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WritingaLiteratureReviewinPsychology

Whatisaliteraturereview?Howisaliteraturereviewdifferentfromaresearcharticle?Thetwopurposes:describe/compareandevaluateGettingstarted

Selectatopicandgatherarticles Chooseacurrent,well-studied,specifictopic SearchtheresearchliteratureReadthearticlesWritetheliteraturereview

StructureHowtoproceed:describe,compare,evaluateTips

Conclusion

WHATISALITERATUREREVIEW?

Literaturereviewssurveyresearchonaparticularareaortopicinpsychology.Theirmainpurposeistoknittogethertheoriesandresultsfrommultiplestudiestogiveanoverviewofafieldofresearch.

HowisaLiteratureReviewDifferentfromaResearchArticle?

Researcharticles:• areempiricalarticlesthatdescribeoneorseveralrelatedstudiesonaspecific,quantitative,testableresearch

question• aretypicallyorganizedintofourtextsections:Introduction,Methods,Results,Discussion

TheIntroductionofaresearcharticleincludesacondensedliteraturereview.Itspurposeistodescribewhatisknownabouttheareaofstudy,withthegoalofgivingthecontextandrationaleforthestudyitself.

Publishedliteraturereviewsarecalledreviewarticles.Reviewarticlesemphasizeinterpretation.Bysurveyingthekeystudiesdoneinacertainresearcharea,areviewarticleinterpretshoweachlineofresearchsupportsorfailstosupportatheory.Unlikearesearcharticle,whichisquitespecific,areviewarticletellsamoregeneralstoryofanareaofresearchbydescribing,comparing,andevaluatingthekeytheoriesandmainevidenceinthatarea.

TheTwoPurposesofaLiteratureReview

Yourreviewhastwopurposes:(1)todescribeandcomparestudiesinaspecificareaofresearchand(2)toevaluatethosestudies.Bothpurposesarevital:athoroughsummaryandcomparisonofthecurrentresearchisnecessarybeforeyoucanbuildastrongevaluativeargumentaboutthetheoriestested.

GettingStarted(1) Selectaresearchtopicandidentifyrelevantarticles.(2) Readthearticlesuntilyouunderstandwhataboutthemisrelevanttoyourreview.(3) Digestthearticles:Understandthemainpointswellenoughtotalkaboutthem.(4) Writethereview,keepinginmindyourtwopurposes:todescribeandcompare,andtoevaluate.

SELECTATOPICANDCOLLECTARTICLES

ChooseaCurrent,Well-Studied,SpecificTopic

Pickatopicthatinterestsyou.Ifyou'reinterestedinasubject,you'relikelytoalreadyknowsomethingaboutit.Yourinterestwillhelpyoutochoosemeaningfularticles,makingyourpapermorefunbothtowriteandtoread.

Thetopicshouldbebothcurrentandwellstudied.Yourgoalistodescribeandevaluaterecentfindingsinaspecificareaofresearch,sopickatopicthatyoufindincurrentresearchjournals.RecentissuesofAPAjournalscanprovide

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inspiration.Findanareathatiswelldefinedandwellstudied,meaningthatseveralresearchgroupsarestudyingthetopicandhaveapproacheditfromdifferentperspectives.Ifallthearticlesyoufindarefromthesameresearchgroup(i.e.,thesameauthors),broadenyourtopicorusemoregeneralsearchterms.

Youmayneedtonarrowyourtopic.Thesubjectofashortliteraturereviewmustbespecificenough,yethavesufficientliteratureonthesubject,foryoutocoveritindepth.Abroadtopicwillyieldthousandsofarticles,whichisimpossibletosurveymeaningfully.Ifyouaredrowninginarticles,oreacharticleyoufindseemstobeaboutacompletelydifferentaspectofthesubject,narrowyourtopic.Chooseonearticlethatintereststoyouandfocusonthespecificquestioninvestigated.Forexample,asearchfor‘teenagealcoholuse’willfloodyouwitharticles,butsearchingfor‘teenagealcoholuseandcriminalbehavior’willyieldbothfewerandmorefocusedarticles.

Youmayneedtobroadenyourtopic.Youneedenougharticlesonyourtopicforathoroughreviewoftheresearch.Ifyou’reunabletofindmuchliteratureonyourtopic,orifyoufindarticlesyouwantthatarenoteasytofindonline,broadenyourtopic.What’samoregeneralwaytoaskyourquestionofinterest?Forexample,ifyou’rehavingahardtimefindingarticleson‘discriminationagainstAsian-AmericanwomeninSTEMfields,’broadenyourtopic(e.g.,‘academicdiscriminationagainstAsian-Americanwomen’or‘discriminationagainstwomeninSTEM.’)

Considerseveraltopics,andkeepanopenmind.Don'tfallinlovewithatopicbeforeyoufindhowmuchresearchhasbeendoneinthatarea.Byexploringdifferenttopics,youmaydiscoversomethingthatisnewlyexcitingtoyou!

