The Learning Centre Getting Started on Your Literature Review A General Guide for Postgraduate Research Students Theres a one single correct method to wring arature review. Theretor, thi resource isa guide ‘oni, Check with your superisorecturerfschoo! fo ascertain whether there are any specie requirements fr your iterate revi batore proceeding What is a Literature Review? ‘Atteratrervew en exaninaton ofthe eseseh thas been costed iva pacar ele fey Hat (9908) eetraat + Tesco faa met ih pe nd nung one cr | |" schemata, mans etarce (ne econ shorieriemepescu | Stroortintaaron sess woxsemcnranvenceniersuecltcoseeetwts | Steen O28 [ + "Te eectne ovaluation of hee cosumensinceakon fo beyesearch being prososed (1) What is the Purpose of a Literature Review? To demonstrate your shoal ity to ant relvan information and to eure ening Kronos. ‘+ Te enity te p'm the rearch hat your sty Is tteming to adore, posfonng your Wor In he conn of previous esearch and aetna Yeserch space for ur WO + Te evaluate and eyrinesie e ifomaton in ine wi the concep tat you have se yourself he + To proces aratonale or uta fr your sty Inve, you may ree quo bossy on he top fo ench jour undertincng a mo el, Tesi sf fr ‘eng your tpt and etacting he paspocive tha your eteach wil tata For orev feadne oy ‘hay help you wok aut where thee ae gape inthe recoar wnt ty peas you wih sete oy ya ‘esearch may ato enable yous ease hw your essere exten cr onhancas esos shoacy Sn omever, remember hat te tartare reve nea oe to and exan your research ttn. At "here ay seem tobe hundreds o outs ofiamaton ha apse petners, odo yu hove Your poston sett are narow down the nop You vasa Visit The Learning Centre website _hitp/www.ic.unswedu.cu\ aa seem eee ce a Liste search id vaste meno setts ‘eter v x “San ‘minname gsc uu How hewe acorveches io thace, a pete ean cyeeandg ‘ebeancsge ‘Some of the questions the review of the literature can answer ‘Source: at. (1968 Dig utara review Reossng te son eee ese ‘niason Trans Gok Sae, ‘What do | need to he able to do in order to write a literature review? Prease be ware thatthe flowing stops ar rot necessity near and you ray have ores therm ‘at vanous points. Remember that undertaking yur iteratare review 1 real’ an on-going crocaes Ireoughout your thesis. However, thers willbe ies when you focus more spacifeay on rxewing the iterator, + donty your earch question. Ths essen helping yu doc nd re yur racing. “Monit and oes appropriate information. Consier searching my aialoges dats bases CORE, ‘mata loser, resexespusosions ethene wl epee on your Scena you ae» posgraciat ane ate unsresbeuthou to use the Iran lactonicor tame e:curess ‘evively honk an paint a Rasnare Const he UNSME ray aan dons nine st chionestbranynsw eau proche) Th seria avait lo postgteduste sare ‘Boers ard acaderae sat APRA cormalon wl lp yo to develop and rane your research sin te rs ofp, cron neon recurs, + Read and erieaky evaluate the Infomation tat you locas. Examine senha yesknesses Falnont yourreetten, Tae nies ont ony oration hat yau oad, tas your Meus about "ts tarnton. Ths ll Pelp you stan your eas togother whom You stat wring yeu erature review ‘seston [or aflecve nleraking statgis, seu the Lsaring Genes stud esau on ntetahing “Fle and stor your nadings an notes Us a tcive mat hates youretavemfomatonauekty nd ashy, Rersemer that hors no ove ight way of orgs You mati However Re Moat ‘ow the arte Wal Yu nave ued and wher you nave stead otal you can aca qu Sn eaty Use a preprar ike eneoi te hb Yeu organise ans si your ots reli othe eadngs fal you neve unceraron «Plan orgonise and wit erialy about he Meretute tat you have lated You ined to oaseh lanchtsratre soe pertnerttovcurreview an bo ableto aye asertive a ralvant store, Don uedarestmae ne lrning lage. awng a sores one oval gars your eral revi ‘nay ne expec he proce, Som pace fa tut ho intial stages, dating aan fo ho [eek ts ogee every sek pong 6g care ofa norman 0 be weorpea‘ed.How could | write my Literature Review? Wen wring eur trate reviw itl eet o emebertnatit wl ny be completed when your hese amos sed, because ri research andputtcalens ae constant ban proauced Al arn tg: Ys have tobe hepsy wih wl you nave and aye Ita; honever, youl be Sorina ange yore rail roy rola aumbor a mes In alaye yl to ree te terete rvs in ater thstes. These wl provce nose skusta! efor jour cum tate review The UNSH fray now has many theses Stalauiecmie sobs sey toes empaths Ih yur area of esaren Chock ou the UNSW foray waoete lore AssvlenDiga Treas danore inhoud odau> ‘nave seh ersegy so xaraine hear reves oo aiden ijeural ales, stig nse are general uch Some Possible Ways of ‘Structuring Literature Review Ghronotogica! organisation “Tho eexoaln oe ress stat Icordered atsurding tos tora or oveoprenta sont ‘The Cini! stiee erganisation Ridscuasion or ouline tte alo ‘ning egatde'assgncatyo ‘Senate (Rareroaratinnery, lrassareh there are ‘benchnark Stutles or arclos that sha be srirowedoe) Topical or tnematie organisation ‘The fenearon eae tas feprosanting. the categories. Concepts scjets foryour tae The ‘Fscussion Is organised Into categares oreo. Inverted pyramid organisation “The tert review begins ath = ssrurson ofthe aatanoateton ‘more an mara apse or noiond tides nrc foes ncaa en space queson a hans. "Xe tmportant that your Iara review Nas logical anc ‘tert suc, and hati suc is deadly apparent a fhe raster. sa god ia to lel your reser ow exscy ‘how tho evew organised aneugn be eapgeatons a _Secommonlyusedin sve th arate are these ‘metiods re by no means te ely wayscf eran maria. Remomber at fat he way na yeu chacte fo ogarae ye ‘even wil argalyaepend up tee of ermaton te yu Fave gathered ang thal torre Iteratute raviews vee @ ‘rion of srctrl approaches, Discussing and Evaluating the Literature Ceticany exemine tha erature ‘he trate revowno6ds to ccaly varie th ete at otto yourrezomrehauaston aor oan ett whl ou havo labios. Therefore, you must ink te Wortar to Your fesoorch question, cementing hom & sapere or extends thetopic othe eng krowedgein ne area. You shoul Inghight the cuengins, voskraczes and omdesione ot the arate, prowaing a extave ofthe resebch, Hence, the [bnguags und na Herter in ofenevaative ani Cerone resin fo your question. Moke your voice’ clear ‘Your Yor hati, your perspective, poston or standpot, shou beer ntibein he erste revi sin thetess asa whee. However nh eri reve because you ate wring aout othe fot’ ors 55 easy for your oun Wow fo bo lst. The erature renew ten ras Ie treo fore ones od ‘srgunents k's impotant hat fry our eoreca pose clea andstongy taeda hal yo sat ‘valuations ao an negra croft. Secon, a npn tat your language hates your ono the ‘ee ates oho gueson resus, Sora vay of ng mngusge todo ie ae autred on he ned page es your parspectos of tha tare items 5,6 Dore ie ai sec esa gon dn, ‘retanig Get UNS, ans nyo Baha mone ire 989 oy Sano ean. Can a Wg Tn ee psec nom Usman "den 12, Sas tire a ane Aig ade em pease cn es ‘ose ios EP 0.85 gts Ae raat da et. on ee Bake, Fro c.0 Garcgpeg teers pepo anon a. "ant HW. 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The enicial usu fachstorans intaposcsan wth te ots ple Freee Retevons! mark (ndenined) word [Boas ot spy trey he tres rlnonstp othe suerte or 1} Txt aun Ran, (ee) One natn tas ‘Schley communi whic ey a ig” Rao se catty te’ ano say ‘Sy An bam Sn 1877 Na Techn empateaxprecsone, tise marker and lator mares re also hedging oxeressons, Dut thy ae cece hee I eso tas perary chon ‘Thor are numerous resources a the independent Leaming Gerire ad in the itary that can help _suppet you inthe wring of your Irate review: Pease remember that Cre Is no one way of wing a erature review and that 1s eesental that you ascuss your chosen approact ih your ‘supers vey fart haben ras ocala sede sources ematon Peet show fh naan) phguieed maa ‘en cap yes ait Bunl.@ Te Learing Can, UNV 202,Loughborough ea) va Doing a literature review Whats trate evew? 4 nat We not. nt “This Advice Sheet inroduose you tothe basics of comping & Approaches nested. trate review Approaching yourreview ..2 Weting the avin. 3 What is a literature review? daeaitaentts ‘+ IU critical end evaluative account of what has been published on a chosen research fle, + Is purpose isto summarise, synthesise and analyse the erguments of cers {its not an academic esearch peper, he mah pute of wich i o Support your own agument) ‘+ You should describe and analyse the knowledge that exists and \what gaps occur in esearch rested ta your fel of intoreet. (7 should clay the relationship Between your own research and the work that has previously been done) + It shouls reveal sriarties ana ditferences, consistencies and inconsistencies and cantoverses in previous research It's not primary an argument forthe mortance of whet kis you ae researching. Wri is necessary to explain whats the primary purpose of your researc te reader ef erature tovew wl aseume thatthe need for undertaking the resarcn has aendy haan xtabinhec! tis nota descriptive st of papers or sunrmarios. You must not just st your sources and descibe them in tal one at time ‘The approaches needed for different disciplines Xs important to note thal certain eiscinnes wil have a different approach to ierature eviews. Yo. department mey have pariular preferences so you shoul siays make aue that you have consulted {yur superisor before yu start work, ' Selonce and engineering have fay rd conventions for reporting on research. They san have: 28 specie structure og. itoduction’, "backoroud folowed by “methodology esule-ans ‘discussion Thi & known ae an exo erature evew | + Social sience iterature reviews oft flow 2 ena paitern o science and enginesing Iterature reviews