Literature Review

The process of reading, analyzing,

evaluating, and summarizing scholarly
materials about a specific topic.
 Prince Gautama Buddha
• Do not believe in something because you have heard about it,
• Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been
handed down for many generations,
• Do not believe in something simply because it is spoken and
rumored by many,
• Do not believe in something simply because it is found in your
religious books,
• Do not believe in something simply on the authority of your
teachers and elders,
• But after careful observation and rigorous analysis, when you
find that something agrees with reason and is conducive to the
good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
 Search & Review
• Search - comprehensive survey of publications and
information on a specific topic, resulting in a list of
references.
Search >> source material >> a literature review
• Review - a written section of a research report that
summarizes the literature studied in order to
develop the research study.
 Abstract & Keyword
• Abstract
- Purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of
scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes.
• Keyword / index term / subject term / subject
heading / descriptor
- a term that captures the essence of the topic of a document
 Annotated Bibliography
• A list of citations to books, articles, and documents, inclusive of a
brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation.
• Descriptive and critical write up exposing the author's point of view,
clarity and appropriateness of expression (relevance, accuracy, and
quality of the sources)
• Uses an overall introduction and conclusion to state the scope of
coverage and to formulate the question, problem, or concept the
material illuminates.
• Usually organize grouping items into sections, that helps to include
comparisons and relationships.
• One may add a paragraph or so to introduce the focus of each
section.
 Literature Review
• What is it?
- An account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and
researchers.
• Why?
- Purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been
established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
• How to write?
- As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g.,
your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your
argumentative thesis).
• What it is not?
- It is not just a descriptive list of the available material, or a set of summaries.
 Review skills
• Information seeking:
- the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or
computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books
• Critical appraisal:
- the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid
studies.
 Outcome
• Should be organized around and related directly to
the thesis or research topic in question
• Synthesize results into a summary of what is known
and what is not known
• Identify areas of controversy in the literature
• Formulate questions that need further research
 Ask yourself…1
• What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question
that the literature review helps to define?
• What type of literature review is it? Is it looking at issues of
theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research (e.g.
on the effectiveness of a new procedure)? Or qualitative
research (e.g., studies )?
• What is the scope of the literature review? What types of
publications are being used (e.g., journals, books,
government documents, popular media)?
 Ask yourself…2
• How good is the information seeking? Has the search been wide
enough to ensure finding of all the relevant material? Has it been
narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material? Is the number of
sources used appropriate for the length of review?
• Does it indicate critical analysis of the literature? Does it follow
through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items to each
other in the ways they deal with them? Does it just lists and
summarizes items or does it assess the sources and provides
discussion on strengths and weaknesses?
• Does it include studies contrary to the perspective of the researcher?
• Will the reader find the literature review;
relevant, appropriate, and useful?
 Ask yourself…3
• Has the author formulated a problem/issue?
• Is it clearly defined? Is its significance (scope, severity, relevance)
clearly established?
• Could the problem have been approached more effectively from
another perspective?
• What is the author's research orientation?
• What is the author's theoretical framework?
• What is the relationship between the theoretical and research
perspectives?
• Has the author evaluated the literature relevant to the problem/issue?
Does the author include literature taking positions contrary to author’s
views?
 Ask yourself…4
• How good are the basic components of the study design (e.g.,
population, intervention, outcome)? How accurate and valid are the
measurements? Is the analysis of the data accurate and relevant to
the research question? Are the conclusions validly based upon the
data and analysis?
• In material written for a popular readership, does the author use
appeals to emotion, one-sided examples, or rhetorically-charged
language and tone? Is there an objective basis to the reasoning, or is
the author merely "proving" what he or she already believes?
 Ask yourself…5
• How does the author structure the argument? Can one "deconstruct"
the flow of the argument to see whether or where it breaks down
logically (e.g., in establishing cause-effect relationships)?
• In what ways does this book or article contribute to our understanding
of the problem under study, and in what ways is it useful for practice?
What are the strengths and limitations?
• How does this book or article relate to the specific thesis in question?
 Organize the review
• Literature review is a piece of discursive prose
• Should not describe or summarize one piece of literature after
another.
• Every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher is bad
sign.
• Organize the literature review into sections that present themes or
identify trends, including relevant theory.
• Do not list all the material published, but synthesize and evaluate it
according to the guiding concept of the thesis in question.
 Sources of literature
• Encyclopedias
• Professional journals
• Conference proceedings
• Historical documents, books & monographs
• Professional studies and investigations
• Internet reports and databases
• Newspaper and magazine reports
• Manufacturers’ technical specifications
• Interviews, discussion with colleagues
? Reverse engineering
? Industrial espionage
? Blackmail or theft
? Interrogation
 Search
• Search profile (scope of the search)
• Keywords
• Starter references
• Seminal (highly original, influential and important)
works, core journals, key people
• Further iterations
 Keywords to search
• Choose your search words and their synonyms
• To leap in and start searching choose good search words.
• Write a paragraph which outlines the research interest. Note words or phrases which define
the topic or several key concepts.
• Generate a list of synonyms and other words that might be used in discussion of each
concept.
• Be creative!

