2011 MBBS Honours Literature Review Structure and Content

1. 2011 MBBS Honours Literature Review Structure and Content Year 3 Honours Workshop 3C A/Prof Di Eley MBBS Research Coordinator Based on presentations by A/Prof Lindy McAllister

2. Overview of this presentation • Literature reviews • What are they? What are they not? • Searching for literature • Reading and compiling literature • Writing a literature review • Macrostructure • Microstructure • Overcoming being overwhelmed • Publishing your review

3. A literature review • IS NOT • a summary • IS • a conceptually organised synthesis of the results of your search University of Toronto (2001).http://www.utoronto.ca/hswriting/lit-review.htm • a critique of existing literature • an illustration of your mastery of the field • an argument e.g., for the need for your research, for a position. Make sure your argument line is clear.

4. Why write a literature review? • Demonstrates that you know the field • Maps the field and positions you and your research within the context • Justifies the reason for your research • Identifies the gap your research can fill • Shows your research is important • Allows you to establish your theoretical framework and methodological focus University of Queensland (2002). http://www2.ems.uq.edu.au/phdweb/phhome.html

5. The stages of writing a literature • Searching the literature • Reading and compiling literature • Writing the document • Macrostructure • Microstructure • Publishing your review

6. Searching the literature

7. Journals/periodicals Books & chapters Reports (e.g., technical, government, research) Conference papers & proceedings Dissertations & theses Unpublished work (e.g., e-mail, letters, minutes, internal reports) Reviews Audiovisual media Electronic media (e.g., CD ROM, internet) Newspapers & magazines Types of literature Based on APA (1994) and http://www.clet.ait.ac.th/EL21LIT.HTM

8. Make sure your review is current • Use the library • Learn to search • Medline • CINAHL • ERIC • Ask colleagues – get help and advice

9. Reading a mountain of literature

10. Reading – just do it, lots of it "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested" (Bacon)

11. Reading for different purposes • accounts of research on similar topics; • accounts of research methods being applied in ways which are similar to your own plans; • accounts of the context relating to your project. Baxter, L., Hughes, C., Tight, M. (1996). How to research. Buckingham: Open University Press.

12. Prepare to be overwhelmedwhere to start? • Get a feel for the state of play in your topic area • Ask your supervisor for the names of 2 influential researchers in your topic area • Look them up on the web; download their CVs if possible; read all their papers chronologically to trace the development of key ideas in the field • Read a recent state-of-the-art summary or literature review in your topic area • Text book chapter; review articles or tutorial articles in journals; meta-analysis; systematic review

13. Be ‘picky’ (strategic) with what you read and use • Delimit the searches e.g., by years (say 2000-2006), language, key words etc • Only read ‘older’ literature if it is ‘seminal’/classic or frequently cited • In recent search, what papers are most often referred to? • Citation indices • Keep good record of searches to save effort and reduplication • Ask librarian to help you!

14. Information management • Electronic • ProCite, EndNote, ScholarsAid • Manual • Filing cabinet • Concertina files • Card system • Reading log • Spreadheet

15. Categorise your articles After a comprehensive search decide which are; • A - highly relevant • B - less relevant, but still important • C - articles that leave you with a nagging feeling that you should have read them • X - don’t want to read, not relevant, never will be relevant Findley, T. W. (1989). The conceptual review of the literature or how to read more articles than you ever want to see in your entire life. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 70, S17-S22.

16. Reviewing it all Individual article review versus Conceptual review of the literature

17. Individual article review – evaluating what you have gathered • Read in this way for ‘A’ articles • Numerous formats within various references for individual article reviews • Formats often focus on research methodology

18. Literature to help you evaluate individual articles • Cuddy, P. G., Elenbaas, R. M., Elenbaas, J. K. (1983). Evaluating the medical literature - Part I: Abstract, introduction, methods. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 12, 549-62. • Part II: Statistical analysis (pp. 610-20) • Part III: Results and discussion (pp. 679-86) • Gore, S. M. (1981). Assessing clinical trials (series). British Medical Journal, 282, 1687-89, 1780-81, 1861-63, 1958-60, 2114-17. Also 283, 211-13.

19. Conceptual literature review • Articles are reviewed in an integrated fashion • Articles that are methodologically flawed are included • Goal = examination of the state of the art • Your conceptual framework will be different from that of the writer of the article • Conceptual review is written from common themes Findley, T. W. (1989). The conceptual review of the literature or how to read more articles than you ever want to see in your entire life. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 70, S17-S22.

20. How to construct a conceptual framework • Review the highly relevant articles. • Write a few notes on each front page • Construct a framework for classification of relevant articles • List major points from the articles, then sort these points into a sensible order • Draw a table listing author and year under each conceptual category Findley, T. W. (1989). The conceptual review of the literature or how to read more articles than you ever want to see in your entire life. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 70, S17-S22.

