writing a literature review 2012(1)

8/2/2019 Writing a Literature Review 2012(1)

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THE CENTRALITY OFTHE LITERATURE

REVIEWProfessor Dr Chan Swee Heng

Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication


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....is an integrative activity ofpre-dissertationmaster/doctoral education.

... is a prerequisite forincreased methodological

sophistication.

... is for improving theresearchers usefulness in

doing education research.

Writing a

LiteratureReview


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Literature Review is ...

Is not just an Annotated Bibliography ora summary.

It can be a stand alone document butmore often than not, it shows how youorganize and present your sources inrelation to your own project.


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Contd Literature Review is ...

Defined by a guiding concept (e.g., yourresearch objective, the problem or issueyou are discussing, or your argumentativethesis).


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Tailoring the topic

You cant put off the selection of a topicuntil you have finished your courses.

A researcher needs to think critically about

what is in the field that he is researching. Then he has to embark on a critical

reading of the related literature.


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Writing the Literature Review

1. Have a clear statement of the research problem thatguide your writing

What is the purpose of my research?

Situate your research to establish your expertise inthis area.You do not need to read everything about your topicRead enough to be familiarMake sure you cover the definitive and seminal

pieces (primary sources).Be able to name the authors known for their work inthe area.


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2. Mutual support

The literature review supports the statement of theresearch problem and vice versa.The statement of the research problem clearlydefines the subject area investigated.The literature review shows that the researchproblem has received prior attention.It shows that further research is needed to resolvea gap.


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3.Focus

You do not need to be exhaustive but you need tobe thorough. It is wise to lump like-minded peopletogether.

4. Address all possible key questionsNewcomers to your topic may ask many questions.

Give enough for people to understand yourresearch problem and the work that you are doing.

Not so much more that the information becomeirrelevant.


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5. Synthesize and summarise what is and is not knownincluding relevant theory.You do not list all the material published, but is

expected to synthesize and evaluate it according tothe guiding concept of your thesis or research

question.A summary is a recap of the important information of

the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or areshuffling, of that information. It might give a newinterpretation of old material or combine new with oldinterpretations.


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6. Identify areas of controversy in the literature.

7. Formulate questions that need furtherresearch.

James B. Fisher states, "To be EFFECTIVE, aliterature review must be a CLEAR,

COHERENT, and PERSUASIVE analysis of thecurrent state of the literature."


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8. A literature review is not just about enlarging yourknowledge about the topic.

Writing a literature review lets you gain anddemonstrate skills in:

information seeking: to scan the literatureefficiently and identify a set of useful articles andbooks

critical appraisal: to apply principles of analysisto identify unbiased and valid studies.


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Guiding questions to evaluate sources :

How did the author formulate his

problem/issue?

Is the problem clearly defined? Is its significance (scope, relevance) clearly

established?

Is there another better perspective to solvingthe problem?


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What is the authors research orientation?(e.g.,his theory, framework, beliefs)?

What is the relationship between theory and

practice? Is the authors literature relevant to the

problem/issue?

Does the author include literature that

addresses controversy if it exists


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How good are the basic components of thestudy design (e.g., population, intervention,outcome)?

How accurate and valid are the

measurements? Is the analysis of the data accurate and

relevant to the research question? Are the conclusions validly based upon the

data and analysis?


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Did the author list too much? A literaturereview is a piece of discursive prose, not alist describing or summarizing one piece of

literature after another.Its usually a bad sign to begin everyparagraph with the name of a researcher.

Did the author identify prevailing themes ortrends in the LR?


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Hows the authors argument structured?

Are you able to follow the flow e.g. inestablishing cause-effect relationships?

(See Handout 1)


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SUMMARY

John Creswell on the literature review:

(1) "It shares with the reader the results of other studiesthat are closely related to the study being reported";

(2) "It relates a study to the larger ongoing dialogue in the

literature about a topic, filling in gaps and extending

prior studies"; and

(3) "It provides a framework for establishing the importanceof [your] study as well as a benchmark for comparing the

results of a study with other findings" (Creswell 29-30).


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Linking literature review to otherparts of the thesis

A reference to literature read can appear inany part of the thesis.

The important thing is to be able to linkinformation together logically andappropriately.


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In the introduction, you could giveevidence to your claim about a situation.For example, if you claim that cancer is on

the rise among women, are you able toback up your claim?

A claim must be substantiated.


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In the chapter on literature review, you begin tobe more critical. You show :

How you give credit to fellow researchers

Membership conventions in the researchcommunity

How you build on and take advantage ofprevious work

Direct readers to relevant resources

Update members on current status of knowledgein the field

Steer future direction


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In the discussion section, it helps to linkyour findings to others that had appearedin the literature review.

Show how it is similar and how it isdifferent.


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In the Conclusion, you seek closure.

You restate the important findings.

You recommend future directions whichcan be supported by literature.


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CONCLUDING REMARKS

Writing a thesis is a weighted journey. Your literature review is central as it helps to

start, develop, and end the journey.

As you get into it, many signposts are needed to

guide the reader to follow your thoughts andarguments.

You need to make a lot of decisions and many

of them are evidence-based to give validity toyour study.

These evidence inevitably comes from athorough literature review.

writing a literature review 2012(1)

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