Researcher Development Team

Critical reading, note-making and

tackling the literature review
Dr Duncan Stanley
Academic Practice Unit
ds287@le.ac.uk

www.le.ac.uk
Intended learning outcomes
• By the end of the workshop you should have
explored how to:
– Identify the most relevant texts and literature for
your topic.
– Engage with texts in a critical manner.
– Make efficient notes while reading.
– Construct an interesting and coherent literature
review.
Critical reading, note-making & lit. review
• Finding sources and information
• Active reading: SQ3R
• Note making methods
• Planning a literature review
• Writing a literature review
Critical reading, note-making & lit. review
• Finding sources and information
• Active reading: SQ3R
• Note making methods
• Planning a literature review
• Writing a literature review
Finding sources: the pyramid/funnel of
increasing complexity
Well published Recent and/or significant
authors in field journal articles

Relevant references from

books/articles

Books/articles from
supervisor

Brainstorm what
you already know
Where to find the information
Make sure you…
• Actually read your primary sources – don’t rely on
what someone else has written about it.
• Hunt down important articles – don’t just read what
is easy to find.
Critical reading, note-making & lit. review
• Finding sources and information
• Active reading: SQ3R
• Note making methods
• Planning a literature review
• Writing a literature review
Detailed reading
Use detailed reading:
• when you know the text is
relevant to the task in hand (scan
or skim first)
• in conjunction with active reading
techniques and some form of
note making
Active reading: preventing the ‘blah’
effect

In addition, a theoretical sampling approach might be

employed. This approach entails sampling interviewees
until your categories achieve theoretical saturation and
selecting further interviewees on the basis of blah blah.
Blah blahblah blah approach blah iterative, blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah
Active reading: SQ3R
SURVEY:
Includes looking at the structure of chapter/article -
headings, abstract, introduction and conclusion often
prove useful
QUESTION:
What is the chapter/article about? What does it aim to
achieve? Any other questions you would like answered
about the topic
Active reading: SQ3R
READ:
Includes attempting to find answers to your questions
within the text
RECITE/(WRITE):
Includes identifying key points and putting them into your
own words
REVIEW:
Includes testing yourself on the main points of each
section/chapter
Questions
• As well as specific questions, there are a number of
questions you can ask of any article/chapter etc.
• How valid is the work that has ben presented?
Critical reading
• Who are the authors?
• What question(s) are they trying to answer?
• What methods do they use (and why)?
• Do their conclusions match their results?
• Also see: http://library.uwb.edu/guides/reading.html
• Questions such as these will help you to judge the
relative worth of your sources.
Critical reading, note-making & lit. review
• Finding sources and information
• Active reading: SQ3R
• Note making methods
• Planning a literature review
• Writing a literature review
How do you keep notes?
• What sort of notes do you take when reading for
your research?
• What are some of the key features of your notes that
make them useful to you?
• Have you tried any other methods in the past, and if
so, why did you stop using them?
Note making options

Linear notes vs Patterned notes/Mind maps

from: http://www.tlc.murdoch.edu.au/slearn/resource/good_notes.html
 Linear notes
Helps
Author Title Edition
acknowledge
work and
Headings retrace steps

Sub-headings
structure space
1. numbered lists
• bulleted lists
colour
“Take down all direct
quotations in inverted
abbreviations
commas”
key words
Page no.s
Linear notes (2) & summarise

2 columns

Diagrams/ THING 1
charts

THING 2 THING 3

Index Questions &

cards thoughts

Own words
Software solutions
• You could also use referencing software to store
your notes.
• Endnote and refworks contain fields for notes –
difficult to use during reading.
• Mendeley allows highlighting and annotation of pdf
documents.
Patterned notes/mind maps/thought mapping
Software solutions
• There are also software alternatives for mind-
mapping
– Xmind
– Freemind
• Lose some of the creativity involved in mind-
mapping (not necessarily bad).
Critical reading, note-making & lit. review
• Finding sources and information
• Managing information
• Active reading: SQ3R
• Note making methods
• Planning a literature review
• Writing a literature review
What is the purpose of a literature
review?
• Discuss why you might write a literature review
– Set background.
– Critically analyse others work.
– Describe the “niche” of your research.
– Prove you’re capable of writing a thesis.
– Familiarise yourself with current literature.
Characteristics of a literature review
• Critical
– Synthesise into a whole
– Draw own interpretations
– Examine relative worth
• Relevant
– Be selective
• Properly referenced
• Focussed on your study
– Your research Q’s should dominate the literature, not the
other way around!
Structure - Macro
• Should begin with an introduction that can be
understood by a lay person.

• Should finish with your specific research questions.

Structure - Micro
• How do you fill the centre of the triangle?
• Start with research Q’s and go backwards?
• Is there a standard format in your discipline/department?
– Explanation
– Chronological order
– Arguments
– Aspects
• Every lit review will need some sort of intro and some sort of
conclusions.
Critical reading, note-making & lit. review
• Finding sources and information
• Managing information
• Active reading: SQ3R
• Note making methods
• Planning a literature review
• Writing a literature review
How do you do it?
• How do you go about writing a literature review?
• In groups, plan what you would need to do to submit
a lit review e.g. for APG upgrade process.
• Try to be as detailed as possible about the steps
involved; think about internal and external factors.
• Build a list of the tasks involved.
• Put them in order: start with the end product –
submit lit review – and work backwards.
The process
• What are the key steps to the process?

• Which steps must happen at a certain time?

Some writing strategies
• Start by writing what you already know about your
subject
• Select some key authors to concentrate on initially
• Write a short essay to answer the question “what is
already known about [one of your research
questions]?”
• Map out a structure (headings/sub-headings)
• Create some figures that summarise your topic
A writing strategy: Freewriting

• In freewriting, you write for 5-10 minutes non-stop

– In complete sentences
– Don’t worry about grammar
– DON’T EDIT OR CROSS OUT

• The topic that you write to will define the output.

• “What are the main threads of my research?”
• “What will my reader need to know to understand my
approach?”
• Analyse these for ideas, sentences, phrases that can be used.
Self reflection and review
• Know when to stop reading/writing
– The review can’t be exhaustive
– “Build an argument, not a library” (Rudestam and Newton,
1992)

– Get external feedback (but don’t rely on it)!

• Continually question reasons and relevance
– Why have I included this?
Finally…
• It might help if you don’t think of reading and writing
as separate processes, but two elements of the same
process.
Reading
&
Writing
Summary
• Actively search for reading material
• Read actively – SQ3R – with questions in mind
• Make clear notes that can be easily attributed
• Choose a lit review structure that suits your topic
• Leave plenty of time to complete your review
• Remember to be critical in your reading and writing