• Choose the right place to search

• Search in subject specific databases, on the Internet (Google or Bing / Yahoo), or in library
catalogues.
• Use Advanced Search facility
 Findings
• Evaluate What You Find

• Keep Track of What You Find

• Keep a record of useful resources.
• Be sure to record full bibliographic information: title, author, year of
publication, journal title and volume number (if applicable) etc.
• This is called a citation or reference.
• Keeping good records helps you to locate your resources at a later
date.
• Secondary sources?
• Distorted knowledge?
• Validity of knowledge?
• Citation - source quoted in an essay, report, or book
to clarify, illustrate, or substantiate a point.
 Library
• Know your Librarian
• Your Institute’s library
• Other libraries in the vicinity
 Useful websites
• http://dspace.mit.edu/
• http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/39366
• http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/5131/filter
-search
• http://www.cenlib.iitm.ac.in/docs/library/index.php?
page=theses
• www.theses.com
• and so on………….
 Net search
• Don't rely exclusively on Net resources.
• Narrow your research topic before logging on.
• Know your subject directories (INFOMINE) and search
engines (Google).
• Keep a detailed record of sites you visit and the sites you
use.
• Double-check all URLs that you put in your paper.
 Critical reading
• Critical writing depends on critical reading.
• To read critically is to make judgments about how a text is
argued.
• A highly reflective skill requiring you to "stand back" and
“observe” the text from a distance you are reading.
• Read the text through once to get a basic grasp of content
before you launch into an intensive critical reading.)
- don't read looking only or primarily for information
- do read looking for ways of thinking about the subject matter
 Critical reading
• First determine the central claims or purpose of the text.
• Begin to make some judgments about context .
• What audience is the text written for? Who is it in dialogue with?
• Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs.
• What concepts are defined and used? Does the text appeal to a theory or theories? Is
any specific methodology laid out?
• You might also examine how the text is organized?
• How has the author analyzed the material?
Be aware that different disciplines will have different ways of arguing.
• Examine the evidence (the supporting facts, examples, etc) the text employs.
Supporting evidence is indispensable to an argument. From what sources is the
evidence taken? Are these sources primary or secondary?
• Critical reading may involve evaluation. Your reading of a text is already critical if it
accounts for and makes a series of judgments about how a text is argued. If the
argument is strong, why? Could it be better or differently supported? Are there gaps
or inconsistencies in the argument?
 Types of Publication
• Scientific papers (refereed journal and conference
papers)
• Trade articles
• Newspaper articles
• Infomercials
• Advertisements

