1. MRes Mentorship Programme Session 5 How to write a literature review Lynsay Matthews

2. Overview of session Purpose of literature review (LR) Phase 1: Think about structure Phase 2: Search for literature Phase 3: Appraise the literature Phase 4: Writing the literature review Examples of good versus bad LRs Several practical tasks Sharing of useful resources and tools

3. Purpose of a literature review Demonstrates you understand the literature relating to your topic … AND … Demonstrates what is NOT known and NOT agreed on. The LR doesn’t need to explain every piece of academic work in your chosen field. It needs to identify a specific gap in the literature.

4. Purpose of a literature review Rationale explaining why your research is worth doing. – What is the significance of this topic? – Why is a lack of research on this topic something which is worth rectifying? The LR should identify key themes, authors and ideas for your specific topic: it does not need to capture every detail of the debate.

5. Let’s look at page 6 of the ‘Edge Hill Academic Writing’ guide.

6. A good LR should … – compare and contrast different authors' views on an issue – group authors who draw similar conclusions – criticise aspects of methodology – note areas in which authors are in disagreement – highlight exemplary studies – highlight gaps in research – show how your study relates to previous studies – show how your study relates to the literature in general – conclude by summarising what the literature says

7. PHASE 1: THINK ABOUT STRUCTURE

8. Task 1: Structure Let’s first think about the structure of your LR... 3-minutes Write down some subheadings relevant to your own specific area of research. For example, the LR for my PhD thesis used …

9. Lynsay’s LR subheadings 2.1 Overview 2.2 Barriers and facilitators of physical activity in adults with Type 2 diabetes 2.3 Models of behaviour change 2.3.1 Theory of Planned Behaviour 2.3.2 Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change 2.4 Behaviour change techniques 2.5 Type 2 diabetes and physical activity behaviour change: the evidence base 2.5.1 Physical Activity Consultation 2.5.2 Telephone-delivered interventions 2.5.3 Pedometer-based interventions 2.5.4 Group-based approaches 2.5.5 Structured physical activity training approaches 2.6 Summary of research gaps in the literature

10. PHASE 2: SEARCH FOR LITERATURE

11. Literature Searching Searching for unknown amounts of literature can be daunting. Break it into smaller chunks and make it manageable. Use your structure to search for related pieces of literature e.g. ‘barriers and facilitators of physical activity’.

12. Literature Searching Search for various forms of literature. This may include: – Research findings – NHS reports – Government reports – Department of Health guidelines – Published MRes, MSc or PhD theses.

13. Access to research databases The library (accessed via Moodle) allows you to access databases and provides helpful guidance… http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3317 You’ll notice there are links and guidance for: – Endnote – Health, Nursing and Midwifery databases – How to do a literature review – Using Google Scholar Use these guides, they are VERY helpful

14. Research databases Useful databases for HNM include: EBsco ProQuest Pubmed: www.pubmed.com (medical)www.pubmed.com Google scholar: http://scholar.google.co.uk/http://scholar.google.co.uk/

15. Reports Try searching through …. NHS Scotland (and NHS England) NHS Education for Scotland National Institute for Clinical Excellence Royal College of Nursing Scottish Government Other governments Department of Health National Institute for Health

16. Snowball references Quite often the best references come from the reference list of an article you already like. Have a look and see. Also look at the references used in any relevant reports.

17. Other sources Remember that the trained librarians are here to help you. They can provide guidance on subject-specific searches and maybe even provide guidance on search terms. Alison.Forde@uws.ac.ukAlison.Forde@uws.ac.uk is the HNM contact for Hamilton campus.

18. General search tips Initially trial and error ….. But with practice becomes easier. Search using keywords and Boolean (‘AND’, ‘OR’). Keywords are sometimes obvious to you (e.g. clinical leadership, nursing) … but you can also sometimes find them cited on other related articles. For example ……..

20. Boolean AND OR NOT Always type Boolean in capital letters e.g. Physical activity AND diabetes Brackets are useful too e.g. (Physical activity AND diabetes) AND (translation OR implementation)

21. Numbers to include Remember the purpose of the LR is to: Demonstrate your knowledge of the topic area and demonstrate the gaps in the literature. Choose a feasible number of studies to highlight Progressive work on the topic Areas that require further research Any particular ‘big’ or ‘well known’ studies Different topic areas will have varying numbers of literature to comment on.

22. Dates Try to include up to date literature. It is appropriate to comment on older literature, particularly if it sets the scene or provides context. But if recent literature exists you must include it.

23. PHASE 3: APPRAISING THE LITERATURE

24. Task 2: Critical Appraisal We’ve now found and read some literature. Let’s think about ways in which we can pull out the info that we need. Ideally this shouldn’t be Too time consuming Too confusing Too difficult to resume if you take a week off.

