What is a literature review?How to conduct a search for informationAdvice for managing the search and referencesSearch tools and journals
Purpose of a literature review1) Determine what has already been done in relation to your
research problem;2) Point out research strategies which are productive in
investigating your topic
In addition it can enable you to:a) Avoid reinventing the wheel;b) Identify seminal works;c) Define and measure key concepts;d) Increase breadth and depth of your knowledge;e) Position your project and identify relationships;f) Identify opposing viewsg) Show you can conduct the researchNotar, C.E. & Cole, V. (2010) Literature Review Organizer. International Journal of Education. [Online] 2 (2), 1-17. Available from: http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/ije/article/view/319/368 [Accessed 17 February 2014].
The literature review and the literatureA literature review demonstrates to your reader that you are able to: • Understand and critically analyse the background research (select, read, compare)• Select and source the information that is necessary to develop a context for your
research (evaluate, relevance)• A longer literature review may have headings to help group the relevant research into
themes or topics. This gives a focus to your analysis, as you can group similar studies together and compare and contrast their approaches, any weaknesses or strengths in their methods, and their findings (relate, synthesis, critical analysis/critique)
University of Reading (2012) Starting a literature review. [Online] Available from: http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/StudyResources/Essays/sta-startinglitreview.aspx [Accessed 17 February 2014].
Starting your literature search
Library Search (powered by Summon)
Search strategy
Define your topic
Choose your keywords
Identify where you will search
Access and search resource
Locate full text (book, article etc)
Assess quality and relevance
Adapt your search
resource
source
The topic and keywords
• Defining your topic – own knowledge, lecture notes and books
• Keywords – crucial for searching in Summon and databases (and Google).
Where will you find sources of info?http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/education
Sources:Books, eBooksDictionaries, encyclopediasNewspapersMagazinesAcademic journalsConference papersTelevisionRadioSpeechesDebatesStandardsLegislationPolicy, consultation documents (green/white papers)Theses, DissertationsBlogs
Library (Hive) andLibrary Search
Academic Search Complete, British Education Index; WRaP*; EPPI-Centre
Teachersmedia; Box of Broadcasts; on demand; You Tube; TED Talks Hansard (parliament.uk);
organisations and charities
News websites;TES; Lexis Library
legislation.gov.uk; Education in England website; Childlink; Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA); Department for Education
Dissertations and Theses; Level 4 (Hive)Try www.google.co.uk/blogsearch
*WRaP: http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/For websites see http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/education/websites
My iLibrary, Dawson Era
Journals
• Journals list on the LibGuides subject page• Use Zetoc to set up email alerts for key titles:
1. Click the Zetoc link on your LibGuide2. Click Zetoc Alert for emails3. Find and select ‘University of Worcester’4. Log in as normal5. Enter your preferred email address for receiving the alerts, and give it a
name (optional)6. Alerts have an expiry date so you can come back to change or add alerts. 7. Click ‘Add Journals’ to search for titles, or ‘Add Searches’ to add authors
or keywords. (You can switch between these on the next page.)8. (Use Library Search to access the full articles – just search by article title.)
Access and search the resources
(motivation OR engagement) AND (parents OR carers) AND learning
Library Search is available from your student portal page
Academic Search Complete, British Education Index, My iLibrary, Dawson Era and other individual resources are available through http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/education.
Recommended websites and Google searches are at http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/education/websites
Evaluate what you find
• Authority – who wrote it• Audience – who for• Accuracy – use your knowledge• Breadth and depth, references – validity and reliability• Bias – why was it written, by who and who for• Currency – date (does it matter?)• Comparison with other sources – primary sources and
further reading
Purpose and relevance: Remember that you are writing up your academic research
Some advice• Keep records: where you have searched, and the searches you
have tried. Some tools provide a search history which you can save/email/print.
• Keep references: index cards or a Word document of all references you’ve consulted and read – in Harvard format.
• Note creation: include your thoughts and reflections on what you’ve read, alongside ‘typical’ notes of quotes, paraphrases and page numbers
• Summarise: your own short summaries of chapters and articles are easier to refer back to than whole documents in folders, especially when you want to find something quickly, compare sources and plan the essay structure.
• Start now if you haven’t already.
Useful References• Chong Ho Shan, P. (2012) How to read journal articles in the social sciences: a very practical
guide for students. London, SAGE. (300/SHO)
• Judge, B., Jones, P. & McCreery, E. (2009) Critical thinking skills for education students. Exeter, Learning Matters. (370.7/JUD, ebook available)
• Notar, C.E. & Cole, V. (2010) Literature Review Organizer. International Journal of Education. [Online] 2 (2), 1-17. Available from: http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/ije/article/view/319/368 [Accessed 17 February 2014].
• Oliver, P. (2012) Succeeding with your literature review. Maidenhead, Open University Press. (ebook available)
• Richardson, L. & McBryde-Wilding, H. (2009) Information skills for education students. Exeter, Learning Matters. (025.524/RIC)
• Ridley, D. (2012) The literature review: a step-by-step guide for students. 2nd edition. London, SAGE. (001.4/RID)
• University of Reading (2012) Starting a literature review. [Online] Available from: http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/StudyResources/Essays/sta-startinglitreview.aspx [Accessed 17 February 2014].
• Wyse, D. (2012) The good writing guide for education students. 3rd edition. London, SAGE. (808.042/WYS)
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