Literature Review “How to”
Sohail Bajammal, MBChB, MSc, FRCS(C), PhD(c)[email protected]
Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics, Faculty of MedicineVice Dean, Academic Development, Faculty of Dentistry
Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Outline of Literature Review
• What?
• When?
• Why?
• How?
• Tips & Tricks
We will not discuss search strategy
What is it?
Literature Review
It is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic.
Wikipedia
Never use Wikipedia in your
proposal
When to do it?
When to do a Literature Review?
Beginning of the Study
When to do a Literature Review?
Beginning of the Study
End of the Study
AND
Why to do it?
• Show your grasp of the subject: thorough understanding & critical appraisal
• Identify gap/uncertainty in knowledge
• Justify the need for the study Impact
• Justify the hypothesis & the instruments used
• Show that you can do it
Why at the Beginning of the Study?
• Confirms or refutes prior study results
• Explanation of your results
Why at the End of the Study?
How to do it?
5 Steps of Literature Review
1. Identify key terms2. Locate the literature3. Critically appraise & select the literature4. Organize the literature5. Write the literature review
Time & Resources Management
Creswell JW. Educational Research. 2008
1. Identify key terms
• 3-4 keywords
• Your tool during the search process
• How to identify them?– Working title of your project– Research question– Keywords of previous studies similar to yours– Subject headings within electronic databases
Key terms
• Pay attention to:– English vs American spelling:
Orthopaedic - Orthopedic
– All possible terms:Cancer - Malignancy - TumorFracture - Trauma - Injury
2. Locate the literature(Discipline-based)
• Sources:– Primary sources: primary studies, dissertations– Secondary sources: systematic reviews, review
articles, textbooks, encyclopedia
• Technique:– Manually: books, old articles– Electronically: databases, conference proceedings
Databases
• Depends on your discipline (so we cannot cover it all tonight)
• In Medicine: MEDLINE, EMBASE
• ProQuest: to search all MSc & PhD theses
• Google Scholar: fits all (poor man best friend)
Broad Term Lots of irrelevant results
They will email you when new article cites this article
Digital Library at UQU
Web of Science (The Elegant Google Scholar)
Citation Map
5 Steps of Literature Review
1. Identify key terms2. Locate the literature3. Critically appraise & select the literature4. Organize the literature5. Write the literature review
3. Critically appraise & select the literature
• For each piece of information (article, book, thesis), you have to decide:– Is it valid & accurate?– Is it relevant to your study?
• If in doubt, get it in– It is easier to remove this source later than to find it
4. Organize the literature
• The most critical step – otherwise, you will be overwhelmed
• Filing: photocopies, downloads– By Author Name & Year (there are other ways)
• Abstracting (systematic note taking):– For each source, write YOUR words on the research
problem, question, instruments & results– Copying the abstract plagiarism
• Draw a map of your literature!
Papers
Literature Map
5. Write the Literature Review
• Plan enough time
• Draft (Revision Read Revision)3
• Think about:– Content– Organization– Writing & Citation Style– Spelling & Grammar
Content
• Do not list studies
• You are presenting a summary AND an argument using your analysis of the literature
• How much to write?– Balance DEPTH & BREADTH– It depends on what for– For grant proposal: 8-10 double-spaced pages– For PhD Thesis: ? 40-50 pages
Content
• Smooth logical transition of ideas
• Current & relevant literature
• Unbiased discussion (strengths & weaknesses) of supporting & opposing studies
• Consistent referencing style
Organization of Literature Review
Introduction
Body
Conclusions• Summary• Implication• Suggestion for future research
• Background• How is it organized
• Different styles: themes, chronological, debate
• Smooth transition• Not a list of studies• It is an argument
Plagiarism
• Copying without citing
• Paraphrasing without citing
• Using other’s ideas without citing
By the end of the literature review, your goal is to have
1. High Quality Research Proposal:– Covered the subject thoroughly & succinctly– Addressed gap/uncertainty– Justified your hypothesis & instruments
2. High Impact Research Proposal:– On the institution and/or society– On the scientific community– On the Kingdom
3. High Potential for Success:– Experience of the research team– Reasonable allocation of time, resources, rules
Tips & Tricks to makeYour Life Easier with
Literature Review
Using Technology to Help Lit Rev
• MindMapping Software: e.g., MindManager
• File Management System: e.g., Papers
• Bibliography Software: e.g., EndNote
• Books
MindMapping Software
or paper-and-pencil
Organize your
thoughts!
Links to
PDFLinks to
File Management Software
Papers
Built-in Search Engines
Search Options
Adding Notes
AbstractFull Text View
For more info…
Tutorials
Video Tutorials
Bibliography Software
EndNote
Change the format with a click
Deleting a reference automatic update
EndNoteTraining YouTube Channel
Digital Library at UQU
Books on Writing Skills
There are many books
Outline of Literature Review
• What is it?
• When to do it?
• Why do we need it?
• How to do it?
• Tips & [email protected] slideshare.net/uqudent
Recommended
