There are five stages to your literature review:

1. Searching the literature

2. Reading critically and with a purpose

3. Recording bibliographical materials

4. Synthesising/evaluating/organising

5. Writing

Approaching your literature review

The literature search will help you identify scope and key issues. Efficient searching will help you:

Identify which authors are interested in your specialism and those who take a generalist’s view.

Trace authors who are prominent in your subject and who can help you justify the importance of your research idea.

Include the authors would or could contradict your ideas.

Read the easier articles first. Difficult or badly written articles will probably be easier to understand if you read them last when you have gained familiarity with your subject.

1. Literature search

For the preliminary scan, don’t read the articles closely so as to avoid getting mired in detail.

It may help to note down the key points for each article.

When reading you should keep the following in mind:

What are the authors’ academic reputation?

Identify the research question and the specific hypotheses, the findings and how the findings were interpreted.

Are the authors objective or does their work appear to have a particular bias?

Is contrary data considered and discussed or is it ignored?

Scan the text first

How to bring purpose to your reading:

Identify which ideas or information are important to your research Summarise & emphasise Which are less important and can be covered briefly or left out. Identify major concepts, conclusions, theories, arguments, etc that underlie the work Look for similarities & differences with closely related work

2. Reading critically and with purpose

Academic reading is a particular skill. The way you read is crucial.

It is about being analytical in your reading.

You are not simply collecting ideas, that makes broad sense and summarising an area.

You are specifically going in there with an aim. You should always be strategic in nature.

Always take notes as you read.

Academic Reading

You’re not just reading to find out what someone has said, you are looking for the gem to bring your project alive.

3. Recording bibliographical details

This is very important! It is very annoying to look back over notes and want to reference something but not be able to remember where it came from…

It can also help your reading to take note of:Contents pagesKey points from an introductionIndexes

Underlying an argument are points of view or ‘positions’ that people aim to convey to us, their audience.

Contributing arguments

The overall argument

Identifying an argument

Identifying an argument

Overall argument Contributing arguments

(1) Film adaptations should not be judged on the original source

There is no such thing a text has an ‘essence’

People will differ on their opinion about what the original text was about.

Criticism does not take on board the difference in form between a book and a film

It devalues what the director intended. To add new meaning.

Identifying an argument

Overall argument Contributing arguments

(1) Film adaptations should be judged on the original source

Films are marketed that they are adaptations.

Audiences go to see film adaptations because of their connection to the book.

We do enjoy experience a novel come to life on the big screen.

Film adaptations are more popular than spec scripts.

Is it an argument?Ways of identifying an explicit argument:

1. Position Authors have a position, or point of view that they attempt to persuade their audience to accept.

2. Reasons/propositions Reasons are provided to support the conclusion. Reasons are also referred to as ‘contributing arguments’ and ‘propositions’.

3. A line of reasoning A line of reasoning is a set of reasons, presented in logical order. It is like a path leading the audience through the reasons, in steps, towards the desired conclusions. It should be ordered so that it leads clearly and logically from one reason to the next. In a poor line of reasoning, it is difficult to see how each reason contributes to the conclusion.

4. Conclusion Arguments lead toward a conclusion. The conclusion would normally be the position that the author wants you to accept. However, it is possible that the conclusion stated does not support the position that the author is advocating.

5. Persuasion The purpose of an argument is to persuade the audience to a point of view.

6. Signal words and phrases

These help the audience follow the direction of the argument.

Is it an argument?Clues to finding the conclusion

1. Start of passage Conclusions are often set out or indicated early in the message, such as in the first or second sentence, or in the initial paragraph.

2. The end of a passage Conclusions are frequently located towards the end of a message, such as in the final or penultimate sentence or paragraph.

3. Interpretive summary Look for a summary that interprets the line of reasoning and/or makes deductions, often towards the end of a text where al the evidence is brought together. However, summaries are not always conclusions.

4.Signal words Look for words used to indicate that a conclusion is about to follow.

5. Challenges and recommendations

These often form part of the conclusions. They often contain the author’s position or point towards it.

6. Words indicating adeduction

Look for words that express a probably or possible outcome or interpretation.(Cottrell, 2005: 47)