Masters Thesis Literature Review Tips

21 July 2016

Writing a great Literature Review

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR WRITING AN OUTSTANDING LITERATURE

REVIEW FOR YOUR MASTERS OF RESEARCH

Dr Jennifer Rowland – Learning Skills Advisor, Dean HDR Office

21 July 2016

The MRes ThesisALL MUST DELIVER

What are you delivering?

A thesis of approximately 20,000 words• Forward Pages

• Introduction

• Method

• Results

• Discussion

• References

Must be written in English and reach a satisfactory standard of literary presentation

*Variations in requirements may be evident between faculties.

http://www.hdr.mq.edu.au/information_for/current/candidates/thesis_preparation 3

DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC, THESIS

Thesis Format – PhD, MPhil and MRes

http://www.hdr.mq.edu.au/information_for/current_candidates/thesis_preparation#presentation

cvc

v

Double or 1.5

spaced text Double-sided

printing

Medium-weight

paper

High-quality

printing (laser)

BIN

DIN

G E

DG

E

3.5cm margin

on binding

edge 1.5cm

margin

cv

cv 1.5cm

margin

LITERATURE REVIEW

CONCLUSIONS/FUTURE DIRECTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES

ABSTRACT/SUMMARY

AIMS OF STUDY

MATERIALS/METHOD

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

LITERATURE REVIEW

CONCLUSIONS/FUTURE DIRECTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES

TITLE PAGE

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

ABSTRACT/SUMMARY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AIMS OF STUDY

ABBREVIATIONS

APPENDICES

MATERIALS/METHOD

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

21 July 2016

Writing your Literature Review

THE HARDEST PART

The Literature Review

• Set up a Document Map outlining the sections

• Note the main areas that you want to review

• Structure out what you want to write

• Then begin to enter the main content for each section

• Ensure that you don’t copy and paste material from articles you are reviewing

8

STRUCTURE

Plagiarism

COPYING AND PASTING

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

Early 17th century from Latin

Plagiarius 'kidnapper‘

(from plagium 'a kidnapping', from Greek plagion) + -ism.

Oxford Dictionary Online, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/

“The practice of taking someone else’s work or

ideas and passing them off as one’s own.”

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Latin#Latin__2

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/-ism

Plagiarism

1: Quoting without acknowledging the source

2: Borrowing ideas, concepts, results and

conclusions. Passing them off as your own

without acknowledging.

3: Summarizing and paraphrasing another’s work

without acknowledging source

Dean HDR Office | Learning Skills Team | Research Office12

WHAT DOES IT CONSTITUTE?

Plagiarism

1: Quoting without acknowledging the source

2: Borrowing ideas, concepts, results and

conclusions. Passing them off as your own

without acknowledging

3: Summarizing and paraphrasing another’s work

without acknowledging source

Dean HDR Office | Learning Skills Team | Research Office 13

WHAT DOES IT CONSTITUTE?

REFERENCING

SOURCE

IS KEY

Hofman, 2014

Acknowledging Source

You don’t need to reference common knowledge


HOW CAN YOU ACHIEVE THIS?

Humpback whales migrate along the coast of Australia each year.

Hofman, 2014

You do need to reference:

- Information that is not generally known

- Ideas that interpret facts

Australian east-coast humpback whale migration has changed with

global warming (10).



HOW CAN YOU ACHIEVE THIS?

Hofmann, 2014

You do need to reference:



You do need to cite:

- Information and interpretation of others’ work

While low expression of this receptor is common in stem cells, high

expression has been linked to reduced pluripotency (21).

While low expression of this receptor is common in stem cells, high

expression has been linked to reduced pluripotency (Jones et al., 2014).


16

You do need to reference/cite:



- Information and interpretation of others’ work

“Know that imitation and borrowing themselves are not plagiarism. Drawing

on other people’s ideas is perfectly reasonable and in fact unavoidable when

you write academic documents- but you must acknowledge the source”

Angelika H. Hofmann

Hofmann, 2014

Avoiding Plagiarism,

QUOTING

Quotation

18

QUOTING THE EXACT WORDS OF OTHERS

You do need to quote:

- When you are using the exact words of others

“Know that imitation and borrowing themselves are not plagiarism. Drawing

on other people’s ideas is perfectly reasonable and in fact unavoidable when

you write academic documents- but you must acknowledge the source”

Angelika H. Hofmann

• Limit this to 2-3 lines within a paragraph

• If longer, you need to make a block quote

Hofmann, 2014

Quotation

19


This is probably best described by a Harvard group recently as “the best possible chance of

potentiating injury repair in the clinic” (Jones et al., 2015). Nonetheless, several other approaches are

being pursued concurrently, principally focused on viral delivery (Johns et al., 2015).

