literature review dk

8/3/2019 Literature Review DK

1/20

2/2/2012 Prof.Dr.Dayakar.Ch 1

Literature review

Prof.Dr.Dayakar.Ch


2/20


What is a review of the literature?

A review of the literature is a

classification and evaluation of what

accredited scholars and researchershave written on a topic, organized

according to a guiding concept such as

research objective or the problem/issue

you wish to address.

.


3/20


Definition of a Literature Review

Aliterature review

surveys scholarly articles, books and other

sources (e.g. dissertations, conference

proceedings) relevant to a particular issue,

area of research, or theory.

provides a short description and critical

evaluation of work critical to the topic. offers an overview of significant literature

published on a topic.


4/20


Literature Reviews are Conducted For

Various Reasons:

1. For a review paper

2. For the introduction (and discussion) of

a research paper, masters thesis ordissertation

3. To embark on a new area of research

4. For a research proposal


5/20


In writing the literature review, your

purpose is to convey to your reader what

knowledge and ideas have beenestablished on the topic you have

chosen, and what their strengths and

weaknesses are.


6/20


Why perform literature review?

Saves yourself from work!

Good sense of what has been

thoroughly investigated and in what areas

useful new work might be done.

Know the subject matter better

Broader understanding of the question

Suggest new research topics,questions, methods


7/20


A Good Literature Review is:

Focused - The topic should be narrow. Youshould only present ideas and only report onstudies that are closely related to topic.

Concise - Ideas should be presentedeconomically. Dont take any more space thanyou need to present your ideas.

Logical - The flow within and among

paragraphs should be a smooth, logicalprogression from one idea to the next

Developed - Dont leave the story half told.


8/20


A Good Literature Review is (cont.,)

Integrative - Your paper should stress how

the ideas in the studies are related. Focus on

the big picture. What commonality do all the

studies share? How are some studiesdifferent than others? Your paper should

stress how all the studies reviewed contribute

to your topic.

Current - Your review should focus on work

being done on the cutting edge of your topic.


9/20


Further

Besides enlarging your knowledge about

the topic, writing a literature review lets

you gain and demonstrate skills in two

areas:


10/20


They are

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


11/20


A literature review must do these

things:

be organized around and related directlyto the thesis or research question youare developing

synthesize results into a summary ofwhat is and is not known

identify areas of controversy in the

literature formulate questions that need further

research


12/20


Ask yourself questions like these:

What is the specific thesis, problem, orresearch question that my literaturereview helps to define?

What type of literature review am Iconducting? Am I looking at issues oftheory? methodology? policy?

quantitative research (e.g. on theeffectiveness of a new procedure)?qualitative research (e.g., studies )?


13/20


Questions (cont.,)

What is the scope of my literature

review? What types of publications am I

using (e.g., journals, books, government

documents, popular media)? What

discipline am I working in (e.g.,

environment, geotechnical engineering,

transportation, structure)?


14/20


Questions (cont.,)

How good was my information

seeking? Has my search been wide

enough to ensure I've found all the

relevant material? Has it been narrow

enough to exclude irrelevant material? Is

the number of sources I've used

appropriate for the length of my paper?


15/20


Questions (cont.,)

Have Icritically analyzed the literature I

use? Do I follow through a set of

concepts and questions, comparing

items to each other in the ways they deal

with them? Instead of just listing and

summarizing items, do I assess them,

discussing strengths and weaknesses?


16/20


Questions (cont.,)

Have I cited and discussed studies

contrary to my perspective?

Will the reader find my literature reviewrelevant, appropriate, and useful?


17/20


Databases and basics of literature search

Medical library resources

Review articles

Databases of medical literatureMedline

Full-text databases

Electronic journals


18/20


So what is a literature review?

A literature review is a piece ofdiscursiveprose, not a list describing or summarizingone piece of literature after another. It's usually

a bad sign to see every paragraph beginningwith the name of a researcher. Instead,organize the literature review into sections thatpresent themes or identify trends, includingrelevant theory. You are not trying to list all the

material published, but to synthesize andevaluate it according to the guiding concept ofyour thesis or research question.


19/20


What This Means

Add a strong statement that summarizes

how you feel or think about this topic

Summarize key points you want youraudience to remember


20/20


Next Steps

Summarize any actions required of your

audience

Summarize any follow up action itemsrequired of you

literature review dk

Documents