A literature review can be:
a self-contained paper – an end in itself
a preface to and rationale for engaging in research
part of a grant or research proposal
an introductory chapter to a thesis
a series in the various chapters of a research paper/book/thesis
The task of writing a literature review therefore is a means of learning about the literature; we write to learn about what we read. Initially, we write about materials that we do not know or understand very well. As our understanding develops we fill in gaps and take out errors. One of the key processes is identifying different methodologies and theoretically approaches. By writing regularly we can gradually become more comfortable writing about new knowledge in a knowledgeable way (Murray, 2003, p. 105).
Writing your literature review takes time. You will need to complete several drafts before your final copy.
You need to end up with a logical ‘story’ in which all pieces have a place and are linked to each other.
Structuring your literature review
Organising the literature review can be a challenge:
There is no one size fits all rule
The most logical structure will only become apparent as you progress, and can even changeYou need to work out which organisation/categorisation best fits your project. Some possibilities are:
From general to specific (or vice versa). Also called the inverted pyramid or funnel model – we refer to this model on the next page
According to themes/concepts
According to importance or relevance – generally from most important to least important (as a rule always start with most important points in academic writing)
According to major findings
According to points of view/perspectives presented
According to theoretical approaches
According to settings/study areas (if setting crucial in the research)
According to methods used
Chronologically
You may even combine some of these possible structures – as you develop sub-structures (e.g. have a main structure presented according to themes and then substructure that is chronological).
Note also that you may have more than one literature review chapter in a thesis. You may need a series of literature reviews that come together somewhere.
watch video icon 3 ways to structure your Literature Review.mp4
The inverted pyramid or funnel model for structuring a literature review
RMIT pyramid lit rev(source: RMIT Study and Learning Centre)
If you still feel unsure about how your literature review is supposed to work, why not try storyboarding as explained in https://griffithlibrary.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/storyboarding-for-academic-writing/
Writing in paragraphs
Within that structure you also need to pay close attention to paragraphs. If you develop a story board, you need to have a frame for each paragraph. All good academic writing in the Australian context consists of paragraphs. Paragraphs are the building blocks of your writing. A paragraph consists of one or more sentences on a single topic. Paragraphs are physically marked by starting a new line and leaving some space open. Sometimes the first line of a new paragraph is also indented.
Paragraphs also make a text easier to read:
they visually break up a solid mass of text.
they help a reader to understand the meaning of a text by grouping and separating ideas.
you need to use paragraphs to bring together what belongs together. Each paragraph should say one thing/refer to one main idea that is generally summarised in the first sentence of the paragraph (the topic sentence). The rest of the paragraph then develops this main idea providing details, examples, evidence or in some other way reinforce the main point.
Try to start a new paragraph whenever you start a new idea. This does not always work.
Sometimes one idea makes a very long paragraph and you need to break it up at the most logical place.
Sometimes two or three minor points can be treated in a single paragraph.
How long should a paragraph be?
There’s no set rule for how long a paragraph should be. Consider your important divisions. Consider how the paragraph will look on the page. Paragraphs are visual groupings – try to have at least 2-3 paragraphs on a page, more if you single space a text. You may want to vary your paragraph length. Use long paragraphs to explore and develop ideas and shorter ones to summarise or make transitions.
Longer paragraphs slow the tempo, asking readers to continue reading and concentrate. BUT a whole page of text, not separated in paragraphs can be discouraging for a reader and make it difficult to find what the point is.
A series of short paragraphs picks up the tempo and invites readers to browse or skim lightly. BUT a whole page of single sentence paragraphs is hard to read – readers may wonder what the point is and why they can’t find it.
Use topic sentences
Topic sentences help guide your reader, as a topic sentence summarises the main message of each paragraph.
The purposes of a topic sentence are:
To state and summarise the main point of a paragraph
To give the reader a sense of direction (indicate what information will follow) and in the case of a literature review, provide an indication about how the review is structured. E.g. if your literature review is organised according to themes, you should refer to themes in the topic sentence.
