1.  It’s a literature analysis; not simply a review  Must evaluate (not describe) the literature you read in a critical way, developing your own arguments and structure providing a framework / rationale for your thesis.  Purpose is to set a framework for your overall study – research arises from it, but it also set boundaries

2. This… Possibly this… But not this!

3.  Why?  Demonstrates good grounding in relevant literature (shows you’re well-read)  Demonstrates good analytical skills ◦ synthesising work ◦ identifying key themes ◦ providing constructive criticism of existing work  Demonstrates capacity to use this to inform own research question, design and analysis

4.  Literature search / survey / gathering ◦ Try to start with literature which gives an overview of topic - examine bibliography for this ◦ Identify works repeatedly cited ◦ Key word searches (themes from research question) ◦ Google scholar ◦ Electronic databases (library) – Academic Search Premier, JSTOR...

5. ◦ Amazon search engine – Google books ◦ Librarian (Siobhan) ◦ Relevant ‘grey material’ – govt reports, NGO reports, key people in the field – ‘informants’ ◦ Contact authors directly if can’t get articles ◦ File materials electronically (as well as paper files) ◦ Begin and keep updated a running bibliography

6. Key attributesWeb-basedAcademic booksAcademic journals Reliabilityvariablepeer reviewedpeer reviewed Links to debates variedvaried: dept on authorgood: links explicit Breadth goodexcellent – good weaker of coverageoverviews- tend to be v focused Coverage ofgood - may be out of dategenerally more up to current eventscheck (check date pubn)date than bks, but not date updatedwebsite

7.  Literature analysis ◦ Categorise lit into sub-themes - what themes are relevant to your research question? – focus on this lit ◦ Look at abstracts ◦ What are the key arguments authors in these papers are making? Are these viable/supported by sufficient evidence? ◦ Is there data in these papers you might use? Is the data viable? Keep a running file of key arguments and your analysis thereof as you read – never read without notes!

8. ◦ Compare and contrast the arguments of different authors ◦ How do these help illuminate your research question? ◦ What are the gaps in the lit in relation to your research question? ◦ Do you need to refine / change your research question? / What sub-questions emerge? / What new literature do you need to consult?

9.  As you develop your argument through your literature analysis and research… ◦ How have you developed your research question so far? Does it remain the right question? - Is it addressing gaps or ongoing debates in the literature? Does it need to be reformulated? ◦ Are there particular debates or arguments which help you arrive at your research question? ◦ Does your chosen methodology remain the most appropriate one, given any possible changes in your question? ◦ Following your data analysis – are there any further themes arising which relate to your findings and need to be included in your lit review?

10. Initial res qu Lit review Data collectn Data analysis Write upThesis Source: Fig 22.2, p. 218, Desai & Potter

11.  What are the underlying themes in your research question? Keywords  Where will you begin your literature search on these? ◦ Key overview articles? ◦ Key books / journals? ◦ Key authors / informants? ◦ ‘grey material’ / agencies etc…?