1. The Research Process
Finding and Reviewing the Literature – Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks

2. SECTION 1: Introduction
SECTION 2: Identifying a relevant research problem/issue and justify why this problem/issue is important
SECTION 3: Framing the research problem/issue through a review of the relevant scientific literature
SECTION 4: Rationale and research question
SECTION 5: How you would go about addressing your question using appropriate methodology, research design and methods 
Consider: Sample;  Procedure; Data Analysis
SECTION 6: How the quality of your research should be judged - reliability and validity and any issues that could impact the ‘trustworthiness’ of your findings
SECTION 7: Research ethics- Why? Voluntary informed consent? 
SECTION 8: A concise summary of the topics Your summary should ‘close the loop’ by addressing the aim and purpose of the assignment set out in the introduction

3. Evidence to Support Rationale
What type of evidence do you have that this is an important topic to research?
What type of evidence/factual information/examples could you use to support your rationale for the research topic?

4. 2nd Section of Essay
In the second Section of the essay, you are required to select and introduce your own research problem, and justify why this issue is important to research
Remember – you must write the essay individually.

5. Disciplines, Concepts, Models, and Theories
Reviewing the literature is also crucial in order to understand what discipline your question falls under, and which theoretical and conceptual frameworks are relevant.
Discipline: a distinct area of study e.g. Sport Psychology
Concept: general idea about a phenomenon e.g. anxiety, confidence, motivation
Model: a representation of phenomenon – e.g. a diagram showing that as anxiety increases, performance decreases.
Theory: Structured set of ideas about that phenomenon – e.g. explanations for anxiety affecting performance.

6. Outline
Last week you selected your research topic, and started to justify the importance of the research topic.
Today we will be focusing on how to find the relevant academic literature.

7. 3rd Section of Essay
You are required to identify the academic discipline(s) which underpin your chosen area of study, as well as some of the key concepts and theories that relate to your chosen area of research. By referring to peer-reviewed articles, you are required to outline some of the key findings and knowledge that already exist in your chosen area of study, as well as some of the gaps in knowledge.
Remember – you must write the essay individually.

8. Finding the Relevant Literature
Finding relevant literature is a skill which you must learn.
The hardest part is to find the first few relevant articles. This can often take time.
The best way to do this is:
Summon
Sport discus
Google scholar
I intend to take some time to explain and demonstrate how to use these. I know they probably have had some info on this already, but it’s worth going over again. This is a crucial skill that they need to learn.

9. Finding the Relevant Literature
Finding the relevant literature is a key step of the research process.
If done correctly, it makes the whole process a lot easier.
A thorough and wide-ranging literature review will:
Help you select and justify an appropriate research question
Improve your understanding of the topic
Improve your theoretical and conceptual awareness
Guide your methodological choices.
Provide the basis upon which you can discuss the relevance of your own findings.

10. Literature Review What is a literature review?
A literature review is where you find and discuss the relevant academic literature that provides the context for your research.
What is the purpose of a literature review?
To discuss the current state of play. What do we already know, and what are the gaps in knowledge? This is essential in order to select and justify your specific research question
What types of literature are we looking for?
Peer-reviewed journal articles and academic books/chapters (mainly)
Just a quick recap from last term.

11. Finding the Relevant Literature
Once you’ve found the first few articles – then the door is open.
Finding the rest of the literature should be fairly easy from this point onwards, as you can search through the reference list of the articles that you have found.
Carry on searching for relevant materials until you reach saturation.
Here I will try to emphasise the importance of searching through reference lists for further relevant literature. This is a much quicker process than finding stuff from scratch.

12. It might be a good idea to write down the key points for each paper.
Task
Individually try to find a relevant paper to support your chosen study
Then, in your groups, take your turn to explain and discuss the article that you have found.
What was the purpose of the paper?
What did they do?
What methods did they use?
What were the key findings?
What are the implications of this work?
Are there any obvious gaps in knowledge?
It might be a good idea to write down the key points for each paper.

13. Task
In your groups, try to identify the academic discipline(s) which underpin your chosen area of study.
What are the key concepts that are discussed in the literature?
What are the key theories that are discussed in the literature?

14. Task for Next Week
By next week, finish the work started in this session.
Each student should have identified the academic discipline, concepts and theories which underpin their research topic.
Each student should have a list of the key findings of the literature, and also have identified possible gaps in knowledge.