Writing a literature review

1. Writing a literature review Dr Cheryl Lange

2. Integral aspects of academic work

3. There are a number of stages in writing a literature review. Survey the literature Develop an understanding of the issues Subject your understanding to critical thinking processes Develop a series of reasoned arguments that lead to your hypothesis/research question Begin writing your review Developing a literature review

4. If you are going to be collecting a large number of journal articles, book chapters etc, you will need a system for managing it all. What is your system? My approach to collecting and organising the literature I need for my research is… Managing information

5. These tips may help. Read with a clear purpose. Ask yourself ‘What do I already know?’, ‘What do I predict?’ before you start each article etc. Note make/mind map main points, i.e. actively engage with what you read. Make tentative evaluations about the content as you read. Summarise similarities/differences in perspective, etc of articles you read Reading and making notes – towards writing critically

6. Effective reading and note making turns Information into Knowledge and Understanding

7. Prompts to focus your thinking My research is important because … What I propose to do in this study is … What am I looking for in the literature is … My present understanding of my research area is … The main schools of thought/theoretical perspectives in my area are … The ‘great debates’ my area are ... When reading the literature I wonder about … What remains unclear is ... Thinking about your literature review

8. Identify general topic – set context Mention overall trends or theoretical/methodological conflicts or gaps or new perspectives Explain criteria used in analysing/comparing literature Describe how review will be organised. Introduction

9. Group studies according to common denominators e.g. methodology, themes, chronology, ‘benchmark’ studies Summarize individual studies /articles according to importance (number of words denotes significance) Use clear umbrella statements (topic sentences) at beginning of paragraphs signposts in each paragraph Conclude key paragraphs with brief ‘so what’ statements to aid reader’s understanding of analyses and comparisons Body

10. Summarize major contributions of significant studies – maintain focus established in introduction Evaluate current state of knowledge under review e.g. flaws in methodology inconsistencies in theories/finding areas of pertinent future study Provide some insight into relationship between topic of literature review and larger area of study e.g. discipline, profession etc. Conclusion

11. Judging the quality of a literature review Literature review: Use and application - Centre for the Study of Research & Training & Impact, University of Newcastle

12. UWA library holdings of Masters and PhD theses http://www.library.uwa.edu.au/students/postgraduates/theses PhD focused http://www.newcastle.edu.au/research-centre/sorti/publications/phd-2008.html University of Wisconsin http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CriReadingBook.html How to read and engineering research paper http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~wgg/CSE210/howtoread.html Blog by Jo Edmonston, UWA- Graduate Education Officer http://myresearchspace.grs.uwa.edu.au/pgwritinggroup/ Some useful links

13. Searching for answers? What are your questions? • Drop in 1pm - 2pm during semester teaching weeks Reid Library Mon, Wed, Thurs & Science Library Tues & Fri • Individual consultations – make your appointment and submit your draft at least 2 days prior to when you want your consultation. • Lunch time workshops (see STUDYSmarter Workshop Calendar) • Contact detailsPhone: 6488 2423 - Student Support Reception www.studysmarter.uwa.edu.austudy.smarter@uwa.edu.aucheryl.lange@uwa.edu.au