Topic sentences often appear as the first or second sentences of a paragraph. They rarely appear at the end of the paragraph.
TipIf you are unsure what to write as a topic sentence, think about it in terms of a conclusion for a paragraph and start the paragraph with this. In some cultures writing is about providing examples and evidence and then deriving a conclusion. Australian academic writing tends to be more direct – start with the major point you make and then develop (through example, evidence) ideas that led you to the main point.
TipYou should be able to understand main ideas and organisation of a text by reading only the topic sentences.
Linking paragraphs
Topic sentences also help show how paragraphs are linked together, what the logical progression from one paragraph to the other is. Sometimes the last sentence in the previous paragraph also links to the next paragraph. Paragraphs do not usually exist alone and must be linked to the rest of the text in some way.
Another way to link paragraphs is to make sure you use the same key terms – these key terms act as signposts reminding the reader what it is about.
TipDo not try to be creative and find a variety of synonyms for key words – this is likely to confuse a reader.
You have to consider yourself as guiding the reader. Transitional words or phrases are sometimes used to help the reader to navigate through your writing. Very often, such transitions:
address an essential similarity or dissimilarity (likewise, in the same way, on the other hand, despite, in contrast)
suggest a meaningful ordering, often temporal (first, second, at the same time, later, finally) or causal (thus, therefore, accordingly, because)
in a longer paper, remind the reader of what has earlier been argued (in short, as has been said, on the whole).
By doing so they also help ensure a critical approach to the literature review.
If you find it difficult to link one paragraph to the next, it may be because:
you shouldn’t be getting from one paragraph to the next quite yet
the paragraph is misplaced, and logically belongs elsewhere
an idea that links the two paragraphs may be missing. Some causality needs to be explicated or some other piece of evidence offered.
Linking sentences in a paragraph together
It is important to make sure that all your sentences are linked. They show how your ideas are connected. In good academic writing every sentence links to what came before and after. This is mainly done through the use of repeated vocabulary and linking words that show how ideas are connected.
Linking words also play a role in the development of arguments. For example:
to indicate a conclusion: so, therefore, thus, accordingly
to indicate cause and effect: for, because, as, for the reason that.
Lists of transitional words and how to use them are available from the internet. See for example: University of Wisconsin – Madison (2014), The writer’s handbook. Using transitions.
It is important to make sure a word is part of your active vocabulary before using it. If you use a word that signifies a relationship, that indicates an argument, that relationship has to exist. For example: It is not raining today, however the gardener has arrived – implies that somehow the gardener only comes when it rains.
Being critical
A literature review has to be more than just a description, it has to be critical. Being critical does not mean giving your personal opinion as such. To be critical you need to analyse individual and then combined readings, compare them with each other, summarise the comparison and analysis. Your own experience will direct how. But you need to position yourself as an external objective observer who sets out what is known in the field, that is related to your own research question.
Writing critically means:
Selecting only what is relevant – don’t include things that are nice to know, but not really useful to your discussion.
Identifying, describing and summarising according to what the other readings find and its relevance to your project. Look for patterns, compare and contrast findings and methodologies.
Recombining ideas, synthesising and evaluating information.
Tip Cite sources as much as possible and avoid generalisations for example, ‘various researchers have explored the use of narcotics….’ – it is best to name and cite these researchers.
Do not use expressions such as ‘in my opinion’ or ‘I think’. Everything you write, unless you attribute it to someone else, is and can only be your opinion, what you think.
