Why a Literature Review? … or tips for getting started with research Dr. Donna Harp Ziegenfuss donna.ziegenfuss@utah.edu https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urval_av_de_bocker_som_har_vunnit _Nordiska_radets_litteraturpris_under_de_50_ar_som_priset_funnits_%283%29.jpg

By the end of this workshop you will have: Focused in on a topic for a grant or research project Identified some databases and other scholarly sources Disciplinary & Pedagogical Learned about some other resources you can use to help conceptualize and plan their research project Learned about tools to make your research and planning more efficient and productive

Focus in on a grant or research project topic: Do you all have topics or research questions? What type of research are you interested in? Is it disciplinary specific research? Is it related to your teaching or student learning? Still undecided?

Let’s Start with a Literature Review … Why? Identify gaps in the literature to be researched Rationalize the importance of your topic Discover the subtopic and variables of the topic By ‘synthesizing’ the literature you will gain new insights and perspectives about the topic Use evidence to make a case for your findings Boote & Beile, 2005

Definition “In any subject area, the literature review provides that previous knowledge, and gives us an anchor to which to attach our new ideas ... This requires careful thought and planning, a clear structure, analytic thinking, extremely good information search skills, the ability to synthesize and summarize information in a clear writing style, and the ability to integrate this with the rest of your research work”. (Oliver, 2012, p.1) Central to the research Need to understand weaknesses and strengths of prior research We need to build of the research of those who came before us Sets the broad context of the study – what is and is not within the scope of the study Identifies gaps Not just a summary but a synthesis Is a form of scholarship

Types of Literature Reviews Traditional Narrative Type Review of the Literature (Critical Analysis) A stand alone literature review article A review done as part of a a research project A review done as part of evaluation/report/grant Other: Systematic Literature Review – detailed approach Meta-Analysis Literature Review – a systematic review focused on topics/subtopics or themes - statistical Different from an essay/ research paper with an argument research paper – use research to make a point and support your own argument, literature review – review and analyze arguments and ideas of others Systematic reviews usually done in the sciences – comparing and contrasting clinical studies

The Literature Review - 5 step process (Creswell, 2002, p. 86) Framing the topic/question and identifying terms to use in your search Locating the literature relevant to your topic Evaluating/analyzing the resources you find Organizing the literature you have selected in a structured order Writing the literature review

1. Frame the topic/question and identify terms to use in your search Browse background information Google / Google Scholar / Broad Database / Books Identify topics, concepts and keywords Concept map, matrix, word clouds Narrow your topic through more research Develop a thesis statement or research questions to guide your searching https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empty-frame.png

Locating the literature relevant to your topic Develop the search strategy Start Broad Begin in Google Scholar – Go deeper into library resources Keep a research journal (example excel template in canvas) Select databases for topic Track journals you are finding Keep a list of keywords

Evaluating/analyzing the resources you find Type of resources you use depends on your topic Write an annotated bibliography Summary annotation – summary no judgment Critical / Informative Combination Library guide on doing an annotated bibliography Library guide for a literature review

4. Organizing the literature you have selected in a structured order Thematic Organization of concepts / subtopics By subtopics Chronological (timeline – historical order) By publication history or by trend history Methodological Organized by the different methods used by the authors

5. Writing the literature review Introduction/Body/Conclusions Focus on the analysis /critical evaluation of the sources Use evidence and examples from your sources Use quotes for emphasis, but not routinely Be selective on what aspects of sources you use to tell the story about your topic May need to come back to the literature after your analysis as findings emerge https://pixabay.com/en/photos/writing%20paper/

Research resources to plan their research project OSP Grants Researcher Corner Page http://fbs.admin.utah.edu/research-corner/tag/osp/ Library Grants page http://lib.utah.edu/help/grant-training/ Foundation Directory Database Scival Funding Database COFA grant page http://www.finearts.utah.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/grants-research-support#MiniGrantProgram

Tools and Resources Citation Management Systems Endnote Basic, Zotero etc. http://box.utah.edu to store and organize PDFs Evernote, Word or Excel for research journaling and tracking research and/or annotations Word cloud software (Wordle) to look at key concepts or concept mapping (Cmap) software Adobe Acrobat Pro – highlighting and comments in articles Dragon Dictate app to record a-ha moments

References Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational researcher, 34(6), 3-15. Creswell, J. W. (2002). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Oliver, P. (2012). Succeeding with Your Literature Review : A Handbook for Students. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. p. 1 Websites http://libguides.wesleyan.edu/content.php?pid=484303&sid=3970520#general http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/annotated-bibliographies/ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/