athough some social sences e.g, anvopolagy may have a lass expie approach aa aes enna cee eeseeceee arc see EEE~ Poltcal science iterature reviews may have to Réude a eoclon whieh estas promises and nas defirions of certain terms and models + Literary and historical iterature reviews co not hve a inala convertion. Incontorporary Inerary studies an"explict” chapter may aot be needed. The researcher may be takings net theoretical approach to materal which has already been studied before Approaching your literature review ‘Thore aa ve stages to your iterature review Find modes Problem formulation — which lpi is under eonlderaton and what are the constituent ice? [erator ewarch Evaluation of traings Acalysis and interpretation of erature 4 Find models Lok for ain Reratura eviews in your dscipine and read them to get an idea ofthe types oftnemss you might vant to nolice in yout rasoaron of vays i hic you could organise your fil review You'can do a datazase search fo fins models ~put he worss "erature review” along with Your keywords to remnve references to atles of tis ype 2 Problem formulation “You should ty to construct a working stator tha wl form the Bass of your terature review. The statement doas not have fo argue for @ postion or an opinion. wl rater argue fra partic’ sant fon tha materal 2 Literature search Fro trature search wil hel you iden scope and key sues. Efilent arching wil help you 1 idan which anor ae interested in Your specialism and those who take generals + Trace author wh are pcominentin your eubloct and who can help you jusiy the mgortance of your research de. + Indlude the autos would or could conrad your Keas. 4 Evaluation of findings FReading research arcs fs afferent rom other ypes of reading, You must develon a good Understanding of he research erature to ba able to wile a competent terete review. UUnderetancing te iterature roqures you to read, read and assimilate compler Wess, Read the easier articles first Diet or badly wien ates wil probably be easier to undastand ifyou read them ast when you Rava gained fairy wih your subject‘Scan the atito orth prelmaryscen, dont rad the ates ose toa to avoid geting mired in deta, Itmay help to note down the key points for each artis, ‘When reating you should Keep the flowing in in! + Wha are the authors’ academic reputation? + \entiy the research question and he specif hypotheses, the Frings and how he findings wore hierrstod + Ate the authors objective or does thar work appear to have a partic bias? + twoontrary cata eonsdared and discussed or ignores? 5 Analysis and interpretation ofthe Iterature ‘ter you have an idea of he main ideas in ach atl. ently the precise methods use anctthe {hears tasted When you are comparing the work of @ numberof ravearchere some of whom have 8 diferent take on te prablems ofthe research queston, you wil need o have an in-depth Understanding of the work ‘Aclose reading may reveal aferonces in thacrtcal outlook How do atferant ahora cks the same work? One ant may explain the rath ofan earter soy, deserib Ks results great deta and cle epeately whe Anatner may give itony @ passing sferonce, Allow enough time Before you can wil about your research project you must have ovalusted the existing iterate ropery so do alow yourself sufficient fme to do fis Writing the Literature Review ‘Number of articles reviewed ubisied review arteioe may contain mors than a hundred studies, ‘You may wish fo consult your supervsor about how ar you should 90 back inte and tow mary ales you want 0 clude Organisation “That are-a number of dierent appreaches to organising a erature {ew 80 agetn do consult your superior before beghning the work. You cule use the flowing method ‘+ Ttfocuoe your research question (what tls, why is worth examining) ‘+ Narrow research question tothe stuies ascussed ‘+ Briety outline the organisation of the paper. thre isa major conlvovery, describe itand ‘xpath tht you wll presant researohsupporing one side and hen the oer + Or iF thee methodologies have been used to address @ question riety describe then and ay that you wil compare the resus obtained by the thres methods + Deserbe sues in detat + Compare and evaluate studies + Discuss te inpicatons ofthe studies and how yourintend o bald on hem ConclusionRecommendations Discuss what you have leaned fom reviewing erature so far and where the research oad? Aor reatang your review your reader shouldbe convinced tel your proposed research project wil ay @ necessary role in furthering knowledge in your felFurther reading ’ fe to books on erature searching can be foun at uw oo gira eis erature sea Ne ‘You may alo wish to consult your Academe Librain if you are having rouble locating iterate on your top. See hp: oxo 26 uRbrarvibouySaf ist for tats Wand download on the flowing webste: itnvforeatlvecommons oralicenses/by-no-sa/2,0/uk!