25. Task 2: Critical Appraisal 3 minutes Suggestions of ways in which we can pull out, manage and store information for our literature review? e.g. Mindmaps, tables etc…

26. Critical Appraisal What does the literature show? What are it’s strengths? What are it’s limitations? What is missing or could be done better? What will your research add?

27. Be selective Select only the most important points from each piece of literature. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to your area of research. Stay focussed. Avoid going off on tangents.

28. PHASE 4: WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

29. All about the structure A LR needs to be flow and be easy to follow. Try and use a logical approach to your structure and writing.

30. Overview Begin with an overview of your chapter. Highlight the main topics you will be discussing and provide a rationale. Why is it relevant to your research?

31. Sections and summaries As mentioned in the task try and use logical ‘sections’ wtihin your LR. This provides the opportunity to ‘summarise’ the section and relate it to your research before moving on to another topic. This makes it easier for the reader (examiner) to follow.

32. Agree and Disagree Include findings that you both agree and disagree with. All you need to do is provide a rationale of why your research is needed to address a gap in the literature.

33. Group together Group together literature and authors that present info on similar topics. Compare and contrast their work. Emphasise particular studies, guidelines or reports that stand out… but don’t talk about all studies individually. You don’t have the time or the word limit.

34. Signposting Have a look at the ‘Academic Phrasebank’ (covered in Session4). This provides great examples…. http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/compare-and- contrast/ E.g. If grouping together authors with similar opinions, use words or phrases such as: similarly, in addition, also, again If there is disagreement, indicate clearly that you are aware of this by the use of linking words such as: however, on the other hand, conversely, nevertheless

35. Final summary/Conclusion Finish the LR by providing a clear and concise summary of the info provided. Briefly highlight the key messages, areas of progress and most importantly the gaps in the literature requiring further research. You must link this to your research …. Why is it important for you to do this research? What will your research add?

36. Using tables Will a table help present the main literature in your review? Does your literature have comparable information? Can be a useful way to reduce the word count by referring the reader to the table e.g…..

37. Using tables

38. EXAMPLES OF GOOD VERSUS BAD LITERATURE REVIEWS

39. Example 1 EXAMPLE OF A BAD REVIEW Sexual harassment has many consequences. Adams, Kottke, and Padgitt (1983) found that some women students said they avoided taking a class or working with certain professors because of the risk of harassment. They also found that men and women students reacted differently. Their research was a survey of 1,000 men and women graduate and undergraduate students. Benson and Thomson's study in Social Problems (1982) lists many problems created by sexual harassment. In their excellent book, The Lecherous Professor, Dziech and Weiner (1990) give a long list of difficulties that victims have suffered.

40. Example 2 EXAMPLE OF A BETTER REVIEW The victims of sexual harassment suffer a range of consequences, from lowered self-esteem and loss of self-confidence to withdrawal from social interaction, changed career goals, and depression (Adams, Kottke, and Padgitt, 1983; Benson and Thomson, 1982; Dziech and Weiner, 1990).For example, Adams, Kottke, and Padgitt (1983) noted that 13 percent of women students said they avoided taking a class or working with certain professors because of the risk of harassment.

42. Example 4 Too descriptive (i.e. no appraisal). “Matthews et al (2014) gathered insight from twelve health professionals involved in physical activity promotion for diabetes. The authors used semi-structured interviews to collect their data and presented several recommendations for future practice”. Compare that with something like … “Although Matthews et al (2014) explored the insight of health professionals, their findings were based on a small local sample. Further research is required to determine whether these findings reflect the views of health professionals in other Health Boards.”

43. SOME USEFUL TIPS

44. Remember …. It is never too early to start writing. Use Word to make thesis chapters just now. Scribble down heading and subheading ideas. Scribble some notes too. This will speed up the thesis writing later on.

45. Written work ALWAYS … Include page numbers Include references Format headings and subheadings Spell check and grammar check Consistent line spacing Header with ‘Version number’ – E.g. ‘L Matthews: Draft Introduction v1’

46. HELPFUL RESOURCES

47. Moodle The resources used today are on Moodle. Our module title is, “Maternal, Child and Family Health Mentorship Programme”. It seems to show up best if you use the search box and search for ‘MRes’.

48. Online Study Aids Browse online for study aids further guidance on how to Search for the literature review Critically appraise for the literature review Write the literature review etc…

49. Online examples.... 1. A library of useful phrases (excellent!)... http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk 2. A booklet on academic writing... http://www.essex.ac.uk/myskills/how_to_improve_ your_academic_writing.pdf 3. Writing a literature review... http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific- types-of-writing/literature-review

50. Questions Anything else you’d like to cover today?

51. Next session What is your preference for the next session? For example - Further practice at database searching A writing feedback session Managing your supervisor Another Endnote session Another Ethics session Other ideas?