Critical Reading Session 1 Dr. Cheryl Martens. Today Introduction Assignment: The annotated bibliography Reading Research Studies Critically

Critical Reading Session 1Dr. Cheryl Martens

Today

Introduction

Assignment: The annotated bibliography

Reading Research Studies Critically

Critical Reading Core Concepts

Note-taking and summary writing

The Database search: Getting the most out of reading abstracts

Intro: Critical Reading

Why are you reading this text? What do you want to get from this text?

What genre is the text? Is it a research report, essay, book review, article?

How does this fit with what you know about the subject of the text?

What else has been written on the subject of the text?

What controversies exist in this area? How does this text fit in?

What do you know about the author? What methodological approach is being used?

Unit Evaluation

1. Final Test (Mirta): (40%)

2. Annotated Bibliography (60%). 8-10 Sources (how many and level of detail) to be discussed and agreed with tutor. All work is to be submitted in English unless otherwise agreed. Please contact Cheryl or Mirta with any questions.

Due: July 30th

Annotated Bilblilography Grading Criteria

Academic Style – is the academic style consistent and appropriately presented? (i.e. if APA selected is it all in APA format?) /10

Writing Style and Structure – is the structure clear and appropriate to the annotated bibliography style? /20

Critical Evaluation – Is there clear evidence of critical evaluation and engagement with the sources presented? /50

Evidence of understanding and relation to your particular thesis topic and your field /20

Approaching the research process genres & the Research Article (RA)

Research articles

Abstracts Presentations

Grant proposals

Theses anddissertations

Books and monographs Swales (1990:177)

Reading Research Studies Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research aims to explore a particular area in depth. How well this is done will need to be the focus of your reading.

“Data” (i.e. focus groups, observations and interviews) is collected to generate ideas and hypotheses via inductive reasoning.

Validity particularly important: this is improved through a variety of data collection methods (triangulation).

Reading Quantitative Research

Traditional Experimental – laboratory, clinical Randomized Control Trials or non – randomised Cohort, case-control

Your reading should focus on strengths and limitations of methods, settings and circumstances.

Qualitative versus Quantitative

Qualitative

What, why, how

What occurs in lived experience, time, space

Generates hypotheses

Subjective

Quantitative

How many, what size, How much

Distribution over time and space

Tests Hypotheses

Objective

Reading Research Studies Critically

AIMResearch Question? Well defined? Appropriate?

Tested properly by method?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Author, Journal, Type of Study.

Evaluate: Strengths/weaknesses/authority

Sample

Large enough?

Comparable with normal population?

Randomly selected?

Biased?

Inclusion/exclusion criteria?

Controls (Quantitative)

CONTROLS Used or not? How were the controls selected?

Matched for all relevant factors?

Any confounding factors?

Design

Appropriate?

Quantitative or qualitative?

Observational

Experimental

Double blind

Placebo controlled

Data

Were questionnaires piloted?

Response rate?

Outcome measures defined?

Was measurement validated/reliable?

Understandable clear data represented accurately?

Is there any data missing? Is this accounted for?

Were non-respondents accounted for?

Type of Data/Evidence Given

Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses

RCT with definite results

RCT with non-definite results

Cohort

Cross-sectional

Case reports/Observation

Expert opinion

Anecdotal

Ethics

Did the study receive ethics committee approval?

Was participant consent received?

Does the study include children or vulnerable adults?

Are there any conflicts of interest?

Findings

Summary of findings.

Study strength and (Discussion) limitations.

How are they compared with existing literature?

Do findings answer the research question(s)?

The Study’s Conclusions

Are conclusions made in discussion justified by results?

Are conclusions significant? Relevant? Applicable? (theoretically and/or empirically and/or clinically, etc.)

Wray and Wallace’s Mental Map for critical reading (Ch.6)

‘a way of thinking about the social world, so that different aspects can be considered and evaluated independently’ (p. 62).

Designed to help identify patterns authors use to discuss their subject and understand how they try to convince their target audience.

Tools include: concepts, perspectives, metaphors, theories, models, assumptions and ideologies.

Preguntas para hacer un analisis crítica (p.92)

Porque estoy leendo eso?

Que es el proposito del autor?

Que dice el autor en relacion a la informacion /fenomeno que me intereresa estudiar?

Cual es el peso de los argumentos del autor?