Express your voice
Writing is identity work:
“…there is a lack of recognition of the intensity of identity work involved at this site of text production. We would go so far as to say that literature reviews are the quintessential site of identity work, where the novice researcher enters what we call occupied territory – with all the immanent danger and quiet dread that this metaphor implies – including possible ambushes, barbed wire fences, and unknown academics who patrol the boundaries of already occupied territories.” (Kamler & Thomson, p. 29)
A literature review is a critical summary of what is being said about a certain topic. You are expected to position yourself as an objective outsider who reports on and reviews what others have said about a topic. A literature review is therefore generally written in the third person. Even if what you write is in fact – can only be – your opinion – based on evidence and logic.
Avoid:
Writing ‘in my opinion’ or ‘I think’ and remind yourself that anything you write is your opinion, unless you attribute it to someone else.
Too many quotes. You can use quotes, but do not too often. Your paper cannot be a long list of quotes. Quotes are useful to illustrate a point you made. You make a point using your own words and eventually use a quote to illustrate what you say. Do not let the quote make the point for you.
Letting authors lead your discussion. Early on, your review may be a list of what various authors have said, but as you progress ideas need to lead the conversation, the flow of your text, not authors.
Example of text leading by author – don’t do it
Hymes (2004) defined communicative competence as the degree to which a speaker is successful in communicating. He also views communicative competence as the overall underlying linguistic knowledge and ability to use language. In addition, Owens, Jr. (1996) supports the view that the success of communication is able to be measured by appropriateness and effectiveness of conveying messages within a specific context. Samovar, Porter, and McDaniel (2000) explained that nonverbal communication is important because it has a strong link to culture. In other words, it can reflect the values, beliefs and attitudes of cultures to others. To sum up, nonverbal communication is concerned with variously unspoken symbols and behaviours that individual people used within communication settings. It occurs constantly every time a person interacts with another, and intentionally or unintentionally.
Use vocabulary to indicate your position
Look at the following excerpts and check how the vocabulary enables clarifying the position of the writer:
One inconclusive study (Lewins, 1998) suggests that smaller rats (those weighing less than 500g) are more easily taught to pull a lever. Indeed, Lewins’s research claims a 80% success rate for experiments with smaller rats, compared to 65% for rats weighing more than over 500g. However, these claims have been disputed as no-one has been able to replicate the experiment (Wilson & Collins, 1999).
This study adopts a qualitative approach to highlight some of the views expressed by postgraduates and staff. Evaluations of international and Asian students’ learning experiences carried out by Christison & Krahnke (1986), Chapman et al. (1988), Noble (1989), Nesdale & Todd (1993), Felix & Lawson (1994) are quantitative and raise issues selected by the researchers. These studies are illuminating but they do not include participants’ views….
This experiment was the object of a recent study by Dickens & Smit (2001), who allege that Lewins’ initial study did not use common rats, but ratus barbaricus, which are now extinct, making the experiment impossible to replicate (Wilson & Collins, 1999). In an inconclusive study (Lewins, 1998) had suggested that smaller rats (those weighing less than 500g) are more easily taught to pull a lever. Indeed, Lewins’s research claimed a 80% success rate for experiments with smaller rats, compared to 65% for rats weighing more than over 500g.
The ‘public’ is an important concept in research on, and the practice of public relations (e.g.,Chay-Nemeth, 2001; Grunig, 1997; Hallahan, 2000; Sha, 2006). Members of a public engage in collective resolution of some problem through discursive interactions such as argument and counterargument (Price, 1992, p. 30). A public is a rather fluid, amorphous group that has varying size and composition across problems, is motivated to create some action related to the problem, and eventually dissolves as the problem is solved (Blumer, 1946, 1948; Price & Roberts, 1987). The central concept ‘a public’ and its shared recognition among people is ‘problematic’ (Blumer, 1946; Dewey, 1927).