__________________________________________________________________________________

Many authors have described the potential of ES cells in therapeutic applications, particularly related to

burn treatment. This is probably best summarised by Jones and colleagues (2006), who described this

approach as

“the best possible chance of potentiating injury repair in the clinic. It is currently under

development in our group and has shown promising results. We anticipate conducting

experiments in clinical trials in the near future, as the mouse trials have shown exceptional

outcomes”. Jones et al., 2006

As this work is underway, a number of other groups are turning to viral delivery approaches to

specifically target cell-cycle regulators (Johns et al., 2015)..

Quotation

20


This is probably best described by a Harvard group recently as “the best possible chance of

potentiating injury repair in the clinic” (Jones et al., 2015). Nonetheless, several other approaches

are being pursued concurrently, principally focused on viral delivery (Johns et al., 2015).

__________________________________________________________________________________

Many authors have described the potential of ES cells in therapeutic applications, particularly related to

burn treatment. This is probably best summarised by Jones and colleagues (2006), who described this

approach as

“the best possible chance of potentiating injury repair in the clinic. It is currently under

development in our group and has shown promising results. We anticipate conducting

experiments in clinical trials in the near future, as the mouse trials have shown

exceptional outcomes”. (Jones et al., 2006)

As this work is underway, a number of other groups are turning to viral delivery approaches to

specifically target cell-cycle regulators (Johns et al., 2015)..

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing

22

REPHRASING IDEAS

Delivering the information in your own flow of ideas

- When you include some information, but not all the details of the original

- Must reference the original

• Write notes in bullet points

• Take notes without source visible

• Write the information you wish to reference in your own voice

• Ensure you reference

DON’T JUST USE SYNONYMS or CHANGE WORDS

Paraphrasing

23

REPHRASING IDEAS

• Reference EVERYTHING

• Quote where required

• Paraphrase

Avoiding Plagiarism

SUMMARISING

Summarising

25

REPHRASING IDEAS

1

Johns et al., reported

that these proteins are

expressed in muscle

cells (1).

Read paper, turn over, summarise the ideas in your text.

Grouping Information

26

REPHRASING IDEAS

This protein has been

reported to be

expressed in several

cell types, including:

muscle (1); skin (2);

immune cells (3-5); and

glia (6).

4

5

6

1

2

3

Summarising

27

SUMMARISING THE MATERIAL

• Reference EVERYTHING

• Quote where required

• Paraphrase

• Summarise

Basic Writing Rules

29

#1 General Rule for Academic Writing

K.I.S.S

“Keep it Short and Simple” or “Keep it Simple, Stupid”

CLARITY, READABILITY, and NON-AMBIGUITY

MAKE EVERY WORD COUNT

30

• Never Translate

• Accept total responsibility for being clear

• The worst sin is ambiguity

• Edit carefully

• Trust your ear

• English is not logical

General AdviceFOR NON-NATIVE WRITERS

Process Write

Process Write

32

EDIT YOUR MATERIAL

After you noted down everything in your own words, then you can process the information.

- improves the style

- reduces plagiarism

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice

Improve

Verb ChoiceAdapt to

formal

language

Strengthen

negatives

Ensure verb/subject

agreement

End Focus

Check tense

Employ Key Words

33

CLARIFICATION

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Employ Key Words

34

CLARIFICATION

When referring to previously-mentioned items with “this / these / such,” offer more than just the pronoun:

This…

These…

It…

This molecule…

These two methods…

Such a program…→

Ambiguous Specific

becomes

Include Signposting Connectives

35

GUIDING THE READER

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Include Signposting Connectives

36

GUIDING THE READER

Signposts, or connectives, tell readers how to receive new information.

“First … second … third . . . ,” “On the other hand . . . .” “Considering this from another angle . . . .” “Similar to the last point is . . . .”

See Linking Words

Edit Sentences

37

EDIT YOUR MATERIAL

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences

Edit Sentences

38

EDIT YOUR MATERIAL

Avoid short, choppy, sentences. Link some together, embed others.

Consider splitting longer run-on sentences to two separate sentences

→becomes

X costs a lot. You

can’t get it there

often.

Short and choppyX is expensive and is seldom available there.

Because X is expensive, it is seldom available there.