Cuales son las conclusiones que puedo tomar?

Associated Critical Analysis Question(s)

1What review question am I asking of this text

2 What type of literature is this?

3 What sort of intellectual project is being undertaken?

4 What is being claimed that is relevant to answering my review question?

5 To what extent is there backing for claims?

6 How adequately does any theoretical orientation support claims?

7 To what extent does any value stance affect claims?

8 To what extent are claims supported or challenged by others’ work?

9 To what extent are claims consistent with my experience?

10 What is my summary evaluation of.

Finding main ideas

Main ideas usually stated in topic sentences.

Look for the difference between main and subsidiary information.

Delete unimportant information, anecdotes, examples, illustrations, data and other details

Approaching the text: Note-taking

Reflect on what you do when you take notes

Notes should always demonstrate clear connections between ideas by the author and how these can be classified.

Note-taking lists

Ejemplo: El estress A) Nivel Social

Mucha integracion social Poca integracion social

B) Nivel Inter-personal Alto apoyo social Baja apoyo social

C) Nivel intra-personal Alto Auto Estima Baja Auto Estima

Note-taking diagrams

Stressors

Nivel Social

Alto integracion Baja integracion

Nivel Inter-Personal

Mucho apoyo social Poco Apoyo Social

C) Nivel Intra-Personal

Alto nivel de auto estima Baja auto estima

Exercise:

The way we are using the word grammar differs in another way from its most common meaning. In our sense, the grammar includes everything speakers know about their language - the sound system, called phonology, the system of meanings, called semantics, the rules of word formation, called morphology, and the rules of sentence formation, called syntax. It also of course includes the vocabulary of words - the dictionary or lexicon. Many people think of the grammar of a language as referring solely to the syntactic rules. This latter sense is what students usually mean when they talk about their class in "English grammar.".

(From An introduction to language by Victoria Fromkin and Robert Rodman (Holt-Saunders))

Example: Note-taking List

El termino grammatica segun Fromkin and Rodman consiste de:

I Phonology (sound system)

II Semantics (meaning system)

III Morphology (word formation)

IV Syntax (sentence formation)

V Lexicon (vocabulary)

Ejemplo: diagram para tomar notas

Parafrasear Identifica todos los que se aplique:

Remueva palabras complicadas

Usa la misma estructura que el parafo

Es siempre lo mas simple posible

Expresa argumentos de una forma concisa

Siempre usa palabras originales

Expresas palabras en sus popias palabras

Copia partes del texto original

Summary Writing for your annotated bibliographies

Un sintesis deberia contener los puntos principales en tus palabras y puede contener informacion por citas.

Tu sintesis deberia mostrar que entiendes el texto y el contexto del autorYour summary should show that you have understood both the text and its context (i.e. the writer’s perspective, context in which it was written).

Acuerdate que ideas presentadas necesitan tener referencias clarasRemember that ideas that come from other sources need to be attributed to that source through referencing.

Examples:

(Available at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/)

1. The original passage:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/

2. A legitimate paraphrase:

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

4. A plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

Data Base Searches: Scanning

Remember your key questions and when answering these try to be concise but also highlight supporting evidence

When scanning for info: Consider what part of the structure is likely to contain the info

you need Use key words to help identify (and summarize) meaning

Skimming for meaning

Skimming involves looking at the text to get the overall meaning/intention of the text. In addition, skimming can help you to grasp the main concepts at work and structure being used by the author http://www.uefap.com/reading/readfram.htm

Understanding conceptual meaning, e.g. comparison, purpose, cause, effect

Understanding text structure/organisation

http://www.uefap.com/reading/readfram.htm

http://www.uefap.com/reading/underst/meaning/meaning.htm

http://www.uefap.com/reading/underst/structure/structure.htm

In Summary:

Note-taking

Learn what works best for you Do you work best as a visual learner (diagrams)? Lists/sequencing?

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is not a scientific method –there will always be more than one way to re-phrase other people’s words

Try to be CONCISE – less (words) often = more clarity

5. Summary Writing

There is much evidence that students understand the content being read, but it is important when writing your summaries of academic literature to also add an element of your own evaluation of these sources.

Overall how convincing is the argumentation of the work?

What assumptions are being made that may limit the validity of the claims?

Associated Critical Analysis Question(s)

Why am I reading this?

