Developing Research Proposal Writing a Literature Review

What is Review of Literature ? The review of the literature is defined as a broad, comprehensive, in-depth, systematic, and critical review of scholarly publications, unpublished scholarly print materials, audiovisual materials, and personal communications, within specific time period. Scholarly literature refer to published and unpublished data based literature and conceptual literature materials found in print and non print forms scientific articles, books, medical journals, dissertations Other sources relevant to a particular area of research topics, or theory Critical = evaluate what you read Analyze = extract differing information from what you read Synthesis = show relationships between studies/sources; differing definitions, concepts, theories etc. Evaluate = methodological approaches used

Purposes of Literature Review Determines an appropriate research design/method (instruments, data collection and analysis methods) for answering the research question Determines the need for replication of a well designed study or refinement of a study Determines and discovers unanswered questions what is known about a subject, concept or problem Determines gaps, consistencies & inconsistencies about a subject, concept or problem Describes strengths & weaknesses of designs, methods of inquiry and instruments used in earlier works

Working with Literature Find it! Manage it! Use it! Review it! Knowing the literature types Reading efficiently Choosing your research topic Understanding the lit review’s purpose Using available resources Keeping track of references Developing your question Ensuring adequate coverage Honing your search skills Writing relevant annotations Arguing your rationale Informing your work with theory Designing method Writing purposefully Working on style and tone

Working with Literature Journal articles of original research Theses & dissertation. Conference abstract &proceeding Primary source: is written by a person(s) who developed the theory or conducted the research Secondary source: is written by a person(s) other than the individual who developed the theory or conducted the research Journal articles Book or chapter on book

Sources of Literature Journal articles: These are good sources, especially for up-to-date information. They are frequently used in literature reviews because they offer a relatively concise, up-to-date format for research. Conference proceedings: these can be useful in providing the latest research, or research that has not been published. Theses and dissertations: these can be useful sources of information. However there are disadvantages. they can be difficult to obtain since they are not published, but are generally only available from the library or interlibrary system

Sources of Literature Books:  remember that books tend to be less up-to-date, as it takes longer for a book to be published than for a journal article. Government/corporate reports: Many government departments and corporations commission carry out research. Their published findings can provide a useful source of information, depending on your field of study.  Internet: Fastest-growing source of information. Bear in mind that anyone can post information on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable

Some Common Rehabilitation Data Base Cochrane reviews at www.cochrane.org/reviews TRIP database (Turning Research into Practice) at www.tripdatabase.com. PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence resource) at www.pedro.fhs.usyd.edu.au/index. Current clinical trials at www.clinicaltrials.gov. Medline/PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi) Medline Plus(www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthtopics.html), Ovid (www.ovid.com), which provides a searchable database of medical, scientific, and academic research information. CINAHL (www.cinahl.com), which is commonly available at college campuses Eric :Educational Resources Information Center Web of sciences

What is a “Literature Review”? Good Review Synthase of available research Critical evaluation Appropriate breadth and depth Clarity and consensus Uses rigorous and consistent methods Poor review An annotated bibliography Confined to description Narrow and shallow Confusing & longwinded Constructed in an arbitrary way

Guideline for Writing a Literature Review Introduce the literature review by pointing out the major research topic that will be discussed Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic or conflicts in theory and methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research Establish the reason (s) (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the criteria to be used in analyzing and comparing literature Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the literature review and a larger area of study (rationale) It is important to cover research relevant to all the variables being studied. Research that explains the relationship between these variables is a top priority.

Guideline for Writing a Literature Review Don’t attempt to cover everything written on your topic All sources cited in the literature review should be listed in the references To sum, a literature review should include introduction, summary and critique of journal articles, justifications for your research project and the hypothesis for your research project

Organization of Literature Review A general organization looks like a funnel Chronological order- time order : form first to last or last to first Comparison: Comparison emphasizing similarities Comparison emphasizing differences Importance From least to most important From most to least important Generality From general to specific Form specific to general Methodological Focuses on the methods of the researcher, e.g., qualitative versus quantitative approaches Spatial arrangement: physical location of parts

Common Errors Made in Lit Reviews Review isn’t logically organized Review isn’t focused on most important facets of the study Review doesn’t relate literature to the study Too few references or outdated references cited Review isn’t written in author’s own words Review reads like a series of disjointed summaries Review doesn’t argue a point Recent references are omitted

Writing the Literature Review Plagiarism includes (Galvan, pg. 89): Using another writer’s words without proper citation Using another writer’s ideas without proper citation Citing a source but reproducing the exact word without quotation marks Borrowing the structure of another author’s phrases/sentences without giving the source Borrowing all or part of another student’s paper Using paper-writing service or having a friend write the paper

What is Review of Literature ? Narrative Systematic Review with/without Meta-analysis

What is Review of Literature ? A systematic review is defined as “a review of the evidence on a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and explicit methods to identify, select and critically appraise relevant primary research, and to extract and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review.” Statistical methods (meta-analysis) may or may not be used to analyze and summarize the results of the included studies

Narrative vs systematic review

Narrative vs systematic review Many questions No search methods No inclusion criteria No combining studies Prone to random and systematic error Provide conflicting summaries Systematic One question Explicit search Reproducible Explicit inclusion criteria Combine study results (meta-analysis) WHY do we need Systematic Reviews?