X, being expensive there, is seldom available

(situation) → (result) = end-focus

Elegant (linked and embedded)

Use shorter sentences for strong statements. “Every mouse died”

Remove redundant words

39

Cut out every word that performs no task

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Remove redundant words

40

Cut out every word that performs no task

There is/are X.

X exists.

X occurs.

X appears.

X arises.

X emerges

→becomes

All

Active

Voice

Avoid repeating FACTS. Planned repetition of WORDS helps linkage.

Confusion results from synonym-use. Make yourself clear by choosing one term.

o Do not indulge in overuse of a synonym dictionary (thesaurus).

EG: Method / methodology / procedure / system

Convert Passive to Active Voice

41

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice


42

Avoid ending sentences with passive verbs

To X, Y was added Y was added to X →becomes

In Methods, passives can go in the middle of the sentence

Passive constructions can usually include

“by” someone or something.


43

Change some passive verbs into adjectives

X could be seen.

X was always used.

All two-year-old children were studied.

X was evident/apparent/visible.

X always proved useful.

All children studied were age two.

(Note end-focus in each)

→becomes


44

Change the verb itself

Patients were operated on.

Sixty were used as controls.

Each participant was given X.

.

Patients underwent surgery.

Sixty served as controls.

Each participant received X.

(Note end-focus in each)

→becomes


45

Omit useless passive constructions

It has been found that X causes Y

(Jones, 2001).

We found that Y was produced by X.

.

Jones (2001) found that X causes Y.

X causes Y (Jones, 2001). *

Y results from X. X leads to Y.

X produced Y. Y was a product of X.

→becomes

* K.I.S.S.


46

Use the inanimate agent

a non-human/non-living thing performing an action.

Table 3 shows . . . .

Figure 5 illustrates . . . .

Our results indicate . . . .

Our hypothesis predicts X.

Opinions among us vary.

Upgrade Verbs

47

USE MORE PRECISE VERBS

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice

Improve

Verb

Choice

Upgrade Verbs

48

USE MORE PRECISE VERBS

Be

See

Have

Get

Exist

Observe

Assess

Measure

Determine

Possess

Assess

Confirm

Characterize

→becomes

For elegance and formality, specify meanings of “get” (“receive?” “become?” “understand?”).

Upgrade most rough-draft common verbs to become more precise verbs

Formalize the language

49

CHANGE FROM COLLOQUIAL

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice

Improve

Verb ChoiceAdapt to

formal

language

Formalize the language

50

CHANGE FROM COLLOQUIAL

if

like

a lot of, lots of, plenty

big

whether (or not)

such as

many, several, large

great

→becomes

Change colloquial phrases to more formal ones

Avoid “so” - It was SO fast = HOW FAST?

Avoid “too” at the end of a sentence -He died, too = He also died.

Strengthen Negatives

51

“NOT” IS A WEAK WORD

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice

Improve

Verb ChoiceAdapt to

formal

language

Strengthen

negatives


52


• Substitute negatives

• Substitute negative prefixes

• Change to negative verbs or use negative adjectives

Remove NOT in three ways


53


Substitute Negatives

→becomes

Note: Beginning a sentence with a negative is powerful

No

None

Never

Strong

negatives

There was not any X.

Not one patient survived.

They had not seen X before.

Weak

No X existed / appeared.

None of the patients survived.

Never had they seen X before.

Stronger


54


Substitute with negative prefixes

→becomes

un-

in-

im-

non-

dis-

Strong

negatives

The cause is not known.

The text was not coherent.

The task was not possible.

Results were not significant.

This drug isn’t made anymore.

Weak

The cause is / remains unknown.

The text was incoherent.

The task was impossible.

Results were non-significant.

This drug has been discontinued.

Stronger


55

NOT” IS A WEAK WORD

Change to negative verbs or use negative adjectives

→becomes

fail

lack

absent

insufficient

incomplete

Strong negatives

The plan did not work.

The solution didn’t have X.

X was not in the samples.

Controls didn’t have enough X.

The test was not finished.

Weak

The plan failed (to succeed).

The solution lacked X.

In the samples, X was absent.

Controls had insufficient X.

The test was incomplete.

Stronger

Match Verbs with Subjects

56

DO VERBS AGREE WITH THEIR SUBJECT IN NUMBER?

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice

Improve

Verb ChoiceAdapt to

formal

language

Strengthen

negatives

Ensure

verb/subject

agreement

Match Verbs with Subjects

57

DO VERBS AGREE WITH THEIR SUBJECT IN NUMBER?

