Planning an Applied Research Project Chapter 5 – Writing a Literature Review © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives Compare insights from various scholarly articles Prepare a clear and well organized literature review Make a case for your purpose statement and research questions Take notes in a manner useful to conducting a literature review © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Key Terms Audience Coherence Criteria for evaluation Focus Logical flow Perspective Point of view Tone Voice © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Purposes of a Completed Literature Review Provide information to scholars Include a comprehensive set of information about the current status of research in the field Demonstrate your credibility Encourage support for your research Enable you to move forward with your research © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Audience Scholarly professionals in the field Industry professionals Journal editors Editorial boards of journals Other students Other colleagues People interested in your topic Funders Reviewers of proposals © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Voice and Tone Objective Dispassionate voice Third person point of view Avoid: Condescension Familiarity Lack of enthusiasm Personal point of view – “I” “we” © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Perspective of a Literature Review Broad picture of the state of scholarship in an area (and often related areas) Picture of the quality and range of the scholarship Discussion of patterns and gaps in the key findings of various scholarship Analysis of the findings in the scholarship without too much detail Evaluation of the scholarship to point out the necessity or value of the proposed project © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Constructing the Written Literature Review Collect your notes into categories – methods, findings, sample sizes, etc. Organize into a coherent essay with sections Write the sections Write a conclusion and then an introduction Write transitions between sections Review to ensure a focus on findings Check for accurate sources and sufficient references Revise for clear, objective point of view © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Constructing the Written Literature Review (cont’d) Structure of a Literature Review Introduction – explaining the topic and the significance of the purpose statement and research questions; often including background information Subsections with headings – patterns of findings, gaps in findings, research methods, sampling strategies, applications Conclusion – summarizing key findings and pointing out the need for the research © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Constructing the Written Literature Review (cont’d) Elements of a Literature Review Clear introduction Strong logic Comprehensive summary Careful reasoning Statements about common patterns of research (documented by sources) Statements about gaps (documented by sources) Comments on research methods (documented by sources) © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Criteria for a Good Literature Review Good Literature Review are: Well written Carefully constructed Persuasive Well organized Insightful © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Criteria for a Good Literature Review (cont’d) Clarity Coherence Comprehensiveness Cogency Currency Credibility Creativity Contribution © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Review of the Class Session Anything unclear? One thing that I learned from this class is … © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.