Learning from Other Studies and Reviewing

the LiteratureChapter 3

Importance of Related Theories and Concepts

• A theoretical framework can be thought of as a map or travel plan. It is important to consider relevant theory underpinning the knowledge base of the phenomenon to be researched.

1. What do I know about the phenomenon that I want to study?

2. What types of knowledge are available to me?

3. What theory will best guide my teaching practice?

4. Is this theory proven through theory-linked research?

5. What other theories are relevant to this practice?

6. How can I apply these theories and findings in practice?

Definition of Literature• Written works collectively, especially, those

enduring importance, exhibiting creative imagination and artistic skill which are written in a particular period, language and subject.

• Any written materials published in book, journal, magazine, novel, poetry, yearbook and encyclopedia are considered literature.

Definition of Studies•Published and unpublished research studies such as thesis, dissertation, and research proceedings are sources of materials that are included in this section.

Rules for Writing a Literature Review

•Define the topic and audience.

•Search and re-search the literature.

•Take notes while reading.

•Choose the type of review you wish to write.

•Keep the review focused, but make it of broad interest.

Rules for Writing a Literature Review

•Be critical and consistent.

•Find a logical structure.

•Make use of feedback.

• Include your own relevant research.

•Be up to date in your review of literature and studies.

What, Where and How to Find Information

• It is necessary that you list down all the important variables which you need in your study and any theories which you think can generate your hypothesis and those that can explain the relationships among your variables.

• After the variables are determined, the relationship between them posited and either a preliminary hypothesis or investigative question stated, you continue your search for information related to your problem being studied.

• Check the population you want to include in your study.

What, Where and How to Find Information

• Know how to write citations where you can include the author, the title, the publisher and the date of publication, the volume number, the page number, information about the study and the findings.

• Review and synthesize those findings that support or reject your hypothesis or research questions.

• Use online computers for searching and retrieval of information.

• Synthesize the reviewed literature.

Types of Literature Reviews•Argumentative Review

• Integrative Review

•Historical Review

•Methodological Review

•Systematic Review

•Theoretical Review

Functions of Review of Literature and Studies

• To provide justification of the study

• To identify gaps, problems and needs of related studies

• To provide rationale of the study as well as the reasons of conducting the study

• To have basis that will be used to support the findings of the study

Characteristics of the Materials Cited

• The materials must be as recent as possible, may be 10 years back.

• Materials must be as objective and unbiased as possible.

• Materials must be relevant to the study.

• Coherence principle must be observed in writing literature review.

Citation Style Guides• APA (American Psychological Association) – is an

author/date-based style. This means emphasis is placed on the author and the date of a piece of work to uniquely identify it.

• MLA (Modern Language Association) – is most often applied by the arts and humanities, particularly in the USA. It is arguably the most well used of all the citation styles.

• Harvard – is very similar to APA. Where APA is primarily used in the USA, Harvard referencing is the most well used referencing style in the UK and Australia, and is encouraged for use with the humanities.

Citation Style Guides• Vancouver – is mainly used in medical and scientific

papers.

• Chicago and Turabian – are two separate styles but are very similar, just like Harvard and APA. These are widely used for history and economics.

APAIn text citation

Direct quotation – use quotation marks around the quote and include page numbers

Samovar and Porter (1997) point out that “language involves attaching meaning to symbols” (p.188). Alternatively, “Language involves attaching meaning to symbols” (Samovar & Porter, 1997, p. 188)

Indirect quotation/paraphrasing – no quotation marks

Attaching meaning to symbols is considered to be the origin of written language (Samovar & Porter, 1997).

Citations from a secondary source

As Hall (1977) asserts, “culture also defines boundaries of different groups”

(as cited in Samovar & Porter, 1997, p. 14)

Research Ethics

Ethical writing is clear, accurate, fair and honest.

Basic Principles of Ethical Practice

• Obtained informed consent from participants

• There should be no pressure on individuals to participate.

• Respect individual autonomy.

• Avoid causing harm.

• Maintain anonymity and confidentiality.

• Take particular care in research with vulnerable groups.

Plagiarism• It is the most widely recognized and one of

the most serious violations of the contract between the reader and the writer.

• It is the using of someone else’s words or ideas, and passing them off as your own.

Twenty Five Ethical Guidelines• An ethical writer always acknowledges the contributions of others and

the source of his/her ideas.

• Any verbatim text taken from another author must be enclosed in quotation marks.

• We must always acknowledge every source that we use in our writing; whether we paraphrase it, summarize it, or enclose it in quotations.

• When we summarize, we condense, in our own words, a substantial amount of material into a short paragraph or perhaps even into a sentence.

• Whether we are paraphrasing or summarizing, we must always identify the source of the information.

Twenty Five Ethical Guidelines• When paraphrasing and/or summarizing others’ work we must

reproduce the exact meaning of the other authors’ ideas or facts using our words and sentence structure.

• In order to make substantial modifications to the original text that result in a proper paraphrase, the author must have a thorough understanding of the ideas and terminology being used.

• A responsible writer has an ethical responsibility to readers, and to the author/s from whom s/he is borrowing, to respect other’s ideas and words, to credit those from whom we borrow, and whenever possible, to use one’s own words when paraphrasing.

• When in doubt as to whether a concept or fact is common knowledge, provide a citation.

Twenty Five Ethical Guidelines• Authors who submit a manuscript for publication containing data,

reviews, conclusions, etc. that have already been disseminated in some significant manner must clearly indicate to the editors and readers the nature of previous dissemination.

• If the results of a single complex study are best presented as a “cohesive” single whole, they should not be partitioned into individual papers.

• Because some instances of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and even some writing practices that might otherwise be acceptable can constitute copyright infringement, authors are strongly encouraged to become familiar with basic elements of copyright law.

• Authors are urged to adhere to the spirit of ethical writing and avoid reusing their own previously published text, unless it is done in a manner consistent with standard scholarly conventions.

Twenty Five Ethical Guidelines• Authors are strongly urged to double-check their citations.

• The references used in a paper should only be those that are directly related to its contents.

• Authors should follow a simple rule: Strive to obtain the actual published paper.

• Generally, when describing others’ work, do not rely on a secondary summary of that work.

• If an author must rely on a secondary source to describe the contents of a primary source, s/he should consult writing manuals used in his/her discipline to follow the proper convention to do so.

Twenty Five Ethical Guidelines• When borrowing heavily from a source, authors should always craft their

writing in a way that makes clear to readers, which ideas are their own and which are derived from the source being consulted.

• When appropriate, authors have an ethical responsibility to report evidence that runs contrary to their point of view.

• Authors have an ethical obligation to report all aspects of the study that may impact the independent replicability of their research.

• Researchers have an ethical responsibility to report the results of their studies according to their a priori plans.

• Only those individuals who have made substantive contributions to a project merit authorship in a paper.

Twenty Five Ethical Guidelines

• Faculty-student collaborations should follow the same criteria to establish authorship.

• Academic or professional ghost authorship in the sciences is ethically unacceptable.

Protecting the Intellectual Property in the Philippines

• It is enshrined in the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, officially known as Republic Act No. 8293.

• Under Philippine law, original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain are copyrightable.