What do we mean by a literature review?

Bruce HargraveMilitary Education Group

Fact or Fiction?• We will have a look at three famous

quotations.• Your task is to identify which one(s) are

true.• In other words, you must identify Fact

from Fiction.

Gentlemen, we have run out of money, now we will have to think.Winston Churchill

We’re the air force. We drop bombs, kill people and break their stuff.Gen Charles ‘Chuck’ Horner

The British write the best doctrine in the world. Fortunately, they never read it.Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

Gentlemen, we have run out of money, now we will have to think.Winston Churchill

We’re the air force. We drop bombs, kill people and break their stuff.Gen Charles ‘Chuck’ Horner

The British write the best doctrine in the world. Fortunately, they never read it.Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

The Nature of Truth• Verifiable facts

– If three people are witnesses to a car crash, will their statements agree on all the facts?

• Scientific experiment– An experiment repeated under the same

conditions, will give the same results.• Published works

– If I go to the reference you have given, in the same resource, I will find the same thing.

In other words…• If you can give me a reference, from the

literature, to one of the quotes (Churchill, Rommel and Horner)…

• Am I more likely to believe it?• And does it become a fact?

To review the literature on a subject…

• First, we need to find it.• Then, we need to read it.• Then, we need to interpret it.

– Do we think it’s reliable?– How do we know?– Does it still hold true today?– Is it still relevant?

• We need to subject it to critical analysis– More on this later with Kevin.

For a literature review of a military subject…

• Do we only need to consult military sources?

• How widely should we research the literature?

• How can we make sure we don’t miss vital information sources?

• How do we know when it’s complete?

A literature review:• Puts your research focus in the context of

the wider community in your field.– That community may be academic.– It may be military.– It may be both.

• Reports your critical review of the relevant literature.

• Identifies a gap within that literature that your research will attempt to address.

By doing a literature review, you also:

• Establish your credibility as someone who has something important to say on the subject.

When to stop• ‘Build an argument, not a library.’

– Rudestam and Newton (1992).• Writing your essay is part of the research

process.• Not something that happens after you

have finished reading the literature.