What are the authors trying to do in writing this?

What are the authors saying that is relevant to what I want to find out?

How convincing is what the authors are saying?

In conclusion, what use can I make of this?

1What review question am I asking of this text









10 What is my summary evaluation of?

Approaching the text

1 What review question am I asking of this text?

What is my central question?


How does this text fit within the wider literature and my investigation?

The Authors


Is the writing theoretically, methodologically or practically orientated? What are the epistemological premises of the author(s)?


Authority of the arguments and values behind the text


What evidence supports the argument?


How do the arguments hold up in relation to certain theories?


How much do the values of the author come through in what is being argued?


My experience and conclusions


Do you have any experiences that support or negate what the author is saying?

10 What is my summary evaluation of?

What do I want to take from this?

Annotations vs. Abstracts

What’s the difference?

An abstract is at the beginning of an article, and provides a summary

An annotation provides both a summary and a critical evaluation of the work – your work is meant to speak with authority to colleagues working in this area.

Annotated Bibliography Writing Styles

There are several different styles of writing annotated bibliography. Some are descriptive and some are evaluative. In this course for your final work we are looking for:

A concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and ideas of the book or article in a few lines or paragraphs.

Supporting sentences should

(a) evaluate the authority or background of the author,

(b) comment on the intended audience

(c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited

(d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

Selecting Literature by Topic

3. An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

Structuring your summary

Simplify the ideas presented. Shorten complex sentences to make simple sentences and abbreviate key ideas to a single work where possible.

Look for meaning relationships between the words and ideas/concepts (i.e. cause/effect, generalisation, contrast).

Simplify the grammar of the text, long sentences can be broken down, or short sentences combined.

Editing your summary

Present your main ideas in complete sentences.

Check the structure of your work. Conjunctions and adverbs like 'therefore', 'however’, 'since', can be used to show the connections between the ideas.

Check that the purpose and meaning is clear.

Check that the style is your own.

MLA Citation Style Example

London, Herbert. "Five Myths of the Television Age." Television Quarterly 10.1 (1982): 81-89.

Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of several books and articles, explains how television contradicts five commonly believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate his points. His examples have been selected to contradict such truisms as: "seeing is believing"; "a picture is worth a thousand words"; and "satisfaction is its own reward." London uses logical arguments to support his ideas, which are his personal opinion. He doesn't refer to any previous works on the topic. London's style and vocabulary would make the article of interest to any reader (http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/annotated_bibliographies.html)

APA Citation Style

Schechter, H. (1971). Death and resurrection of the king: Elements of primitive mythology and ritual in "Roger Malvin's Burial." English Language Notes, 8, 201-05.

Though Schechter reorganizes the material in an interesting format, basically his study is a reiteration of Cassier's seminal argument in The Sacred and the Profane: Modern Myth Studies. Schechter's major contribution to the debate is his recognition that Reuben sacrifices Cyrus so that the curse of death-in- life can be removed. Schechter's attempt to put Cassier's argument in a Jungian context is intriguing but not quite successful, since he must ignore important elements in the story to do so (http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/annotated_bibliographies.html)

Harvard Style

Martinich, A. P. Philosophical Writing: An Introduction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989.

An excellent introduction to the peculiarities of philosophical writing, ranging in difficulty from elementary to moderately advanced. Martinich maintains that half of good philosophy is good grammar and the other half is good thinking and his book is geared toward helping students to write clear, precise and concise philsophical prose. The book includes a crash course on basic concepts in logic, a catalogue of the types of arguments typically found in philosophical writing, and an examination of the structure of a philosophcial essay. Of particular interest is Martinich's discussion of the concepts of author and audience as they apply to academic writing.

Sitios utiles:

Purdue University Formatting and Style Guides

(APA, MLA, Chicago)

Research and Documentation Online

Landmark's Son of Citation Machine

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/



http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/

http://citationmachine.net/

Tarea

Selecciona su bibliografía y prepara las referencias segun un estilo (i.e. APA, Harvard, Chicago).

Empieza a trabajar en la bibliografía anotada

Lleva su trabajo a la proxíma clase

Lectura: Wray y Wallace 1-3 y 6

Documents

Critical Reading Session 1 Dr. Cheryl Martens. Today Introduction Assignment: The annotated bibliography Reading Research Studies Critically