1. Locate every verb (Good sentences have only one or two.)

2. Scan to the left to find its subject (often located far away).

“The actual trigger for these changes in rules that appear to promote the

latest strategy meetings for these departments is/are surprising.”

SUBJECT AND VERB SHOULD BE NEAR EACH

OTHER TO MINIMISE CONFUSION

End Focus

58

MAKE YOUR TEXT FLOW

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice

Improve

Verb ChoiceAdapt to

formal

language

Strengthen

negatives

Ensure

verb/subject

agreement

End Focus

End Focus

59

MAKE YOUR TEXT FLOW

The beginning of a sentence should present its background information.

The end of a sentence is most important: the fresh, new information.

In any sentence, find the most vital word or two—a key adjective, substantive, or a numerical value of interest. Put a period/full stop after it; it ends the sentence.

Be sure that each sentence ends with words that lead you to the next point, • creates intra-sentence linkage• makes the next sentence almost predictable (=flow).

End Focus

60

MAKE YOUR TEXT FLOW

NEWBACKGROUND NEWBACKGROUND


NEWBACKGROUND

Use this technique to string sentences together.

Eventually they will build paragraphs, which form the basis of your scientific writing

End Focus

61

EXERCISE

A to D’s first and second sentences show end-focus with linkage (each italicized). Choose, from

among sentences 1 to 6, the best-linking third sentence for each:

.

A. Australia has the world’s highest incidence of type 1 diabetes. This disabling disease and its treatment

constitute a drain on the state's finances. (continue)

B. The world’s highest incidence of type 1 diabetes occurs in Australia. Australian diabetes researchers now

discover some of the field’s most interesting new data. (continue)

C. Regarding type 1 diabetes, Australia’s annual incidence is the world’s highest.

Its figure for 2008 was 60/100,000. (continue)

D. Australia has the highest incidence of type 1 diabetes in the world. One nation’s

mean incidence in 2008 was actually below 1/100 000, which means that Australia’s

was 60-fold greater, though no one knows why. (continue)

End Focus

62

EXERCISE

1. One important area of investigation is diabetes-associated nephritis.

2. Is sugar consumption unusually high, or is this rate mainly related to genetics?

3. Australia must continue to battle this key medical problem, despite research costs.

4. The Australian government covers medical care and supports those unable to work.

5. Such an incidence requires funding of the country’s top researchers.

6. Patients' longevity is increasing, but what about their quality of life?

Tense

63

ENSURE TENSE USE IS APPROPRIATE

Rough

Draft

Employ

Key

Words

Include

Signposting

Connectives

Edit

sentences Edit out

useless

words

Edit passive

to active

voice

Improve

Verb ChoiceAdapt to

formal

language

Strengthen

negatives

Ensure

verb/subject

agreement

End Focus

Check tense

Tense

64


Present tense, active voice: “he finds.” Passive: “it is found” (by X)

Past tense, active: “he found.” Passive: “it was found” (by X)

Present perfect active: “she has found.” Passive: “it has been found” (by X)

Past perfect active: “she had found.” Passive: “it had been found” (by X)

Active and passive are the two types of voice.

Tenses are unrelated to voice; tense indicates time.

Tense

65


PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE PERFECT FORMS

• These different forms are used throughout different sections of any thesis or

journal article

• More detail on their usage requires more time to address

Final Structural Concerns

66

REVISITING STRUCTURE



NEWBACKGROUND

Each paragraph should have a main focus, you should clarify this at the start.


67


NEWBACKGROUND

NEWBACKGROUND


NEWBACKGROUND

Each paragraph should have a main focus, you should clarify this at the start.

TOPIC SENTENCE

TOPIC SENTENCES at the start of paragraph

• clarify what the paragraph is about

• introduce the topic


68


NEWBACKGROUND

NEWBACKGROUND


NEWBACKGROUND

Each paragraph should have a clear outcome, that explains the information discussed.

TOPIC SENTENCE

FINAL SENTENCES at the end of paragraph

• clarify what the paragraph introduced

• summarize the topic

FINAL SENTENCE

Summary

69

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Process

Writing

• Structure of the Thesis • Avoiding Plagiarism• Basic Rules of Writing

• Structuring

Paragraphs

Thanks to Carol Norris at the University of Helsinki for many of these concepts/content, http://www.helsinki.fi/kksc/language.services/AcadWrit.pdf

70

Dr Jennifer RowlandScience, Engineering, and

Medicine Learning Skills Advisor

Dean HDR Office

Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Education

Masters Thesis Literature Review Tips