You must only rely on refereed papers in accredited

journals and conferences.
Copyright: David Thiel 2009
 How can you tell?
• Length of title
• References (and their quality)
• Author’s name and affiliation
• Evidence that the paper has been reviewed and
revised.
• Date of submission & date of publication.
• The paper includes a review of previously published
work.
• Conclusion contains a critical reflection on the
contents of the article.
Copyright: David Thiel 2009
 Reading – some tips
• Begin by skimming research materials, especially introductions and conclusions, in
order to strategically choose where to focus your critical efforts.
• When highlighting a text or taking notes from it, teach yourself to highlight
argument. The opening sentences of paragraphs can be important.
• When you begin to think about how you might use a portion of a text in the
argument you are forging in your own paper, try to remain aware of how this portion
fits into the whole argument from which it is taken. Paying attention to context is a
fundamental critical move.
• Critical reading skills are also critical listening skills. In your lectures, listen not only
for information but also for ways of thinking.
 Critical writing
• Most of the papers include the thinking and research that has already
been done.
• In order to write own analysis of this subject, one needs to do careful
critical reading of sources and use them critically to make own argument.
• Judgments and interpretations of the texts you read are the first steps
towards formulating your own approach.
• When you quote directly from a source, use the quotation critically.
i.e. you should not substitute the quotation for your own articulation of a
point. Rather, introduce the quotation by laying out the judgments you
are making about it, and the reasons why you are using it with some
further analysis.
 Current / Recent
• Literature search / review is an iterative process:
find an article, investigate associated links and
other works by the author, search specific journals.
• Be inclusive, but not exhaustive, in citations. You
don’t need to list all hundreds / thousands of
articles, only those you actually draw data and
ideas from.
• Rule of thumb – stick to references from the past 5
years unless particularly noteworthy.
 Finally…
• A good and thorough search takes a LOT of time and
patience.
• A good and thorough search is best done by YOU.
• If you want to use searched material, you are responsible
for ensuring that it is reliable and accurate.
• Failure to cite sources is plagiarism.
Wrongful appropriation or close imitation of another author's "language,
thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as

one's own original work.

• Announce through publication your results earliest possible.
 The Scientific Method

Prior
knowledge An idea
The Outcome is Recognised
Submit
as a Major contribution
Report,
to the field Thesis,
Journal
Discovery or
Conference
Paper

Independent verification:
Independent verification:
literature, experiment,
literature,
numerical model,
Assessors
numericalmodel,
analytical model,etc
analytical model, etc
Copyright: David Thiel 2009
 Check points (University of Toronto)
• Authority
– Who is the author?
– Is the author's name given?
– Are her qualifications specified?
– Is there a link to information about the author and her position?
– Is there a way to contact her?
– Have you heard of her elsewhere?
– Has the author written elsewhere on this topic?
 Check points (University of Toronto)
• Affiliation
– Who is the sponsor of the Web site?
– Is the author affiliated with a reputable institution or organization?
– Does the information reflect the views of the organization, or only of the author?
– If the sponsoring institution or organization is not clearly identified on the site, check the URL.
– Extension .edu used by educational institutions, Government sites identified by the extension .gov.
The .org are trickier, may be very biased, the .com extension should also be used with caution, as
they have commercial or corporate sponsors who probably want to sell you something.

• Audience Level
– What audience is the Web site designed for?
– Don't use sites intended for elementary students or sites that are too technical for your needs.
 Check points (University of Toronto)
• Currency
– Is the Web site current?
– Is the site dated?
– Is the date of the most recent update given? Generally speaking,
Internet resources should be up-to-date; after all, getting the most
current information is the main reason for using the Net for
research in the first place.
– Are all the links up-to-date and working? Broken links may mean
the site is out-of-date; they're certainly a sign that it's not well-
maintained.
 Check points (University of Toronto)
• Content Reliability/Accuracy
– Is the material on the Web site reliable and accurate?
– Is the information factual, not opinion?
– Can you verify the information in print sources?
– Is the source of the information clearly stated, whether original research material or secondary
material borrowed from elsewhere?
– How valid is the research that is the source?
– Does the material as presented have substance and depth?
– Where arguments are given, are they based on strong evidence and good logic?
– Is the author's point of view impartial and objective?
– Is the author's language free of emotion and bias?
– Is the site free of errors in spelling or grammar and other signs of carelessness in its presentation
of the material?
– Are additional electronic and print sources provided to complement or support the material on the
Web site?
• If you can answer all these questions positively when looking at a particular site, then you can be pretty
sure it's a good one!