Conducting a Literature Review

Planning an Applied Research ProjectChapter 3 – Conducting a Literature Review© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Learning ObjectivesCompare insights from various scholarly articlesDevelop a clear purpose statement and research questionsMake a case for your purpose statement and research questionsTake notes in a manner useful to conducting a literature review© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Key TermsAbstractAnnotationAnnotated bibliographyBibliographical toolsLiterature reviewOrder of reading a scholarly articlePurpose of a literature reviewPerspective© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Definition of a Literature ReviewDescription of the major findings in studies focusing on a particular topicComparison of insights from various articles and different authorsPicture of the patterns and gaps of scholarship on a topicCoherent essay synthesizing current scholarship© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Purposes of a Literature ReviewProvides background to your research designDemonstrates patterns of researchBuilds credibility for your designPrevents rediscovering the wheelBenefits from others’ workExpands your thinking of the purpose statementAssists in the analysis of your findingsMakes a case for your purpose statement and research questions© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Finding Scholarly ArticlesReview your research questions and purpose statement Come up with key words and phrases that fit your purpose statement and research questionsSearch on your library website or using your local search engine to find articlesReview the abstracts of the articlesSave the ones that seem relevant© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Finding Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Start to build a bibliography of articles for your literature reviewUse one bibliography to give you names to search and titles of other articlesSave the articles (at least the references) during this part of the searchRecognize that a wider net works better© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Finding Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Consider synonyms of key words from your purpose statement and research questionsRead abstracts of articles for key wordsLook in bibliographies for current scholar’s namesContemplate parallel topics and studiesConduct interviews of faculty members or others who know the field to find out key articles© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Order of Reading Scholarly Journal ArticlesIntroductionConclusion and bibliographyResearch results and key findingsMethod and research designFull reading of the entire article© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Order of Reading Scholarly Journal Articles (cont’d)Many people typically follow the pattern of:AbstractIntroductionLiterature reviewResearch design (sometimes called Method)Research results and key findingsAnalysis (sometimes called Discussion)ApplicationsLimitations and Opportunities for more researchConclusion or Summary© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Order of Reading Scholarly Journal Articles (cont’d)A more efficient method is:AbstractIntroductionConclusion or SummaryResearch results and key findingsLimitations and Opportunities for more researchApplicationsResearch design (sometimes called Method)Analysis (sometimes called Discussion)Literature reviewIntroduction (again)Full reading of entire article© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.What to Look for When Reading ArticlesInsights or findingsType of research – quantitative, qualitative, mixedStructure of the research designUse of pilot studyResearch techniques – survey, questionnaire, experiment, focus group, observation, content analysis© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.What to Look for When Reading Articles (cont’d)Type of sampleDemographics of the sampleStatistical methods of analysisLimitations of the studySuggestions for future researchDates of works cited in the bibliography© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Taking Notes as You ReadRead an article fastComplete two annotated bibliography paragraphsSummaryAssessmentOther commentsFor each finding, write a paragraph and put the footnote in MLA or APA format at the bottom of the page (Mayo 545) or (Mayo 2013)Use separate pages on your computer© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Taking Notes as You Read (cont’d)Topics for note paragraphs:MethodsFindingsLimitationsSamplingValidityOpportunitiesContextsWrite as many paragraphs as you think relevant or interesting or potentially valuable© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Taking Notes as You Read (cont’d)Make several copies of these notesStart a back up fileAfter a few notes, write a paragraph or several and save itWrite early and often© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Evaluating ArticlesDid they have an appropriate way of drawing those conclusions from the data they collected and the ways they were analyzed?Are there qualifications to the statements that they can make from their research?What qualifications should they have made?What limitations did they mention?What limitations did they fail to point out or other limitations you identified?What generalizations do they draw and can they draw from what they discovered?© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Preparing an Annotated BibliographyLiterature ReviewAnnotated BibliographyA coherent essayAssessment of a field of inquiry or area of researchWritten to build credibility for the article, proposal, or reportOrganized according to the logic of the argumentA few paragraphsOverall assessment of a single article or documentWritten to provide future resource advice for scholars and researchersOrganized according to alphabetical names© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Preparing an Annotated Bibliography (cont’d)Three partsC A full citation in correct MLA formatS A summary of the contents of the article, book, website, or other document or source (including interviews)A An assessment, evaluation, critique of the merits, validity, or usefulness of the sourceSummary and comments indented after the bibliographical citation and in single spaced format© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Making a Literature Review Effective and Interesting to DoConsider what aspects of the subject might be studied and what the investigators might have found from their work.Explore key authors in the article’s bibliography.Investigate parallel organizations or situations. Play with words that might serve as search terms.© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.The Research HourglassTopicPurpose statementResearch questionsLiterature reviewResearch designResearch methodData analysis planFindingsApplicationsLimitationsOpportunitiesConclusions© 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Review of the Class SessionAnything unclear?One thing that surprised me to learn from this class is © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.