workshop 5 - lit review

8/11/2019 Workshop 5 - Lit Review

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How to Write a

LiteratureReviewWorkshop 5; Semester 2, 2011



What is a

literature review?

Chat!



What is a

literature review?

“…a written summary of journal

articles, books and otherdocuments that describes the

past and current state of

information on the topic of your

research study” (Creswell, 2012,

p.80)



What is a

literature review?

“…a written summary of journal

articles, books and otherdocuments that describes the

past and current state of

information on the topic of your

research study” (Creswell, 2012,

p.80)

A summary of the literature

(research) that identifies

the ‘gap’in previously conducted

research that your study will fill…

It presents

“evidence that educatorsNEED YOUR STUDY”!

(Creswell, 2012, p.80)



Why are lit reviews important?1. To define and limit a problem… Identify key issues within the

broad research area

2. To place your study in perspective… e.g. “The work of A, B

and C has discovered this much about my question; the

investigations of D have added this much to our knowledge. I

propose to go beyond D’s work in the following manner” 3. To avoid unintentional replication of previous studies… A lit

review helps you to make informed choices about a research

topic within a scholarly context

4. To select methods and measures… access what has worked

before and why; [learn] new methodologies and procedures5. To relate findings to previous knowledge and suggest areas

of further research… the findings of your research need to be

related back to earlier studies. This ‘places’ you work and can

point to areas that need further investigation.

(Emerson, 2007, p.56-57)



Ingredients for

baking a lit review1. Identify the key

words

2. Critically evaluate

the literature/articles3. Organize the

literature/articles

4. Write it up!!! :P




Ingredients for

baking a lit review1. Identify the key

words

2. Critically evaluate

the literature/articles3. Organize the

literature/articles



Can I just have some

cake NOW?



Searching Tips…

1. Identifying key words…

What are you researching

about? What is the title of

your research topic?

(Q titles work best)

Narrow your search to key

topic areas, e.g. English

language, primary, young

learners

Look for key terms in titlesof journal articles



Searching Tips…

Identifying key words…

What are you researching

about? What is the title of

your research topic?

(Q titles work best)

Narrow your search to key

topic areas, e.g. English

language, primary, young

learners

Look for key terms in titlesof journal articles

Have a go!

My research topic… An investigation of the use andimpact of Bislama(pidgin/creole English) as themedium of learning and

instruction on the teaching andlearning of English as a

foreign language in Vanuatu.

1. Identify some keywords I could use…

2. Have a look at yourresearch topic – What are some key

words you can use?

Chat!



Searching Tips…

To make life easier…

Remember to use Boolean indicators, e.g.“young learners”; motiva*

Use Pro-quest Education Journals database…

1. Use Advanced search;

2. Search in Abstract – if the key word/s are not in the abstract,it may not be worth looking at the paper!!!

Lets have a quick squizzze



2. Critically evaluate the literature/articles…

How do we do that? ? ? ;P

Chat!





Some tips… What is and is not

known? What hasn’tbeen covered?

Areas of controversy ordebate?

How do differentresearch studies

compare? Strengths and

weaknesses?





Some tips… How does the literature

answer your research Q?

What is the scope of theirresponses and relatedissues? (Emerson, 2007, p.58)

What is and is not known?What hasn’t been covered?

Areas of controversy ordebate?

How do different researchstudies compare?

Strengths and weaknesses?

All this should

reveal the gap the

in the literature

that your study

needs to fill!



3. Organize the literature/articles…

HOW???

1. Read and take notes – PARAPHRASING

the main points…

FOCUS: What was done?

CONTEXT: Where? With whom?

RESEARCH METHODS: How? Duration?

FINDINGS/RESULTS: Include arguments and recommendations

You can organize this into a table…



Source

(name, date)

Focus Context Research

Methods

Findings

Liu & Fisher,2006 Changes inconcepts ofself

3 foreignlanguageteachers inpostgradprogram in UK

Semi-structuredinterviews,open-endedQ‟aire, selfreflectionreport,evaluation logs.Duration: 9

months

Improvedperformanceover time;ascertainedgood workingrelationships;felt like a „realteacher‟ after 3

terms

Organizing the studies…



Source

(name, date)

Focus Context Research

Methods

Findings

Liu & Fisher,2006 Changes inconcepts ofself

3 foreignlanguageteachers inpostgradprogram in UK

Semi-structuredinterviews,open-endedQ‟aire, selfreflectionreport,evaluation logs.Duration: 9

months

Improvedperformanceover time;ascertainedgood workingrelationships;felt like a „realteacher‟ after 3

terms

Organizing the studies…

TIP: When taking notes and tabulating the studies, put in bold the 2-3 studiesin a particular theme that stand out as worth going into more detail in yourlit review. These studies will be ones that more directly relate to your own

research focus

From here you can start… 2. Organizing the articles into sections/themes, e.g.

Construct a ‘literature map’



Example of a literature map…



Lets look at an example…

Skim through the lit review and notice…

Thematic structure

Amount of studies mentioned

Amount of detail per case study

Notice particular words and phrases used

at beginning of sentences to introducethemes/issues and make cohesive links

Kanno & Stuart, 2011




Focus on one theme/issue at a time…

Write a summary of the theme/issue – start

each paragraph in this way, with a generaltopic section introducing the theme/issue,

then proceed with details… see example

Consider what order to present each

theme/issue and then…

Cohesively „join‟ your themes/issues together

End with identifying „the gap‟

workshop 5 - lit review

Documents