Literature Review

Getting started

“a researcher cannot perform significant research without

first understanding the literature in the field”

(Boote & Beile, 2005)

What is a literature review?

“compilation of the research that has been published on

a topic by recognized scholars and researchers ”

Chapel Hill Libraries (n.d.)

Why do a literature review?

• Overview of the field–what has already been said on the topic– Identify key researchers & research groups– Identify theories and hypotheses• what questions are being asked, and what

methodologies and methods are appropriate and useful.

Why do a literature review?

• Positions your research–how existing ideas fit into your thesis or

article– strengths and weaknesses of existing ideas– Shows how your thesis agrees or differs

from existing research ideas

What counts as literature?

• All Relevant information written on a topic: –books, journal & conference articles,

newspaper articles, historical records, government reports, theses and dissertations, etc.

Conducting a literature review

• Define topic– Identify keywords

• Search– Find relevant literature

• Read –Make notes

• Synthesize • Write

Start by defining the scope

• The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept:– research objective– the problem or issue you are discussing

Ways to start the search process

• Supervisor– Keywords– Key journals– Research group publications

• Reference search– Google Scholar

• Citation search– Web of Science

Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search (HITS) Hubs and AuthoritiesPageRank

• In informative or descriptive writing, you use relevant literature to support the discussion

• in a literature review, the literature itself is the subject of discussion.

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

logical and cohesive

LR structure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU

Video on literature reviews

• http://www.lib.unc.edu/house/how_do_i/researching/conduct_a_literature_review.html

• http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/literature

• (http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/litrev.html)• Chapel Hill Libraries. (n.d.). “Conducting a

literatue reivew? University of North Carolina. Retreived 28 October 2012 from http://www.lib.unc.edu/house/how_do_i/researching/conduct_a_literature_review.html

• A review of the literature is a compilation of the research that has been published on a topic by recognized scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses might be.

• "In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (eg. your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.

(http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/litrev.html)