SearchtheResearchLiterature

Doapreliminarysearch.Useonlinedatabases(e.g.,PsycInfo,SocialSciencesCitationIndex(SSCI),Medline)tosearchtheresearchliterature.Ifyoudon’tknowhowtosearchonlinedatabases,askyourinstructororreferencelibrarian.Referencelibrariansareinvaluable!

Searchforhelpfularticles.Findoneormorepivotalarticlesthatcanbeafoundationforyourpaper.Apivotalarticlemaybeexceptionallywellwritten,containparticularlyvaluablecitations,orclarifyrelationshipsbetweendifferentbutrelatedlinesofresearch.Twosourcesofsucharticlesinpsychologyare:

• PsychologicalBulletin• CurrentDirectionsinPsychologicalScience(publishedbytheAmericanPsychologicalSociety)hasgeneral,

shortarticleswrittenbyscientistswhohavepublishedalotintheirresearcharea.

Olderreviewarticles(5-10yearsold)mayhelpyoutounderstandthehistoryofaresearchareaandtofindmorecurrentresearchinthatarea.Tofollowuponanolderreviewarticle:

• SearchPsycInfoforwhetherauthorscitedinanearlierarticlehavecontinuedtodoresearchinthearea• SearchSSCIforrecentstudiesthathavecitedtheauthorsofanearlierreview

Howmanyarticles?Althoughpublishedreviewarticlesmaycitemorethan100articles,literaturereviewsforcoursesareoftenshorterbecausetheypresentonlyhighlightsofaresearchareaandarenotexhaustive.Ashortliteraturereviewmaysurvey7-12researcharticlesandbeabout10-15pageslong.Forcoursepaperguidelines,askyourinstructor.

Chooserepresentativearticles,notjustthefirstonesyoufind.Thisconsiderationismoreimportantthanthelengthofyourreview.

Choosereadablearticles.Someresearchareasarehardertounderstandthanothers.Scanarticlesinthetopicareasyouareconsideringtodecideonthereadabilityoftheresearchinthoseareas.

READTHEARTICLES

Towriteaneffectivereview,you’llneedasolidgraspoftherelevantresearch.Beginbyreadingthearticleyoufindeasiest.Read,re-read,andmentallydigestituntilyouhaveaconversationalunderstandingofthepaper.Youdon’tknowwhatyouknowuntilyoucantalkaboutit.Andifyoucan’ttalkaboutit,youwon’tbeabletowriteaboutit.

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Readselectively.Don'tstartbyreadingthearticlesfrombeginningtoend.First,readjusttheAbstracttogetanoverviewofthestudy.

Scanthearticletoidentifytheanswerstothese“Why-What-What-What”questions:(1) Whydidtheydothestudy?Whydoesitmatter?(2) Whatdidtheydo?(3) Whatdidtheyfind?(4) Whatdoesitmean?

Thepreviousfourquestionscorrespondtothesepartsofaresearcharticle:(1) Introduction:theresearchquestionandhypotheses(2) Methods(3) Results(4) Discussion

Createasummarysheetofeacharticle’skeypoints.Thiswillhelpyoutointegrateeacharticleintoyourpaper.

Readfordepth.Afteryouunderstandanarticle’smainpoints,readeachsectionindetailfortogainthenecessaryin-depthunderstandingtocomparetheworkofdifferentresearchers.

WRITETHELITERATUREREVIEW

MainGoal

Yourgoalistoevaluateabodyofliterature;i.e.,to“identifyrelations,contradictions,gaps,andinconsistencies”and“suggestnextstepstosolvetheresearchproblem”(APAPublicationManual2010,p.10).Beginwritingwhenyouhavedecidedonyourstoryandhowtoorganizeyourresearchtosupportthatstory.

Organization

Organizetheliteraturereviewtohighlightthethemethatyouwanttoemphasize–thestorythatyouwanttotell.Literaturereviewstendtobeorganizedsomethinglikethis:

Introduction:(1) Introducetheresearchtopic(whatitis,whydoesitmatter)(2) Framethestory:narrowtheresearchtopictothestudiesyouwilldiscuss(3) Brieflyoutlinehowyouhaveorganizedthereview

Body:(1) Headings.Usethemeheadingstoorganizeyourargument(seebelow)(2) Describe,compare,andevaluatestudiesforeachsectionofyourargumentunderyourheadings

(a) Describetherelevantpartsofeachstudyandexplainwhyitisrelevanttothesubtopicathand.(b) Comparethestudiesifneedbe,todiscusstheirimplications(i.e.,yourinterpretationofwhatthe

studiesshowandwhetherthereareimportantdifferencesorsimilarities)(c) Evaluatetheimportanceofeachstudyorgroupofstudies,aswellastheimplicationsforthe

subtopic,andwhereresearchshouldgofromhere(onthelevelofthesubtopic)

Conclusion:Finalevaluation,summationandconclusion

Headings.Useheadingstoidentifymajorsectionsthatshowtheorganizationofthepaper.(Headingsalsohelpyoutoidentifyorganizationalproblemswhileyou’rewriting.)Avoidthestandardheadingsofresearcharticles(Introduction,Method,Results,Discussion).Usespecific,conceptualheadings.Ifyouarereviewingwhetherfacialexpressionsareuniversallyunderstood,headingsmightincludeStudiesinWesternCulturesandStudiesinNon-WesternCultures.Organizeyourargumentintotopicsthatfitundereachheading(oneormoreperheading).

