efficient reading and developing your literature review 2nd november 2015
TRANSCRIPT
EFFICIENT R
EADING AND
DEVELOPIN
G YOUR
LITERATU
RE REVIEW
K E L L Y P R E E C E
R E S E A R C H E R D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E M A N A G E R ( P G R S )
Researcher Led Initiatives2015-2016
Professional Development by & for Researchers
6 x £1,000 Awards for Early Career Research Only Staff
8 X £500 Awards for Postgraduate Research Students
Closing Date for Applications: 8th January 2016
www.exeter.ac.uk/rdp/funding/awards
RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT
www.exeter.ac.uk/rdp/
Santander Postgraduate Research Award
2015-2016
Professional Development for Researchers
35 x £500 Awards for Postgraduate Research Students
Closing Date for Applications: 18 December 2015
http://as.exeter.ac.uk/rdp/funding/
RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT
www.exeter.ac.uk/rdp/
WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM THIS COURSE…?
…ANSWERS ON A POST-IT NOTE!
TODAY WE WILL COVER
Introducing the Literature ReviewSearching the LiteratureThe Active ReaderPreviewing and SelectingNote-takingThe Writing Process
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Reduce reading load by intelligent selection
Retain more of what you readSearch and judge relevance of source
material efficientlyKnow strengths and weaknesses of
various types of sources
Read and take notes with a defined purpose
Understand the purpose and value of a literature review
Feel confident when outlining and writing up the review
PADLET
http://padlet.com/UofE_RD/efficientreadinganddevelopingyourlitreview02_11_15
PART 1: INTRODUCING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?
An organised, critical appraisal of published attempts to answer a question…
…not merely a descriptive catalogue!
The starting point is therefore knowing and understanding the question!
SO, WHY WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW?
WHAT DOES A LITERATURE REVIEW DO FOR MY RESEARCH?
Builds your confidence as a researcher and a member of the academic community
Helps you to define the boundaries of your project, which will be as important as knowing your core findings
Develops your skill as an excellent researcher, who can locate, analyse, critique, synthesise and build on existing knowledge
LEARNING TO SITUATE YOUR RESEARCH IN THE FIELD
THE PROCESS
PHASES OF A LITERATURE REVIEW
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Thinking
Searching Reading
Reading
Writing
The initial research question
The refined research question
The initial scope of research
The revised scope of the review
TYPES OF LITERATURE REVIEW
• Conceptual• State-of-the-art• Expert• Scoping• Traditional
(Thomson, 2013)
YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW SHOULD:
1.Sketch out the nature of the field relevant to the inquiry – including history if relevant and
2. Identity major debates and define terms, in order to
3.Establish which studies, ideas and/or methods are most pertinent to your study, and
4.Locate gaps in the field, in order to5.Create a warrant for the study in question,
and6. Identify the contribution the study might
make(Kamler and Thomson, 2006)
PART 2: SEARCHING THE LITERATURE
In what ways do you use the following?
15 minutes
LIBRARY RESOURCES TO AID EFFICIENT READINGHome>Courses>University Resources>Library
and Research Skills>Researcher Development
http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1830
Or through Researcher Development Onlinehttp://
vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1943
ADDITIONAL TOOLS AND STRATEGIES
Simple online searches from time to time Database alertsReading groupsCritically reading citation lists (ie Google
scholar)Abstracts
PART 3: THE ACTIVE READER
TYPES OF READING
Pleasure or interest
Functional NewsInformation and Instructions
Work Keeping up to date: ‘local news’ReportsResearch
AN ACTIVE READER…
Is selectiveIs critical Interacts with the textChanges reading orderRe-reads with a purposeAnticipates
STEPS
DISCUSSIONHow many hours do you spend reading a
week? (Research reading only) Do you feel you read enough? Where do you read?When do you read?How long is your ‘attention span’?
15 minutes
ACCELERATION BY DEFAULT
Reading more quickly is the result of Eliminating distractions where possible (or responding to them positively)
Finding focus: time, place, environment Selecting more efficiently (preview, skimming)
Making space for proper reading sessions
PREPARING TO READ
Prepare your workspaceScope the reading projectCollect materialsNo interruptions!
WHY HARDCOPY WINS
Annotations are flexible and easy Navigation by look and touch Multitasking easierEasier viewing of several documents Easier on the eye
// COMFORT BREAK \\
PART 4: PREVIEWING AND SELECTING
PREVIEWING AND SELECTING
At the moment…
How do you select what is worth reading? How is this working for you? Do you read every line?
PREVIEWING AND SELECTING
Currency?Credibility?Relevance?What is new to me?What do I already know?In which order should I read the sections/chapters?
What needs my in-depth attention?
GETTING PERSPECTIVE
Deconstructing the text through
Initial skimming - “top & tail”
Anticipation
DEALING WITH INFORMATION OVERLOAD
‘Information overload will make your head spin for a while, but once its settled down again, you will find that you are much better at sorting the good stuff from the bad, and quickly.’
(Marshall and Green, 2010: 55)
HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING SOMEWHERE?
‘[If you're] starting find themes and patterns in the literature ... that means you are making progress.’
(Marshall and Green, 2010: 54)
HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING SOMEWHERE?
‘You will also find that, after a while, the same things keep cropping up, and that means you have covered most of the intellectual ground, even if you haven't read everything written on the matter.’
(Marshall and Green, 2010: 54)
PART 5: NOTE-TAKING
TALK ABOUT
Why you take notes?What is in your
notes?
YOUR NOTES
Key wordsParaphrase with the book closed and with
citationsEnclose all quotes or near quotes in your
original notes Summarise each new substantive text in one
short paragraph
YOUR NOTES
Comparisons with other worksYour critical appraisalNotes should interrogate the text!Knowledge and information mapping
HAND-WRITING WINS
A KNOWLEDGE MAP/MIND MAP
WHAT GETS SORTED?
Meaningful thingsFamiliar or unique thingsMappable thingsThings often encounteredRemarkable thingsRadiant Hierarchy of Ideas
LATCH – PROCESSING YOUR LITERATURE
Location
Alphabet
Time
Category
Hierarchy
From: The Thesis Whisperer
‘5 Ways to Tame the Literature Dragon’
PART 6: THE WRITING PROCESS
PLANNING
Adopt a planning tool to draft and re-draft your Lit Review
MindmapsGantt chartsLists…
RD COURSES ON
Research Planning & Time Management Plan and Write your ThesisCreative Approaches to Writing your
Thesis Completing your Thesis
WRITE
‘It doesn’t matter if it is dot points, poorly thought out ideas, scribbles from paper notes… Whatever it is, start writing your chapters. Many people only give themselves 6 months to write, and it is so relieving to go back and see stuff already on paper. You will thank yourself for organising your literature, giving yourself some reminders or for thinking! Writing early may save you months of effort when you are strapped for time.’
Extracted from a blog post on www.thesiswhisperer.com
SO, WRITE EARLY, WRITE OFTEN.
DEVELOP A CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Forms an index of referencesHelps you keep track of what you’ve readHighlights key points – for re-readingGets you to critique not just describeWriting practiceContent you could potentially use in your
thesis
DATA MANAGEMENT
QUESTIONS?
