Chapter V

Writing the Review of

Literature
 Topics

• What to expect from a good quality review

• Sources of information
• Searching the web for literature
• Tips on how to write the review
• Plagiarism and how to avoid it
• Introduction to EndNote
• Referencing
What’s a good quality Lit Review?
• Adequate content
• Clear statement of the topic & presentation of facts
• Appropriate writing style
• Has coherence & continuity of ideas; simple & clear
• Sufficient references
• Important papers have been reviewed; latest papers
• Several references each paragraph
• Undergraduate Thesis- 40-50 references
• MS- 100-150 references
• PhD – 200-300 references
What’s a good quality Lit Review?
• Proper citation
• Authors are cited in correct format
• Manual referencing, check for missed authors
• Check for spelling and publication year
• Correct grammar, punctuation & spelling
• Review use of punctuation marks
• Correct paper layout
• Use headings & sub-headings
• Analytical
• Compare studies; provide concluding statements
• Focused
 Sources of information
for Lit Review
• Previous theses
• Published papers
• Expert opinions
• Books
• Manuals/pamphlets
• Circulars
• Internet
• Reports/Records
• Newsletters
Tips on how to write the Review
• Find models and prescribed formats
• Read previous theses
• Make a topic outline
• Use current references preferably from peer-
reviewed journals
• Find time and focus
• Organize your own library
• You may use index cards or EndNote
• Print important papers, number & organize
Tips on how to write the Review
• Be selective on what you read and include
• Use evidence to justify your point
• Analyze, summarize and synthesize
• Compose paragraphs properly
• Paraphrase – do not copy and paste – plagiarism
• Cite authors correctly as you write
• Use a referencing software (eg, EndNote)
• Check grammar and spelling
• Revise
 Formats of citations
• Harvard system
• Names of authors and year of publication are included
in brackets in the text
• According to Dobson et al. (2009)
• et al. - Latin word et aliia (masculine plural) or `et
aliae' (feminine plural) or `et alia' (neuter plural)–
and others; in italics
• According to Awing and Valcorza (2018)
• Surra affects all mammals (Beltran et al., 2020;
Hinalao et al., 2017; Awing & Colonia, 2015)
• Numerical system- using numbers
• Trypanosoma evansi may cause disease in humans (1).
 Writing Thesis in English

• Be clear, simple, direct and explain in plain English

• Avoid wordiness, colloquialism & contracted words (eg, it
is). It’s…. It is
• Use active voice as possible
• Use accepted terms in the field
• Use correct units & abbreviations eg, mL not ml
• Apply headings to make text more understandable
• Check grammar & spelling – spell check in Word; seek
help from an English critic
 Writing Thesis in English

• Be coherent… 1 idea per paragraph (multiple authors)

• Use Arabic numerals for numbers more than 9. eg, 10 for
ten unless at the start of a sentence; eleven =11
• For numbers followed by units use numerals . eg, 3 mL
• Use whole numbers in the text, if possible, or limit to 2
decimal places (eg, 56.73) ~57g 1 M PhP
• Do not start a sentence with an acronym/abbreviation
• Arrange multiple references: latest to oldest
• Paraphrase
Searching the Web for literature
• Use Googlescholar
• Use databases
• Contact authors and kindly request for pdf files
of their publication(s)
• Sci-hub.se
 Plagiarism
• Using/stealing one’s ideas without acknowledging
the author/s
• Properly cite the author/s if you are citing their
work
• Pliagiarism is dishonesty and may cause expulsion
of the student

• Online plagiarism, check

• http://ed.grammarly.com/editor/view/?f=1
 Why is it wrong to plagiarize?
• Unethical because it’s stealing
• Unethical because one benefits from it
• Risky to others
• Eg, if one graduates from plagiarized work, he
will be endangering others in the workplace

• Read: Types of plagiarism

• Turnitin
 How to avoid plagiarism
• Be original
• Manage time wisely so that you will have time to write
• Develop writing skills
• Acceptable paraphrasing
• Read and research
• Improve note-taking skills
• Learn how to acknowledge sources
• Proper referencing
• Do not copy the work of others
 How to avoid plagiarism
• Identify plagiarized words. Use plagiarism/similarity
checker. Ex. Turnitin. Six consequently copied words
will be considered plagiarism.
• Use quotations for in toto copied statement. Limit in a
paper.
• Paraphrase manually or use paraphrasing software
(Quilbot).
• Cite references (EndNote, Mendeley)
• Check with plagiarism checker (Turnitin, Grammarly,
etc.)
 How to paraphrase?
• Use synonyms. Some of the words from the original
passage may appear in your work but use synonyms.
• Change active sentences to passive sentences or vice-
versa.
• Change direct to indirect quotations.
• Re-arrange sequence of words.
• Use your own words.
 Steps to paraphrase
• Read the selection carefully.
• Check words that you do not understand: look for
synonyms.
• Write a brief outline:
• Main idea/topic
• Main supporting points
• Primary & supporting details
• Write the paraphrase
 Journal source
Atawalna J, Attoh-kotoku U, Folitse RD &
Amenakpar C (2016) Prevalence of
gastrointestinal parasite among pigs
in the Ejisu Municipality of Ghana.
Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary
Sciences 3: 33-36.
 Book source
Coles EH (1986) Veterinary Clinical
Pathology. WB Saunders Company:
Pennsylvania, USA. Pp 31-40.
 Thesis source
Camacho CC (2017) Prevalence and risk
factors of Classical Swine Fever and
gastrointestinal nematodiasis
among unvaccinated backyard pigs
in schistosomiasis-endemic
municipalities in Agusan del Sur.
Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis.
Central Mindanao University.
University Town, Musuan,
Bukidnon, Philippines.
 Internet source
Achas, R (2016) Seroprevalence of
tuberculosis among dogs in Gingoog
City, Philippines. Accessed on 25
October 2021 at www.ddd.dddd.com.
 Expert
Hog cholera is endemic in Agusan del Sur
(Dr. P. Calo, personal communication,
2021).
 Editing in Word
• Tracking system
• Edit
• Insert comment
 Referencing
• a system of acknowledging the sources of your
work in your thesis/publication
• Oxford system
• Harvard (in-text) system
• American Psychological Association (APA)
system
 What is EndNote?

• Commercial software
• For referencing and organizing bibliography
• Stores a library of references, pictures, pdf
files, etc
• Imports references directly from databases
• Easier: citation and bibliography generation
 What is EndNote?

• Bibliography formats are journal-specific

but can be edited
• Enable to search specific references
EndNote Demo
(c/o Lab)
 Endnote
• In-text citation
• Lit Cited
• Search
• Organizing your library
• Manual entry
• Import from internet
• Google citations
 Exercises on Word
• Line numbering (Layout, Line Number)
• Word count (Review)
• Page numbers (Insert)
• Spelling/grammar check (Review)
• Track changes (Review)
• Find word (Home)
• Watermark (Design, watermark)
 Exercises on Referencing
• Install EndNote in laptop
• Create library
• Import
• Manual entry of references
• Give 10 references, enter in Endnote
• Produce mock Lit review using Australian J Agri
Research format
• Bibliography, in text citations -
 Other Referencing Tools
• Mendeley --- free online
• Zotero – free online
• Microsoft Word Reference Manager
• Others