21. Study Discipline Country Research approach Participants Data analysis Major findings Scully & Shepard, 1983 Physiotherapy USA Ethnography 31, various experience levels Grounded theory Key themes/subthemes Primacy of patient needs Rewards-Personal satisfaction, Professional development, Dept enrichment Hardships-Time conflicts, Loss of patient contact, Loss of privacy Teaching tools unique to clinical setting-Diagnosis of student readiness, Selection of clinical problems, Manipulating time, Coaching, Shifting status of student to therapist, Evaluation of students, Self-evaluation Example of tabular format

22. Example: Concept map framework • Create your own! Use • Powerpoint • Butcher’s paper • Post It notes • Inspiration.com • Mind mapping software

23. Macrostructure Concept map Writing Definition Literature review Microstructure Reading Show examples Where to findliterature Sources of literature Publishing thereview Resources Librarian

24. Writing your literature review Macrostructure versus Microstructure

25. Macrostructure • Funnel your writing from • what is widely known • to what is not known • Take the reader to the "point" (reason) of your research

26. Macrostructure: Funnel (1) • Establish a territory • Show the general area is: important/ central/ interesting/ problematic/ relevant • Introduce and review previous research • Establish a niche • Indicate a gap in previous research • raise a question about it • extend previous knowledge (but it remains unclear) • Learning Assistance Centre, The University of Sydney, 1997

27. Macrostructure: Funnel (2) • Occupy the niche • Outline purposes/nature of the research • Announce principle findings • Indicate structure of the paper • Learning Assistance Centre, The University of Sydney, 1997

28. Developing a structure – some ideas • Put all related articles together e.g., in piles on the floor if need be • Discuss why these piles go together • Sort and re-sort as explanations become clearer • These piles will become sections of the literature review • Create sub-piles within piles • These sub-piles become sub-headings • Create a word file of these headings and sub-headings – do they flow logically • Mindmappingon paper or software will achieve similar results; visual-spatial work and ‘doing’/moving are right brain tasks and working with words is left brain

29. Macrostructure: Writing paragraphs • Keep in mind that the literature review should provide the context for your research by looking at what work has already been done in your research area. • It is not supposed to be just a summary of other people's work! • The next few slides show the difference

30. How NOT to do it • This is more like an annotated bibliography than a literature review "Green (1995) discovered…" "In 1998 Black conducted experiments and discovered.." "Later Brown (2000) illustrated this in…"

31. A better way • Approaching the review this way forces you • to make judgements and • to distinguish your thoughts from assessments made by others There seems to be general agreement that xxx (e.g., Brown, 2000; Green, 1995; White, 1997). Green (1995) sees xxx as a consequence of yyy; whereas Black (1998) puts xxx and yyyas … While there are limitations with Green’s analysis, its main value lies in …... University of Queensland (2002). http://www2.ems.uq.edu.au/phdweb/phhome.html

32. Writers’ block - don’t believe it • Start with an annotated bibliography • Summarise each article in one pile/section • Decide on the key themes in the annotated bibliography • Write a paragraph for each theme (as per suggestions above, in order to obtain synthesis not description/recounts)e.g, Various researchers have conducted randomised control trials on x. The results are equivocal in that some found…. (Refs), while others found …. (Refs). Smith and Jones (2000) have suggested that this variability in results may be due to ….

33. Just start writing - anything • Start off as a letter……. • Go back to your outline (headings/sub-headings) • Get feedback on sections and rework • Arrange in order of headings and sub-headings • Create linkages between each section and within each section • Build in critique of the literature as you go

34. Microstructure Relationship between content and form • Form isn’t only for pendants; it can enhance, or detract from,the content • Content is difficult to understand if form is deficient "Hey, where’s the next mistake?"

35. Microstructure • Includes • Grammar • Spelling • Referencing • BE CONSISTENT

36. Grammar and spelling Watch out for: • Singulars / plurals • Fewer / less • However • Apostrophes • That / which • Affect / effect Capitalisation Commas Full stops Abbreviations Split infinitives Colons and semi colons

37. Apostrophe’s by Greg Dare Greg’s First Law of punctuation: for every omitted apostrophe (Australias, Womens) theres an equal and opposite extra one (potato’s, pyjama’s). Its predicted by the year 2000 apostrophe’s will cease to exist or every ’s will have one but I’ suspect the’yll still keep coming randoml’y.

38. Reasons for referencing • Academic honesty • Credibility • Sources of information • i.e., where the ideas, material, etc. come from • Location of information • i.e., where to find the original material • Good Guide: APA Publication Manual 5th edition

39. Publish your literature review • Where? • Conference (poster or paper), journal (tutorial paper), book chapter • Why? • To get reviewers’ and readers’ feedback • To accomplish something early • To stake your claim to that area

40. Hints for good writing 1. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 2. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects, but data is not singular. 3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. 4. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.) 5. Comparisons are as bad as cliches. 6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration. 7. Be more or less specific.

41. More hints for good writing 8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary. 9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies. 10. No sentence fragments. 11. Foreign words and phrases are not de rigeur. 12. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. 13. One should NEVER generalize.

42. Yet more hints for good writing! 14. Don't use no double negatives. 15. One-word sentences? Eliminate. 16. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice. 17. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. 18. Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. 19. Don’t use contractions. 20. An ‘underway’ is the opposite of an ‘overpass’.

43. Four key features One key concept • Content • Critical analysis • Considered reflection • Elegance of exposition In a single word SCHOLARSHIP

44. Resources • People - write your own list • Other academics, people outside your discipline, people you know who are good writers, CRGT, successful grant writers, copy editors(look around the room as well!)

45. Useful resource • McLeod, S. & McAllister, L. (Eds). (2002). Getting started on research: Age old issues, new age tools. ACQuiring Knowledge in Speech, Language and Hearing, 4 (1). • Available from Speech Pathology Australiaoffice@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au($22 including postage)