Chapter 5 – Writing a literature review. In this chapter students will be able to: Compare insights from various scholarly articles, prepare a clear and well organized literature review, make a case for your purpose statement and research questions, take notes in a manner useful to conducting a literature review.
Planning an Applied Research Project Chapter 5 – Writing a Literature Review © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Learning Objectives » Compare insights from various scholarly articles » Prepare a clear and well organized literature review » Make a case for your purpose statement and research questions » Take notes in a manner useful to conducting a literature review © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Key Terms » » » » » » » » » Audience Coherence Criteria for evaluation Focus Logical flow Perspective Point of view Tone Voice © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Purposes of a Completed Literature Review » Provide information to scholars » Include a comprehensive set of information about the current status of research in the field » Demonstrate your credibility » Encourage support for your research » Enable you to move forward with your research © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Audience » » » » » » » » » Scholarly professionals in the field Industry professionals Journal editors Editorial boards of journals Other students Other colleagues People interested in your topic Funders Reviewers of proposals © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Voice and Tone » » » » Objective Dispassionate voice Third person point of view Avoid: ˃ Condescension ˃ Familiarity ˃ Lack of enthusiasm ˃ Personal point of view – “I” “we” © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved The Perspective of a Literature Review » Broad picture of the state of scholarship in an area (and often related areas) » Picture of the quality and range of the scholarship » Discussion of patterns and gaps in the key findings of various scholarship » Analysis of the findings in the scholarship without too much detail » Evaluation of the scholarship to point out the necessity or value of the proposed project © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Constructing the Written Literature Review » Collect your notes into categories – methods, findings, sample sizes, etc » Organize into a coherent essay with sections » Write the sections » Write a conclusion and then an introduction » Write transitions between sections » Review to ensure a focus on findings » Check for accurate sources and sufficient references » Revise for clear, objective point of view © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Constructing the Written Literature Review (cont’d) » Structure of a Literature Review ˃ Introduction – explaining the topic and the significance of the purpose statement and research questions; often including background information ˃ Subsections with headings – patterns of findings, gaps in findings, research methods, sampling strategies, applications ˃ Conclusion – summarizing key findings and pointing out the need for the research © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Constructing the Written Literature Review (cont’d) » Elements of a Literature Review ˃ Clear introduction ˃ Strong logic ˃ Comprehensive summary ˃ Careful reasoning ˃ Statements about common patterns of research (documented by sources) ˃ Statements about gaps (documented by sources) ˃ Comments on research methods (documented by sources) © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Criteria for a Good Literature Review » Good Literature Review are: ˃ Well written ˃ Carefully constructed ˃ Persuasive ˃ Well organized ˃ Insightful © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Criteria for a Good Literature Review (cont’d) ˃ Clarity ˃ Coherence ˃ Comprehensiveness ˃ Cogency ˃ Currency ˃ Credibility ˃ Creativity ˃ Contribution © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Review of the Class Session » Anything unclear? » One thing that I learned from this class is … © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved ... Subsections with headings – patterns of findings, gaps in findings, research methods, sampling strategies, applications ˃ Conclusion – summarizing key findings and pointing out the need for the research © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved... Structure of a Literature Review ˃ Introduction – explaining the topic and the significance of the purpose statement and research questions; often including background information ˃ Subsections with headings – patterns of findings, ... Discussion of patterns and gaps in the key findings of various scholarship » Analysis of the findings in the scholarship without too much detail » Evaluation of the scholarship to point out the necessity or value of the proposed project