ELS Effective Learning Service Writing a Literature Review For appointments contact: els@qmu.ac.uk or elsinternational@qmu.ac.uk web: www.qmu.ac.uk/els
What is a review of the literature? A literature review is: an account of what has been published on a certain topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on the topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are a critical analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic. A literature review should: compare and relate different theories, findings etc. have a particular focus or theme to organise the review. A literature review is not : a summary of each of your sources listed one by one just a descriptive summary of the historical background to your topic. Types of literature review There are different types of literature reviews and different purposes for writing one. The most common are listed below. Stand alone literature reviews These provide an overview and analysis of the current state of research on a topic or question. The goal is to evaluate and compare previous research on a topic to provide an analysis of what is currently known; also to reveal controversies, weaknesses or gaps in current work. Part of a research proposal (for a PhD dissertation, a thesis, a class project, or a submission for a grant: By pointing out current issues and questions concerning a topic the review is crucial to demonstrating how your proposed research will contribute to the field. Part of a research report The review should provide the context to which your work is a contribution.
Why write a literature review? A literature review: enlarges your knowledge about the topic lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas: information-seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, to identify a set of useful articles and books critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify. How does a literature review differ from an academic essay? In an academic essay the main focus is on supporting your own argument while in a literature review the main focus is summarising and synthesising the arguments and ideas of others. You may use a range of sources in an essay but these are usually a select number because the emphasis is on your argument. A literature review can also have an argument but this is not as important as covering a number of sources. Remember! A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It is usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organise the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesise and evaluate it according to a guiding concept (e.g. your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis).
Before you begin reading Do note that it is a good idea to check with your lecturer about specific requirements in your subject area as these may vary. Clarify Roughly how many sources should you include? What types of sources (books, journal articles, websites)? Should you summarise, synthesise or critique your sources by discussing a common theme or issue? Should you evaluate your sources? Find models Look for literature reviews in your discipline and read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own reading or research or of ways to organise your final review. Narrow your topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need in order to have a good survey of the material. Your tutor will not expect you to read everything on the topic. You will make your task easier if you first limit your scope. (However, you may need to broaden the topic if you are not finding enough sources!) Ask yourself: What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that my literature review helps to define? What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research? (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure) qualitative research? (e.g. studies).
As you read Consider whether your sources are current or not. Some disciplines, the sciences for example, require that you use sources that are as current as possible. However, in the humanities or social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required, focussing on how perspectives have changed through the years or in a certain time period. Read abstracts of articles first. This way you can check to see if the article is relevant or appropriate Keep your purpose in mind when you read. Before beginning to read, take a few moments to think about what it is you are expecting from the article or chapter. Skim the heading and the abstract of the piece, perhaps looking at the first line of each paragraph and the conclusion Do you need to read everything with equal attention? Can you see where the arguments are headed? Ask questions as you read. Have specific questions in mind as you read. These may be quite general: Have there been any specific studies on the role of women in electoral lobbying? or more specific : Are these results comparable with the Japanese study using the same questionnaire? These will help you concentrate and deal with material in an active manner. These questions will form the basis of your written review. Asking them as you read will tend to slow your reading process down, because you will be thinking as you go. However, doing your critical work early will make the process of writing a critical review much easier.
