Creating a Literature Review

What is a literature review? A critical, comparative review of relevant literature – critique, compare and contrast writings Research-based (empirical) Conceptual (theory) Use direct references Properly referenced, avoiding plagiarism Be critical! End with a summary of main points and link to next section

Stages of a lit review htm?part=2 DefineSearchEvaluateAnalyse

Define Define your terms – what are you looking for And what are you NOT looking for? Think sideways... Eg. You may be looking for parental engagement but part of the world calls it parental involvement

Search Search databases (See the Useful Links page) Use the resources on the Library Webpages - LINKLINK Be methodical! Keep good, clear records of what you have looked for(and search terms) of what you found of what you have read The table on the next slide shows one way of keeping track

This shows the data base searched These are the terms used in the search

Keeping good records of your searches Allows you to maximise your time (you won’t repeat searches) Allows you to show you have looked at the literature carefully See pages 17 – 18 of THIS REPORT for an example of how searches can be reportedTHIS REPORT

Evaluate (Criticality) Be critical about what is included Is it a reputable publication? Is the study robust, and does the study support the conclusions? Be critical about how it is included Is it worth the emphasis you are giving to it? Include, as appropriate, information about the study – when, where, who, how many...?

Analyse So, what does all this mean? A literature review isn’t a list – it needs to be more than that; it’s not a book report – it must relate to your central research question SHOW how it relates, don’t assume the reader will figure it out Themes? Conclusions?

Literature reviews... The point is a *review* of the main publications about a subject It does not need to – and can not – contain a reference to *every* publication on the subject It is a *review*, not a list

Read other lit reviews Find one on your subject, and read that... Include it in your review –it will, by definition, be older than yours!

Meaning – peer reviewed journals Google scholar Academic data bases These supplement books - but they do need to be there Academic sources

Very important in terms of the subject of your research Current or recent If there really aren’t any, say so – it’s a gap in the knowledge base (But be sure there really isn’t anything out there!) Academic sources