Vocabulary that can be useful to indicate a position:
Advise: suggest, recommend, encourage
Argue: reason, discuss, debate
Believe: hold, profess
Claim: assert, allege, affirm, contend, maintain (connotation of all these tends to mean disagreement)
Disagree: dispute, refute, contradict, differ, object, dissent
Emphasise: stress, underscore, accentuate
Evaluate: assess, appraise
Examine: explore, investigate, scrutinise
Hypothesise: speculate, postulate
Persuade: assure, convince, satisfy
Propose: advance, propound, suggest
Reject: refute, repudiate, discard, dismiss, disclaim
Show: demonstrate, reveal
State: express, comment, remark, declare, articulate, report
Support: uphold, advocate
Using verb tenses to show your position
In general, you are expected to:
Use the present tense when making general statements or claims
Use the past tense when referring to something that was done or found in a specific study
Use the present perfect tense to show that a process or research is still continuing, a finding still has relevance e.g. the study has shown that the use of toxics in ….
Verb tenses can be useful to show your position as generalising. Putting it in the present tense is a way of endorsing an idea.
Avoiding plagiarism
Plagiarism is taken very seriously in academia. To avoid being accused of plagiarism you can:
Make sure you understand what it is
Scrupulously note what you copy is from other texts and what has been paraphrased
Understand paraphrasing
Use plagiarism detection software – such as Urkund – available from UC
For more information check following resources:
Paraphrasing, Summarising and Quoting (UNSW)
Successful vs. unsuccessful paraphrases (University of Wisconsin Writing Center)
Referencing
Your ability to correctly reference will be seen as a reflection of your understanding of your topic.
Be rigorous and revise, revise, revise
Understand how to acknowledge sources
Check with your supervisor what style is in use in your field if you are unsure
If you have little understanding of what a reference and an in-text citation are check resources for referencing basic information
UC Guides to referencing http://www.canberra.edu.au/library/research-gateway/research_help/referencing-guides
Absolute rigour is required in the bibliography.
In text references need to be all in the same format/style and clearly refer to an item in the bibliography
The bibliography needs to follow one style only (use of ‘, italics, page numbers)
A sloppy bibliography will be seen as an indication that the rest (the research) is also sloppy and make any assessor very suspicious.
Resources for writing the literature review
Find models/exemplars of literature reviews in similar areas. Finding Dissertations & Theses to find theses in your area of research.
Literature review HQ discussion & tips site available from www.literaturereviewhq.com
Ollhof, Jim (n.d.), How to Write a Literature Review http://jimollhoff.com/education/how-to-write-a-literature-review/
Deakin University on literature review http://www.deakin.edu.au/library/findout/research/litrev.php
The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It (University of Toronto) http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review
Monash University pages on Writing literature reviews http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/general/lit-reviews/index.xml
RMIT on literature reviews http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=cdb4z3x5a44k
http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/literature#write
University of Wisconsin – Madison . Guidelines below to learn how to write a review of literature http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html provided good information on how to write a stand alone literature review
University of Wisconsin – Madison (2014), The writer’s handbook. Using transitions.
Writing the literature review – online lecture offered by Walden university Writing Center (1h04′)
References
Bourner, T. 1996, ‘The research process: four steps to success,’ in Research methods: guidance for postgraduates, edited by T. Greenfield. Arnold: London,. 7-11.
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2011). Getting started: reviewing the literature. Chapter 4 in Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cooksey, Ray and McDonald, Gael (2011), Surviving and thriving in postgraduate research, Tilde University Press” Prahran.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: Sage.
Craswell, Gail (2005), Writing for Academic Success, Sage Publications, London
Cronin P., Ryan F. & Coughlan M. (2008). ‘Undertaking a literature review: a step-by-step approach’. British Journal of Nursing Vol17/1, 38-43 (available from e-reading)
Murray, Rowena (2002), How to write a thesis, Open University Press McGraw Hill
Potter, Stephen (2002), Doing Postgraduate Research, Sage publications, London
RMIT (Study and Learning Centre). Writing the Literature Review / Using the Literature.
Webster J. & Watson R. (2002). ‘Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: writing a literature review’. MIS Quarterly Vol. 26 No. 2.
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