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Researching & WritingResearching & Writinga Literature Reviewa Literature Review
NCSU Libraries
Expectations of graduate Expectations of graduate studentsstudentsGrad students have different backgrounds
◦Not every grad student has done research
◦Not everyone has experience reading the literature
No problem.You are learning to ask questions
Do so! No one expects you to know everything. Your job is to learn to seek out answers
Knowing that information is out there can be empowering!
Talking about the literature…
◦“What does the literature show us?”
◦“Connect your ideas to the literature.”
◦“Survey the literature on the topic.”
Talking about the literature…
What it IS:◦Scholarly communication
◦A published record of research
◦Challenging to read and digest
◦Indexed, searchable with research databases
Talking about the literature…
What it IS NOT:◦Common knowledge
i.e., handily summarized in Wikipedia
◦Easy to find If you just Googled it, you
overlooked something.◦Available freely online
(mostly) This distinction can be
transparent on campus: the “free” internet vs. library subscriptions
XX
Talking about the literature…
◦Let’s focus on “What are lit reviews?” and “Why?” and the conceptual approach first…
◦Follow-up workshops will tackle the “How?” But we’ll look at a examples as we go
What is a Literature Review?What is a Literature Review?
A literature review Surveys scholarly sources relevant to a
particular issue, area of research, or theoryProvides a description, summary, and critical
evaluation of each workOffers an overview of significant literature
published on a topicGives future research context by telling the
story of work done so far
(adapted from http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/ literaturereview.html)
Functions of Literature Functions of Literature ReviewsReviewsEstablish research context
Show why the question is significant
Illustrate and describe previous research, including gaps and flaws
Ensure that research has not been done before
Hey, did you notice that the bullets here are checkboxes?
Functions of Literature Functions of Literature ReviewsReviewsUnderstand the structure of the problem
Demonstrate your knowledge of the field
Synthesize previous perspectives and develop your own perspective
Point the way to future research
Review article examples:http://go.ncsu.edu/litrev1http://go.ncsu.edu/litrev2
Review article examples:http://go.ncsu.edu/litrev1http://go.ncsu.edu/litrev2
Digging Into the LiteratureDigging Into the Literature
A
= Major works
C
B
Digging Into the LiteratureDigging Into the Literature
A
= Major works
C
B
= Studies that rely on major works
Digging Into the LiteratureDigging Into the Literature
A
= Major works
C
B
= Studies that rely on major works
New!
= Something new!
Digging Into the Literature – Digging Into the Literature – How?How?
Aspect How?
Major works •Literature databases•Colleague recommendations•Cited work
Related works Citation searching:•Web of Science•Google Scholar
New information
•Articles alerts/RSS feeds•Tables of Contents
Put it all together, you have a literature review!
Writing and
revision
RefWorks
Work with Articles and Brain
Overview of the ProcessOverview of the Process
Research and Collect Information
Topic
Overview of the ProcessOverview of the Process
Topic
Initial topic won’t be your final topic!Choose, explore, focusRefine as you go based on:
Availability of research – too much? too little?Discovering new ideasWriting progress
Overview of the ProcessOverview of the Process
Research and Collect Information
Topic
Search databasesFind, evaluate, and select articles
RefWorks
Work with Articles and Brain
Overview of the ProcessOverview of the Process
Research and Collect Information
Topic
Save your work in a citation mgr.Read, analyze, synthesizeDevelop your conceptual framework
RefWorks
Work with Articles and Brain
Overview of the ProcessOverview of the Process
Research and Collect Information
Topic
Refine topic?Use your citation manager to stay organized
Writing and
revision
RefWorks
Work with Articles and Brain
Overview of the ProcessOverview of the Process
Research and Collect Information
Topic
Proceeding…(use worksheet handout)Proceeding…(use worksheet handout)
Develop draft topic Discuss with advisor, colleagues
Find a literature review (or book/chapter) Identify key terms and concepts Use bibliography to find sources
Search the major disciplinary database Check with colleagues, a librarian
Each will have different ideas of where to search! Determine scope and facets of topic Collect useful, current sources
Proceeding…Proceeding…
Search other key databases (another discipline?) Round out understanding of scope, facets,
terms, concepts
Search a Citation database Best ones: Web of Science, Google Scholar
Web of Science has better tools Scholar can complete picture
Identify key/seminal papers/research Identify key researchers, research centers,
journals
Trace citations back and forward
Questions that come Questions that come up…up…
◦How do I know I have the “right stuff”?
◦How do I know when I’m done?
◦How do know what’s important?
◦No set answers…for each individual to decide.
Housekeeping TipsHousekeeping Tips
Use a citation management system◦Such as RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, etc.◦One word for these: invaluable. You are
absolutely doing more work in NOT learning about these.
Always get the complete citation information◦Article title, journal title, author, year/volume,
pages, abstractKeep track of searches, notes, ideas, etc.
(back to the worksheets)Fully citing sources = avoiding plagiarism
Read Synthetically: Pull it All Read Synthetically: Pull it All TogetherTogether
Look at all articles to identify relationships
Classify or group papers, or paper sections, by topic, method, theme
Compare and contrast papers addressing similar questions◦Discover relationships between sources◦Discover critical gaps and disagreements
Fit within the generated outline, or adapt outline
The Synthesis MatrixThe Synthesis Matrix
Tool to aid in writing a document showing synthesis
Based on a grid
Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Concept 4
James, et al.
xxxxx xxxxx
Chung xxxxx xxxxx
Levy xxxx xxxxx
Models of Paper StructuresModels of Paper Structures
“Stringing” Model: Organization of a Simple
Summary Paper
Introduction Paragraph 1: Summary
ordescription of article 1
Paragraph 2: Summary or description of article 2
Paragraph 3: Summary or description of article 3
…and on…Summary and
conclusions
“Synthesis” Model: Paper showing Synthesis of Sources and Sequencing by
Theme
Introduction--Introduce context, topic, importance, research questions, overview
Theme A: Introduce concept or theme, discuss/compare the relevant parts of papers 1, 3, and 4
Theme B: Introduce concept or theme, discuss/compare the relevant parts of papers 2,4, and 5
Theme C: Introduce concept or theme, discuss/compare the relevant parts of papers 5 and 6
Final paragraphs --Summarize and highlight conclusions, unresolved issues, identify possible next steps in research and/or practice.
Some Tips for WritingSome Tips for WritingWrite as you go: don’t wait until you’ve
finished searching the literatureSet some times to write regularly, and do it!Start with the easier sections (probably not
the introduction)Jot down notes and ideas and keep them
handyGet feedback, and don’t take it too
personallyAim for a style that is clear, simple, and
straightforward
Moving forwardMoving forwardOther library workshops on:
Doing Literature Searching◦How to identify good databases◦Maximizing your use of them
Citation management◦How to save all of this work