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Describe.Foreachsectionorsubtopic,brieflydescribeeacharticleorlineofresearch.Avoidsuddenjumpsbetewenbroaderandnarrowerideas.Keepyourstoryinmindtohelpkeepyourthoughtsconnected.

Compare.Foreachsectionortopic,comparerelatedstudies,ifthisisrelevanttoyoustory.Comparisonsmayinvolvetheresearchquestion,hypotheses,methods,dataanalysis,results,orconclusions.However,youdon’twanttocompareeverything.Thatwouldn’tbeastory!Whichpartsarerelevant?Whatevidencesupportsyourarguments?Identifyingstrengthsandweaknessesofeachstudywillhelpyoumakemeaningfulcomparisons.

Ifyou'rehavingtroublesynthesizinginformation,youprobablydon'tunderstandthearticleswell.Rereadsectionsyoudon’tunderstand.Discussthestudieswithsomeone:youdon’tknowwhatyouknowuntilyoucantalkaboutit.

Evaluate.Descriptions/comparisonsalonearenotilluminating.Foreachsectionortopic,evaluatethestudiesyouhavereviewedbasedonyourcomparisons.Tellyourreaderwhatyouconclude,andwhy.Evaluatingresearchisthemostsubjectivepartofyourpaper.Evenso,alwayssupportyourclaimswithevidence.Evaluationrequiresmuchthoughtandtakesonsomerisk,butwithoutit,yourpaperisjustabookreport.

Finalevaluationandsummation.Onabroaderscale,relatingtoyourmaintheme,tellyourreaderwhatyouconcludeandwhy.Reiterateyourmainclaimsandoutlinetheevidencethatsupportsthem.

Conclusion.Howdoesyourevaluatiochangeoraddtocurrentknowledgeinthefieldfield?Whatfuturestudiesareimpliedbyyouranalysis?Howwouldsuchstudiesaddtocurrentknowledgeofthetopic?

Tips

Allowenoughtime.Don’tunderestimatethetimerequiredtochoosetherightarticles.Selectyourtopicandcollectarticlesearly.Budgethalfofyourtimeforresearchandreading,andtheotherhalfforwriting.

Don'tstartwritingtooearly.Youneedasolidunderstandingoftheresearchbeforeyoucanevaluateit,andyouneedtoevaluatetheresearchbeforeyoucanwriteaboutit.Thistakesmoretimethanmanynovicewritersrealize.

Takebreaks.Leavetimetostepawayfromthepapersothatyou'llhaveafreshperspectivewhenyoureturn.

Reviseandrevise.Expecttorevisemultipletimes.Askotherstoreadyourpaperbeforeyouwritethefinalversion.

Usespecificlanguageandconcreteexamples.Avoidvaguereferencessuchas"this"(e.g.,not"thisshows",but"thisresultshows").Sentencesthatstartwith"Ifeel"signalunsupportedstatements;reviseordelete.Haveareasonforeverythingyouwrite.Makeeverywordmeansomething.

Paraphrase,don'tquote.Directquotesareseldomusedinscientificwritingandshouldbeavoided;paraphraseinstead(APAPublicationManual,2010).

Don’tplagiarize.Plagiarismiseasytoavoidifyougivecreditwheredue.Wheneveryoucitesomeoneelse'sideasorusetheirlanguage,identifytheauthorandyearofpublication.Ifyou’renotsurewhethertocite,cite.Usingoldreviewarticlesisnotplagiarismaslongasyoucitethosepapersanddon'tpresenttheirideasasyourown.

CONCLUSION

Thepurposeofaliteraturereviewistosurvey,describe,compare,andevaluateresearcharticlesonaparticulartopic.Chooseacurrenttopicthatisneithertoobroadnortoonarrow.Findthestorythatyouwanttotell.Spendalotoftimereadingandthinkingbeforeyouwrite.Thinkcriticallyaboutthemainhypotheses,findings,andargumentsinalineofresearch.Identifyareasofagreementamongdifferentarticlesaswellastheirdifferencesandareasforfuturestudy.Expecttoreviseyourreviewmanytimestorefineyourstory.Awell-writtenliteraturereviewgivesthereaderacomprehensiveunderstandingofthemainfindingsandremainingquestionsbroughtaboutbyresearchonthattopic.