Literature reviews for Grant Proposals

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is designed to identify related research, to set the current

research project within a conceptual and theoretical context.

Literature reviews should be selective and critical, not exhaustive.

Does this apply to Grant Proposals?

In a Grant Proposal, the Literature review discusses literature that is directly relevant to your research topic. It will…

– Carry on from where others have reached– Increase your breadth of knowledge of your subject area– Provide the intellectual context for your own work– Establish your own credibility as a researcher in this field– Put your work into perspective, and demonstrate the need

for your research– Identify methods that could be relevant to your project

So, what does the Literature Review look like?

For the RIF Grants, we would expect around ONE page of a scholarly, relevant, critically evaluated review of your specific topic.

Your main goal is to know your field, and to convince reviewers that your research will now make a valuable contribution.

… so what will it include?

Your Literature Review will …

1. have identified a range of relevant literature in your field

“It is widely recognized that the cultural background of students has a major impact on their attitude to education (Crossley, Vulliamy, & Beauchamp, 1996; Farquharson, 1989; Gunawardena, 1998; Hofstede, 2001; Kaylani, 1996; Kayser, 2002; Magrath, 1981; Mynard, 2003; Reushle & McDonald, 2000; Richardson, 2004). As Lim states, “research on cultural learning studies have documented … “

Your Literature Review will …

2. make a critical assessment of the literature, and identify a gap

“Most existing academic research focuses on the ease of use and relevance of Web tutorials, or the comparative value of online versus face-to-face instruction (Bury & Oud, 2005; Churkovich & Oughtred, 2002; Lindsay, 2006). Less attention is focused on the extent to which students actually engage with these online resources… “

Your Literature Review will …

2. make a critical assessment of the literature, and identify a gap

or another example …

“… it is unknown whether this type of patient behavior carries over when these immigrants arrive in the USA.

A comprehensive study of this subject is needed to adequately ascertain which preventative services this unstudied group obtains.”

Your Literature Review will …

3. evaluate the quality of the information you have found

(1) for a brief grant proposal, you will be concentrating on the seminal works on the topic.. Internet resources in particular should have been evaluated for authorship, currency, bias and credibility

(2) For major research papers, you would evaluate the research quality and conclusions of the literature you are including (e.g. was their methodology sound, were their sampling and conclusions reasonable)

Your Literature Review will …

4. be written with purpose – address your research questions

Organizing your literature review in (1) date or (2) author order is less useful than an analysis of the literature in the same order that you listed your research questions and hypotheses.

What a Literature Review is NOT …

• “According to a Gulf News investigation… “• Only quoting your own work• One short paragraph stating what research

the author has found, without critical evaluation or contextualizing

• A 3-page small-print ramble on the general subject

“If I have seen farther than others, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants”

Isaac Newton

Further ResourcesFink, A. (2005) Conducting research literature reviews: From the internet to

paper. Sage: Thousand Oaks. (available at ZU libraries Q180.55.M4 F56)

Deakin University Library (2009) The literature review. Retrieved 10 March, 2009 from http://www.deakin.edu.au/library/findout/research/litrev.php

How to: Write a literature review (2005) Retrieved 10 March, 2009 from http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/literaturereview.html

Tools for preparing literature reviews: Preparing scholarly reviews of the literature a Webtorial (2006) Retrieved 10 March, 2009 from http://www.gwu.edu/~litrev/

Writing up research: Using the literature (ND) Retrieved 10 March, 2009 from http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21LIT.htm