Make notes as you read Your note-taking should reflect your reading questions. Summaries have their uses, but they aren't the building blocks of a good literature review. Taking notes and making critical comments is more useful. Keep in mind that, although taking notes is time consuming, much of it will be directly usable later. If you take comprehensive notes in your own words as you read and think, you will have done the really hard work before you start to write. It doesn't really matter how you organise and write your notes as long as you: make sure your notes are legible remember to provide clear references including page numbers in case you want to look at the original material again, or cite it in your review. One possible way of recording notes is to use a synthesis matrix. This allows you to sort and categorize the different arguments presented on an issue. Across the top of the chart are the spaces to record sources, and along the side of the chart are the spaces to record the main points of argument on the topic at hand. As you examine your first source, you will work vertically in the column belonging to that source, recording as much information as possible about each significant idea presented in the work. Leave a column at the end for your points/comments. Research topic Author A Author B Author C Points to note/comments Burnout syndrome Peterson, A. Bannerman, J. Allan,S. and amongst ICU nurses White, M. Article title/details Research aims Methods qualitative: qualitative: qualitative: A = case study over longer case study : questionnaire: cross-sectional research period than B and 6 ICU nurses 572 general survey of 5956 C (only questionnaires) over 9 months ward nurses staff nurses significant? Findings Discussion/analysis Conclusions
Starting thinking about writing Think about organisation Once you have the basic categories in place, you need to consider how you will present the sources themselves within the body of your paper. Create an organisational method to focus this section even further. This could be: chronological; by theme; or by method used, for example. Chronological: By theme: By method: You write about the materials according to when they were published; however, there may be relatively no continuity between sources here. Thematic reviews are organised around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. (A review organised in this manner would ideally shift between time periods within each section according to the point made.) This approach differs from the two above in that the focus usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the methods used in the research being reviewed. Talk to your supervisor/lecturer before you make a final decision and start writing. Structure Like most academic papers, literature reviews also contain at least three basic elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the review. Introduction: a brief idea of the topic of the literature review, perhaps the central theme and the organisational pattern Body: a discussion of sources, organised either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically Conclusion/ a summary of what has emerged from the review Recommendations: and reiterates conclusions/makes recommendations.
Writing the review Do note that it is a good idea to check with your lecturer about specific requirements in your subject area as these may vary. Once you ve settled on a general pattern of organisation, you re ready to write each section. Below are a few guidelines to follow during this stage. Use evidence: A literature review is just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to show that what you are saying is valid. Be selective: Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the focus of the review. Use quotes sparingly: The survey nature of a literature review does not allow for in-depth discussion or detailed quotes from the text. Some short quotes here and there are acceptable if you want to emphasise a point. Summarise and synthesise: Do this within each paragraph as well as throughout the review. Do not present material from one author, followed by information from another, then another. You need to group authors and link ideas to avoid this problem. A synthesis matrix may help you to think/write in sub-topics comparing and contrasting the different researches.
Focus on analysis, not description Look at the synthesis matrix below and then study the paragraph which follows. Research topic Care homes: residents perception of autonomy article title/ details (A) Smith (B) French (C) Haroon (D) Hope Points to note/comments Care home environments, motivation, and psychological adjustment (2000) Nursing home environments and resident autonomy (1998) Nursing home residents: dependence and independence (2000) Enhancing the autonomy of nursing home residents (2002) methods findings Qualitative: residents/staff in two intermediate care facilities Physical environment had minimum effects on residents perception of autonomy (apart from personal privacy available) Availability of private areas = not only aspect phys. envir/mt.. that determines autonomy Qualitative: 115 residents / 32 nursing homes (different autonomy levels) Privacy not only aspect. Physical structures (standardised furniture/f heating/no house key) = limited feeling of independence. Qualitative: 225 residents various nursing homes Resources and also location = features which are important to residents for their independence. A= smaller number of institutions and residents interviewed. Also interviewed staff significant? C = different levels autonomy significant? B, C, D disagree with A bigger interview samples? D also considers location is important.
Focus on analysis, not description (cont d) This passage below is taking an analytical and evaluative approach to the literature by comparing and contrasting it. This approach is well signalled by linguistic markers indicating logical connections: words such as however, moreover ; and phrases such as substantiates the claim that which indicate supporting evidence and the writer s ability to synthesise knowledge. After studying residents and staff from two intermediate care facilities in Calgary, Alberta, Smith (2000) came to the conclusion that except for the amount of personal privacy available to residents, the physical environment of these institutions had minimal if any effect on their perceptions of control (autonomy). However, French (1998) and Haroon (2000) found that availability of private areas is not the only aspect of the physical environment that determines residents' autonomy. Haroon interviewed 115 residents from 32 different nursing homes known to have different levels of autonomy (2000). It was found that physical structures, such as standardized furniture, heating that could not be individually regulated, and no possession of a house key for residents limited their feelings of independence. Moreover, Hope (2002), who interviewed 225 residents from various nursing homes, substantiates the claim that characteristics of the institutional environment such as the extent of resources in the facility, as well as its location, are features which residents have indicated as being of great importance to their independence. As you write Ask yourself: Have I critically analysed the literature I use? Do I follow through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items to each other? Instead of just listing and summarising items, do I assess them, discussing strengths and weaknesses. Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful?