good literature review related to your topic of interest, take the time to look up several of the articles in the publication's reference list to

gain a deeper understanding of the research reviewed, as well as how the author of the literature

review conducted the review.

Another purpose of literature reviews, particularly professional reviews published in research journals , is to highlight patterns or trends across studies. Researchers focused on

empirical investigations of issues rarely have sufficient time, or space within their journal arti

cle, to take a sufficiently macro view of an issue. Studies termed 'meta-analysis' are other useful types of research to obtain because they attempt to replicate or verify past findings (if quantita

tive) or systematically evaluate (if qualitative) the assertions and findings of research in a given area. Such studies, along with professional literature reviews, will focus on the strengths and

limitations of each article, thereby helping you to do the same.

Chapter 5- Conducting a l iterature review 1 07

Presently, let's return to reviewing examples of 'real-world' literature review excerpts . Box

5G, How TO write a literature review, offers two examples. The first example is extracted from an undergraduate paper and the second is derived from a forthcoming journal article completed as part of a PhD student's research project. As you read each example, consider how

they are similar or different from the example located in Box 5F. If you wish, pose the same review questions listed in Box 5F to yourself as a reflexive exercise comparing and contrast

ing all the examples provided.

Box SG How TO write a literature review: Student examples C , ', , > , , ,, , , ' ' ,' , C

Example 1 - Excerpt from a good undergraduate literature review

Research has shown that wh i l st youth appear to be ab le to engage and d i sengage from consumer markets , they are a lso exposed to cons iderab le socia l pressu res to conform (Wi n low & Hal l , 2009, p93 ). Economic rationa l i sm and global izat ion has red uced the opportun it ies for some i n d ivid ua l s to engage in the workforce, l ead i ng to l ower i ncomes and i ncreased soc ia l i so lat ion (Wi n low & Hal l , 2009). Th is can stifl e a young person ' s soc ia l and emot iona l deve lopment if they perceive to be a l i enated from the ir soc ia l networks and opportu n it ies to succeed with the i r peers. Ad u lts can a lso experience si m i lar s ituations , where without the fiscal ab i l it ies to engage in society and mai ntai n status quo, they can experi ence 'fear of soc ia l degradation ' ( H e i ns, 2006, p68).

I n concl us ion , consumeri sm has become a way of l ife for our society. Wh i l st we have always engaged i n a cyc le of prod uct ion and consu m ption , it is evident that cu ltura l consu m pt ion has become the drivi ng force in the cyc le , with prod uction ai med at fu rther cap ital i st profit ( Longhu rst, et a l . 2008). Consumers are sed uced by ski lfu l mass market ing p loys to be l i eve they can pu rchase happ i ness and success; however they are sti l l ab l e to exerc i se contro l through selective pu rchases or by a l ign i ng with subcu ltures i n res istance ma instream cu lture ( Honea, 2003 ). Through becom i ng a consu mer society, however, we conti n u e to reproduce socia l p ressures and economic i n eq ua l it ies, re i nforc i ng the not ion that we m u st a l l 'fit' i nto society to avo id soc ia l a l i enation or degradation ( H e i ns, 2006).

Source: Sp inks (20 1 0, unpub l i shed ) .

Example 2 - Excerpt from a good postgraduate literature review

Disti ngu ish i ng agricu l tu ra l i m p l ications of absentee landownersh i p from i m pacts re lated to mechan i sation and other g lobal factors can be d ifficu lt, yet are ident ifiable i n the l iteratu re. Agricu l tura l product ion can decl i n e when land is subd ivided for l i festyle propert ies ( Houston , 2005 ) or when farmers leave the i r land u n derused or u ncu lt ivated due to u rban re location (Assaf, Al laoua, Re i n i kka, Craig & Gressan i , 2008; J i ang-M i ng, 200 1 ) . As a resu l t of t h e latter trend , the World Ban k, Food and Agricu l ture Organ i sation of the U n ited Nat ions , and i n d ivid ua l researchers ident ified absentee landownersh i p i n non- i ndustria l i sed cou ntri es as a major obstac le to agricu ltura l deve lopment ( De S i lva, Moeh l , Sat ia, Bart ley & Su basi nghe , 2002 ; Fox et a l . , 2006 ; Lobao & Schu l man , 1 99 1 ). I n add ition , few com mercia l ly successfu l agricu l tura l enterprises exi st on i nd igenous owned land (Alexandra & Stan l ey, 2007; Lane &

Dale, 1 995 ). I n contrast, some forms of absentee landownersh ip l ead to i ncreased prod uctivity, often

because these owners are early adopters of new techno logies (C lark, 2008) . Econom ies of sca le , however, may have upper l i m its U ian-M i ng, 2001 ) , espec ia l ly as large corporate farms re ly on waged l abour (Tonts, et a l . , 2003 ) , are h igh consu mers of foss i l fue l s and agrochem ica l s (C lark, 2008 ) ; and monocu l ture product ion may be l ess viab le d u ri ng d rought ( Lowance, Hendrix & Od u m , 1 986 ). Furthermore, although fore ign i nvestment potentia l l y has macro benefits, th i s cou l d be at a cost to l ocal farmers' access to land and markets, and the host nation 's economy (Cotu la , et a l . , 2009).

