Developing Research ProposalWriting a Literature Review

What is Review of Literature ?

• The review of the literature is defined as a broad, comprehensive, in-depth, systematic, and critical review of scholarly publications, unpublished scholarly print materials, audiovisual materials, and personal communications, within specific time period.

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Purposes of Literature Review

Determines an appropriate research design/method (instruments, data collection and analysis methods) for answering the research question

Determines the need for replication of a well designed study or refinement of a study

Determines and discovers unanswered questions what is known about a subject, concept or problem

Determines gaps, consistencies & inconsistencies about a subject, concept or problem

Describes strengths & weaknesses of designs, methods of inquiry and instruments used in earlier works

Working with LiteratureWorking with Working with

LiteratureLiteratureWorking with Working with

LiteratureLiterature

Find it!Find it!Find it!Find it! Manage it!Manage it!Manage it!Manage it! Use it!Use it!Use it!Use it! Review it!Review it!Review it!Review it!

Knowing the literature typesKnowing the

literature types

ReadingefficientlyReadingefficiently

Choosing your research topic Choosing your research topicUnderstanding the lit review’s purpose

Understanding the lit review’s purpose

Using available resourcesUsing available resourcesKeeping track of references

Keeping track of references

Developing your questionDeveloping your questionEnsuring adequate

coverageEnsuring adequate

coverage

Honing your search skills

Honing your search skills

Writing relevant annotationsWriting relevant annotations Arguing your

rationale Arguing your

rationale

Informing your work with theory

Informing your work with theory

Designingmethod

Designingmethod

Writingpurposefully

Writingpurposefully

Working on style and toneWorking on

style and tone

Working with Literature

Primary source: is written by a person(s) who

developed the theory or conducted the research

Primary source: is written by a person(s) who

developed the theory or conducted the research

Journal articles of original research

Theses & dissertation. Conference abstract &proceeding

Secondary source: is written by a person(s) other than the

individual who developed the theory or conducted the research

Journal articles

Book or chapter on book

Sources of Literature

Journal articles: These are good sources, especially for up-to-date information. They are frequently used in literature reviews because they offer a relatively concise, up-to-date format for research.

Journal articles: These are good sources, especially for up-to-date information. They are frequently used in literature reviews because they offer a relatively concise, up-to-date format for research.

Conference proceedings: these can be useful in providing the latest research, or research that has not been published.

Theses and dissertations: these can be useful sources of information. However there are disadvantages. they can be difficult to obtain since they are not published, but are generally only available from the library or interlibrary system

Sources of Literature

Books:  remember that books tend to be less up-to-date, as it takes longer for a book to be published than for a journal article.

Government/corporate reports: Many government departments and corporations commission carry out research. Their published findings can provide a useful source of information, depending on your field of study.

 Internet: Fastest-growing source of information. Bear in mind that anyone can post information on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable

Some Common Rehabilitation Data Base

• Cochrane reviews at www.cochrane.org/reviews • TRIP database (Turning Research into Practice) at www.tripdatabase.com. • PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence resource) at www.pedro.fhs.usyd.edu.au/index.

• Current clinical trials at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

• Medline/PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi)

• Medline Plus(www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthtopics.html),

• Ovid (www.ovid.com), which provides a searchable database of medical, scientific, and academic research information.

• CINAHL (www.cinahl.com), which is commonly available at college campuses • Eric :Educational Resources Information Center

• Web of sciences

Good Review Synthase of available research Critical evaluationAppropriate breadth and depthClarity and consensusUses rigorous and consistent methods

Literature Review

Poor reviewAn annotated bibliographyConfined to description Narrow and shallowConfusing & longwindedConstructed in an arbitrary way

What is a “Literature Review”?

Introduce the literature review by pointing out the major research topic that will be discussed

Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic or conflicts in theory and methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research

Establish the reason (s) (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the criteria to be used in analyzing and comparing literature

Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the literature review and a larger area of study (rationale) – It is important to cover research relevant to all the variables being studied.– Research that explains the relationship between these variables is a top priority.

Guideline for Writing a Literature Review

Don’t attempt to cover everything written on your topic

All sources cited in the literature review should be listed in the references

To sum, a literature review should include introduction, summary and critique of journal articles, justifications for your research project and the hypothesis for your research project

Guideline for Writing a Literature Review

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Organization of Literature Review

A general organization looks like a funnelChronological order- time order : form first to last or last to

firstComparison:

• Comparison emphasizing similarities• Comparison emphasizing differences

Importance• From least to most important• From most to least important

Generality • From general to specific • Form specific to general

Methodological– Focuses on the methods of the researcher, e.g., qualitative

versus quantitative approachesSpatial arrangement: physical location of parts

Common Errors Made in Lit Reviews

• Review isn’t logically organized• Review isn’t focused on most important facets of the

study• Review doesn’t relate literature to the study• Too few references or outdated references cited• Review isn’t written in author’s own words• Review reads like a series of disjointed summaries• Review doesn’t argue a point• Recent references are omitted

Writing the Literature Review

Plagiarism includes (Galvan, pg. 89):1. Using another writer’s words without proper citation2. Using another writer’s ideas without proper citation3. Citing a source but reproducing the exact word without

quotation marks4. Borrowing the structure of another author’s phrases/sentences

without giving the source5. Borrowing all or part of another student’s paper6. Using paper-writing service or having a friend write the paper

What is Review of Literature ?

What is Review of Literature ?

A systematic review is defined as “a review of the evidence on a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and explicit methods to identify, select and critically appraise relevant primary research, and to extract and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review.”

Statistical methods (meta-analysis) may or may not be used to analyze and summarize the results of the included studies

Narrative vs systematic review

Narrative vs systematic review

Narrative– Many questions

– No search methods

– No inclusion criteria

– No combining studies

– Prone to random and systematic error

– Provide conflicting summaries

Systematic– One question

– Explicit search• Reproducible

– Explicit inclusion criteria

– Combine study results(meta-analysis)

WHY do we need Systematic Reviews?