Literature Reviews

1. Literature Reviews Dr Simon Nash Te Puna Ako Learning centre snash@unitec.ac.nz Thanks to Caroline malthus from Te PunaAko for use of her material in this presentation

2. This session • Introductions • What do you hope to get from this session? • At what stage is your literature review? E.g. early planning?Partly written? • Aims • Identifying the purpose of a literature review • Describing the key features of a literature review • Identifying the differences between descriptive writing and critical analysis • A process for putting together a literature review; how to start reading and writing

3. All notes will be available on TPA Learning Centre moodle.

4. What is a literature review? • We need to understand what a literature review is and what it is not • Discuss: How is a literature review different from: • An essay? • A book review? • A newspaper story? • A thesis? • A research report?

5. What is a literature review? A critical academic discussion of the expert texts which are relevant to your topic of study An argument about the state of research on your topic, possibly identifying gaps in knowledge A survey of scholarly writing relevant to a particular issue, providing a description, summary and critical evaluation of each work

6. Why do a literature review? To learn what is already known about the topic To learn what others think about the topic To ensure your research is worthwhile and of value, i.e. don’t repeat what others have already done To identify gaps in existing research and position your research in relation to those gaps

7. Discuss in pairs/threes: What would you need to do to write a literature review on this topic? Generational differences are the subject of much popular speculation but relatively little research. For example, teachers are often told that today’s younger generation will learn better with use of computers and computer games. What is the evidence for and against such speculations?

8. Key features of a literature review • Analysis • What is the topic, why is it important, and what are the issues? • Synthesis / relationships • What views are expressed by different experts / authors? • Evaluation / implications • Identifying any strengths and weaknesses of the literature (See handout ‘Writing that demonstrates critical thinking’)

9. Exercise • In pairs/threes, identify some examples of each of the key features of a literature review in the article on Generational Differences. • Analysis • Synthesis / Relationships • Evaluation / Implications

10. You must write both descriptively and critically

11. Literature review: Key steps for you Identify your starting point: What work has already been done on this topic? Establish theoretical and methdological appoach(es) you are basing your own study on – find literature that is useful to your approach Define key terms Identify research that supports the approach you plan to take in your research Look for gaps in existing research

12. Exercise • Read the text on ‘Generational Differences’ and identify the sections which do the following work: • Tell us the general topic • Limit this to a specific aspect of the topic • Tell us what work has already been done on this topic • Establish the theoretical framework the writer is basing his study on • Identify research that supports the approach he plans to take • Looks for gaps in existing research

13. Reviewing literature: Your process • Determine your purpose • What is the thesis, question or problem to be answered? • Decide what to read and how to read it • Is the scope of your study wide enough? • What type of publications? • What discipline are you working in? • See also, TPA Moodle on Reading for Academic Purposes

14. Your process cont. • How good is your information seeking? • Wide enough to catch relevant literature? • Narrow enough to exclude irrelevant literature? • Go to the Unitec Library for tutorials and assistance • Primary sources • Journals, conferences, theses, books, research reports • The best sources but can be hard to read…! • Secondary sources • Text books, other literature reviews, wikipedia, most online sources • A good place to start

15. Your process cont: Organise your ideas List the important topics or themes covered Use a conceptual framework – e.g: Hossain, 2009, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786308001701

16. Your process cont. • Engage critically with the literature • (NB: if you are doing a pre-assigned lit review assignment, you might start here) • Ask questions as you read • Do you compare, analyse, discuss strengths and weaknesses? (go beyond listing and summarising) • Have you found contrary studies? Write throughout the process Get writing, don’t wait!

17. Reading for a literature review • Create a template for evaluating your readings (for example, see handout ‘Reading for a Literature Review’) • Possible headings • Author’s background / credentials? • Data gathering and analysis? • Methodology? • Main points • Connections and patterns with other research? • Assumptions? Bias? • Value of this article to the body of literature?

18. Writing the literature review Make an explicit connection between the thesis/research topic and the literature being covered (see handout ‘Sample statements from literature reviews’) Integrate evidence from sources so that it becomes part of your text (see handout ‘Integrating evidence’) Write in paragraphs (see handout ‘Designing and analysing paragraph structure’)

19. Referencing See TePunaAko Learning Centre’s Moodle resources on referencing Plagiarism occurs when writers use other people's ideas and words in an assignment and present them as their own ideas and words, without acknowledging or referencing the source.

20. Exercise – Determining the purpose of your research (See handout ‘Determining the purpose’) Think about the topic you are reading for at the moment. Try to write a single sentence or question that sets out the problem you are investigating (or have been given). Discuss with another student – is my statement or question clear? Together, create some questions in response to that statement to guide your reading.

21. Some resources • Australian National University https://academicskills.anu.edu.au/resources/handouts/literature-reviews • YouTube • Literature Review – do’s and don’ts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCn4rYewfLw&feature=related • Literature Reviews: An overview for Graduate Students http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU&feature=related • Supervisors discuss the Literature Review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI55_TPBIio&feature=related

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