Source: Lennox, Curtis, Author & Farquharson ( 20 1 1 , u n pub l ished ) .


5.4.2 How to improve your literature review writing skills: 10 tips

This section contains 10 practical tips about how to write better quality literature reviews.

The list is far from exhaustive but, if followed, is likely to produce a better end product than if all the mistakes mentioned were reproduced. Although most research supervisors advise students to 'identify the gaps' in the research literature, such instructions tend to be too

vague. If considered independently, this advice may fail to produce the desired outcome or leave students frustrated.

1 . Develop a 'narrative' to contextualise the literature

Avoid writing a literature review as if you were writing a 'bullet list' of items. Clearly stat

ing how articles relate to each other, while remaining focused on your topic, is a far more effective way to structure a literature review than summarising each study independently. Remember, what each study found is only of interest in relation to your topic and purpose

for doing the review.

High-quality literature reviews require high-quality writing in general. In the past, I provided an entire cohort of students with the same articles and asked them to write a literature

review. Unsurprisingly, this produced nearly as many different reviews as students enrolled ! Writing is a creative art, regardless of the topic chosen. While the 'social facts' might be the

same, individuals' interpretations are likely to vary, as will what each person decides is mean

ingful or relevant information to include or elaborate upon. The 'story' you tell about the research previously conducted, its importance and relevance , and your interest and ability to source additional material, will make your literature review of any topic unique. Uniqueness aside, you must ensure all technical details have been correctly understood, whether that relates to understanding how a researcher reported factor analysis , or whether another

researcher misunderstood Durkheim's theory of anomie.

Please remember some 'facts' are more open to dispute and personal interpretation than others . The creation of a solid argument, or context, for the research literature involves a statement at the beginning of the document about how and why specific material will be

included. Just like writing an introduction for an academic essay or a book chapter, you must tell your reader what they are going to encounter in your literature review. You will recall there are often mountains of potential data or available information related to any topic. Writing a literature review involves considerable decision-making on the author's part. It

is worthwhile for you to share these details with your readers so they understand why you are approaching the topic from a certain position. Choose your resources wisely and use them to advance, further or refute key points related to issues. In sociological studies of the media, there is a well-known theory referred to as agenda setting (Gamson, Croteau, Haynes, & Sasson, I992) . Fundamentally it refers to when organisations or individuals use infor

mation to suit their own purposes . In other words , the story you create about importance,

limitations, relevance, etc. may be as important as the references you include. To avoid being accused of interpreting or twisting ideas to suit your cause, try to be as clear, honest and

'objective' as possible in every aspect of the research process.

2. Vary your use of references

Varying the type of references you use will facilitate your presentation of an 'unbiased' litera

ture review. Not only should your actual list of references vary by type, quality, publisher, author, etc . , as discussed earlier in this chapter, but your use of references when writing must also vary. For example, it is pointless to include 10 academic journal articles in your

reference list and then fail to cite them in the body of your document. Similarly, avoid overrl'lying on any single reference. Some students tend to favour a couple of key documents and


use them relentlessly. To meet the required minimum, they take a 'get it over with' approach

to citing the unpopular majority of references listed in the reference list by citing them in the first or last paragraph of their paper. Meanwhile , the entire body of the paper focuses nearly

exclusively on detailing the works of the couple of favoured references . Some do this because they have not actually obtained all of the references, but instead merely relied on abstracts for most of their references. Others may not understand, or see the relevance of, several documents that otherwise fit the requirements for inclusion in the reference list. Still others simply become so enthralled by the arguments made by a few authors that they get carried away,

giving them undue attention. None of these strategies is worthwhile. As the name suggests , a literature 'review' requires you to present a review of the available information on the topic. By all means draw your reader's attention to those studies you believe most worthwhile - just do not do this at the expense of writing a well-rounded review.

Last , avoid placing your references only at the end of each paragraph. It is better to incorporate your references throughout a paragraph rather than list them only at the end

of each, for a few reasons . First , not all information contained in a paragraph may be derived from all the references listed. Listing references at the end of a sentence helps you to avoid inadvertently crediting an idea to the wrong source. Second, it helps to make the text easier for readers to follow since long lists of authors' names are likely to be 'skipped over' . Third, for complex information, it makes it easier for the reader to look up further

information if she or he can spot from where the details originated. Finally, the use of resources is a mechanism for conveying authority. If there is a point you wish to really drive home, and wish to show it is well documented, listing long series of supporting references shows the idea contains lots of support. This mechanism should be consciously

employed, rather than mindlessly pursued, because again it is tedious for readers to go

over long lists of references . Moreover, over-referencing may be perceived by some readers as either a defence strategy or an author's attempt to be overly authoritative . Seek to achieve a balance in your writing style and let your references support your ideas , rather

than underwhelm or overwhelm your readers .

