Literature Review Related Science, Knowledge, and Practice – The Context of the Study Back to Class 4

Where To Begin? When you are looking up your topic, look for any source you can find – in or out of the nursing field There may not be much available in research literature, but there may be in other sources Look in theory, history or even fictional literature initially, to get material on your idea Check various professional indexes and computer links Keep a record of everything you read and put it where you can find it

Why do a Literature Review? It is a source of research ideas – it brings the problem into sharper focus It is an orientation to what is already known It provides a conceptual context – this is the way findings contribute to a knowledge base It provides a basis for assessing the feasibility of the research It gives information on the research approach

What Categories Should be Included in Your Readings Research reports of findings – these are available in a variety of sources, texts, encyclopedias, reports, conference proceedings, publications, and scholarly journals – use primary sources –Substantive studies –Analogous studies Theory or conceptual frameworks – in nursing resources or in general resources – any one of several could be meaningfully applied since human behavior is so complex -

What Categories Should be Included in Your Readings Information for questions and hypotheses from other research studies Information about design methods from texts, research studies or practicing researchers Information about instruments –Mental Measurements Yearbook –Tests in Print Information for comparison of findings and conclusions

What is the scope of the Literature Review? Everything that you read may not be appropriate for the written literature review. Many readings may only be cited in the bibliography or in other parts of the paper, such as the introduction or framework. You must have at least 10 data-based research articles in the proposal, but again, not all have to be addressed in the literature review – only those which are necessary to make your case for your problem and the way you are going to solve it.

What is the scope of the Literature Review? You must critique the strength and weakness of each source You should have mainly primary sources You must summarize or paraphrase material rather than using a series of quotes. There must be a concluding paragraph that supports that your problem is real and that it should be studied within the frame of reference that you chose.

What are Some Good Sources? Mental Measurements Yearbook (Lupton ref.) Tests in Print ( (Lupton ref.) Tennessee Electronic Library (UTC Lupton site) CINAHL ( in book form)

What are Some Good Sources? Nursing Studies Index ( ) 4 vol. International Nursing Index Hospital and Health Administration Index Biological Abstracts Chemical Abstracts Nutrition Abstracts and Review Psychological Abstracts Sociological Abstracts Child Development Abstracts Dissertation Abstracts

What are Some Good Sources? – – – – – –

Some Considerations Your sources should be usable – will it serve your purpose – can you use any of its ideas –Don’t be put off by statistics. Very little of a research report is statistics and you can ask someone’s help –If you can’t understand a research report, maybe its illogical –Being able to identify its strengths and weaknesses and being able to apply the findings makes it usable Your sources should be complete – is every part of the research process addressed – are your questions answered Your sources should be consistent – can you follow the logical progression Use inadequate reports when there are no others Back to Class 4