3. Locate the most up-to-date, high-quality and accurate evidence possible

No matter how well-written a literature review might be, if it fails to include the major bodies of research or knowledge related to the discipline and topic, it will not be successful. Learning how to search and locate the most relevant and well-known information on a topic

is an acquired skill . Again, I encourage you to seek the assistance of a librarian, experienced researcher or supervisor if you are writing a thesis or dissertation. If you are an undergraduate writing for assessment, you will not be expected to produce a literature review at the same level as a postgraduate student. Often, a key purpose for asking undergraduate social

science students to conduct a literature review, whether for an essay or research report, is

to teach them about the research process. If this describes your situation, try to benefit as

much as possible from the learning opportunity and challenge yourself to locate, read and

understand the best-quality academic resources you can obtain, given your time and budget.

4. Vary the location of references

Research is a global activity and produces a 'product' , or outcome, which is both consumed by and has implications for individuals worldwide. For this reason it is important you become very aware of any cultural stereotypes and assumptions held, not only about the topic being

researched, but also about the location of material sourced for your writing. If you limit your collection of information to only Western societies , then it is very likely you will write a document only from the perspective of a Westerner. Similarly, if all your references are writ

ten by Australians, you will produce an Australian-centric piece of work. For these reasons

1 10 Writing for the socia l sciences

I encourage you to vary the geographic location of your references - where the manuscripts

are produced, the location of the authors, case studies and examples used, etc. This may or may not be possible in every situation, depending on the nature of your topic, but obtaining

a culturally diverse understanding of a social issue is likely to affect not only your perception of it, but any recommendations you make.

5. Write well-structured paragraphs

The overall presentation of your writing will be greatly enhanced by having well-structured paragraphs . Literature reviews tend to be long. As you dive deeper in thought about the details of your topic, it's easy to forget to proofread your writing for its overall flow. Try to

make sure every paragraph begins with an introductory sentence and all sentences contained

within each paragraph contribute further evidence or advance the discussion of the topic introduced in the first sentence. Then, end every paragraph with either a summary sentence or a connecting sentence that segues to the next paragraph to develop a seamless flow, or unfolding, of information. This will help the entire paper to progress logically from one paragraph to the next.

6. Avoid reproducing the details of each study reviewed

It is easy to get caught up in the details of each research study. Remember, the purpose of

the literature review is to demonstrate your knowledge of past research conducted on a topic so you can 'add value' to its understanding or produce 'new' knowledge in some way. Do not

write a literature review by consecutively summarising each study reviewed in great detail , one after another, as the fictitious example below demonstrates .

Poor example

Smith (1990) surveyed 583 undergraduates in Austin, Texas, using stratified sampling

methodologies and found the instance of alcohol consumption among undergraduates was higher when students were preparing for exams and lower when they were home

visiting with their families over Easter holidays. Although correlations were found for

other variables, Smith ( 1990) believed this was due to . . .

Wentworth ( 1992) conducted focus groups of 1084 nurses in Long Island. She found

alcohol use among healthcare professionals in the greater New York area . . .

Dover (2001) analysed longitudinal data of alcohol-related research. Dover's (2001 ) sample consisted o f . . . According to Dover (200 1 ) , . . .

Instead, use the research articles collected to evidence your own arguments . This applies

regardless of whether a review is organised topically (or 'thematically' , by themes) or chrono

logically.

7. Create a holistic plan for the literature review

By the time you get to the middle of your literature review, you might have largely forgotten why you are discussing all these points in the first place. To avoid losing your train of

thought by getting caught up in both the logistical structuring and content of your review, make sure you take time to 'see the forest for the trees' . When writing literature reviews, try

not to become overly attached to the material collected. If you cannot see how an individual study contributes to the overall argument or message you are trying to convey, put it in the

recycling pile ! just because you collected information does not mean it is worthwhile to

Chapter 5- Conducting a l iterature review 1 1 1

include all of it in your review. Research might simply fail to live up to your expectations. I often find articles I think are going to be highly useful for literature reviews end up providing

mediocre information that is largely unsuitable to my needs. On the other hand, sometimes articles I thought were a waste of time to download are worth their weight in gold. The old adage, 'you can't tell a book by its cover' often rings true. Titles and abstracts can be mislead

ing, so stay focused on the larger purpose of the project and remain open to reading broadly about the issues and pruning studies when required.

B. Do not ignore 'undesirable' information unearthed

Collectively, Australians tend to dislike confrontation. In social settings, this is a blessing. When researching, however, it can get you into trouble. It might be tempting to pretend you

never found all those articles that refuted your argument. Other researchers, however, are

likely to be well aware of studies available to dispute your case. Rather than avoid the inevitable, tackle potential future criticism by using disparate or controversial findings to your

advantage. Identify competing theories or research and point out their weaknesses - meth

odologically, theoretically or otherwise . Make sure all critiques you write about past research are done respectfully and without

emotion. Do not start sentences with qualifying words, such as 'unsurprisingly' or 'ironically' ,

and avoid descriptions such as 'worst' or 'best' to describe studies . You want your readers to draw conclusions for themselves, from the information provided, so avoid creating 'leading'

sentences . 'In by far the most ridiculous study of midlife identity crises, john (2007) claimed . . . ' prejudices all information that may follow and is not academic. Also , it is very common to find contradictory results , so think about how you might deal with differing facts or theo

ries . Social science research, much like the natural sciences, uncovers competing findings before settling on one version of 'the truth' , if that is ever achieved. Consider any number of

recent health claims you encountered in the media. One day coffee is good for you , the next day it isn't, and so forth. The academic reporting of social science findings at times can be

much the same. Today a study found television has the potential to be an effective learning tool, whilst tomorrow's study might claim televisions are the demise of society.

9. Vary sentence structure and word choice

Beginning every sentence the same way is as monotonous as speaking in a monotone voice.

Invert, or flip the order, of sentences by putting the words in the second half at the first and restructuring accordingly. Think about the examples which follow and then locate some of your own written documents to review for sentence structure and word choice variation.

Poor example

Research in the nineteenth century found women suffered from feeble-mindedness. Research in the twentieth century found feeble-mindedness was socially constructed. Research in the twentyfirst century found researchers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although different, shared some similarities , like gender influences ability.

Better example

Research in the nineteenth century found women suffered from feeble-mindedness . During

the twentieth century, such theories were disqualified as socially constructed. Despite producing vastly different results , the works of twenty-first-century scientists replicated ideas manifested during the past two centuries, particularly the continued association of gender

with various physical or intellectual abilities.

1 1 2 Writing for the social sciences

1 0. Avoid jargon to impress your audience

The more academic literature you read, and the more academic disciplines you consult, the

more you will be exposed to jargon. Avoid the temptation to include 'big words' merely for the sake of impressing your audience. Used incorrectly, complex vocabulary not only looks silly but also fails to achieve communication.

5.4.3 When to stop revising your literature review

Hopefully, the advice provided in this chapter will be of some use to you as you commence, or continue, writing academic literature reviews. This final section is primarily targeted at perfectionists and procrastinators, which might just include everyone ! Living in the twenty

first century, we are exposed to more information and have access to more knowledge than any prior society. Modern communication systems have tremendously facilitated the ease of

obtaining information, while our global economy and increasingly intertwined cultures continue to expand the scope of social research. This environment makes it hard to know when

one has sufficient information, or knowledge, on a topic. Some projects , such as an 8000-word literature review requiring a specific number of references, contain a clearly identifiable endpoint. Others are more ambiguous. It is with the former in mind that this final advice is

offered. The term 'saturation point' is sometimes used to identify when researchers have gained

sufficient knowledge about a topic that they feel confident to start the next steps in the research process . There are no hard and fast rules about when to stop investigating the literature . To some extent, for long-term projects such as PhDs, it is wise to regularly obtain

the latest publications related to your topic. This practice will keep you up-to-date, such as staying abreast of new technologies . To avoid this activity preventing you from 'getting on' with the other tasks at hand, however, you need to firmly identify an endpoint when you will stop fiddling with the literature review. Perhaps this is a date when the literature review chapter is due to your supervisor, or when the research funding runs out. Perhaps it is when you reach a specific writing goal , such as having reviewed a certain number of publications,

or covered a certain body of research. Irrespective of the details , the point remains that you must identify a clear timeframe for completion.

Obtaining feedback from other qualified individuals is one of the best ways you can rest assured you have sufficiently covered the relevant literature . Not everyone is likely to agree

with your choice of references, your approach to the topic or the arguments you make, but,

in the peer review process, all social science research is assessed in relation to professional and disciplinary expectations. Should you happen to have missed a groundbreaking study, others knowledgeable in the research area are likely to advise you of this oversight. As with

all systems, the peer review process is imperfect. Yet, at the end of the day, we must put our

work in the hands of others and remember that, without sharing our writing with readers, all

of our hard work will go largely unnoticed and its impact will be minimal at best.

References

Galvan,j .L. (2006) . Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 3rd edition. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing. pp. 45-4 7 , 52 .

Gamson, W.A. , Croteau, D . , Haynes , W. & Sasson, T. ( 1992) . Media Images and Social

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