Literature Review
What is a literature review?
It is a key component of most academic papers.
It is an overview of the relevant and important
literature in a research area.
It is published information in a particular subject
area.
What is the purpose of a
literature review?
The purpose is to demonstrate your knowledge of the significant
literature within your topic and critically evaluate it.
A literature review:
identifies areas of previous research to set your own
work
describes how each study relates to the other
identifies gaps in previous research
proposes areas for further research
Organizing your LR
Break
up your main topic into sub-
topics
Obtain
Start
topic
approval from your supervisor
collecting resources for each sub-
Example
Use of IT Tools for Selection and Recruitment
Processes (main topic)
Selection Processes
Use of IT Tools for Selection
and Recruitment Processes
Recruitment
Processes
IT Tools used in
Selection and
Recruitment Processes
Example from Civil Engineering
Topic: Sustainable Construction Practices
Sustainability in a global
context
Sustainability in
the Middle East
Sustainability
in Oman
Literature Review= Summary + Evaluation
For the research papers/ journal articles you read
and review
You have to:
1. Summarize
and
2. Evaluate
Summarizing
Summarizing involves citing
the source and the main
details of the study and is
usually written in the
present tense.
The summary should include:
Author(s) names(s) and year (citation)
Objectives of the paper/ study
Methods(if an empirical /experimental paper is being
reviewed)
Findings(results)
Conclusions drawn by author
Summarising
source
and a main idea
present
tense
Example
According to Fairchild (2011), ___ _
(main idea)
Ho and Neidell's (2009) paper on
fluoridation discusses ___ _(main idea)
Evaluation
Significance
What
How
of the study
is the contribution of this paper?
could it have been improved?
Evaluation
Strengths & weaknesses of the methods
Methods are clear for replication
Can I use the same methodology
in a different area?
Unsatisfactory data (if necessary)
Discuss methods of analysis(quantitative, qualitative)
Unexpected findings
Discuss findings-compare and contrast
Evaluation (Concluding
sentences)
Look for gaps in the literature. What was done and
what else can be done (further research)?
Language to Indicate Gaps in
Research
However, this system/process/idea has its problems.
Nevertheless, few solutions have been found to ...
Despite this, little progress has been made in ...
Nevertheless, the problem remains as to how ...
Relationship between in-text citations
and the List of References
To ‘cite’ means to refer to a source in the main body
of your academic paper
To ‘reference’ means to enter full details of a source
in this list that goes on a separate page at the end of
your academic paper.
Citations:
Integral
Integral
Non-integral
Citing
The tragedy of the commons refers to the overuse of
common resources without controls or regulations. The
tragedy of the commons was described in terms of herders
sharing a common parcel of land (Hardin 1968). Although
the tragedy of the commons is an old concept, it remains
a serious problem in the world. Most of the present
environment and natural resource issues can be tied to this
concept. According to Dietz, Ostrom & Stern (2007),
environmental resources should be governed to protect the
commons. Research on both national and international
policies (Dietz et aI. 2007) is also necessary to determine
the appropriate regulatory policies.
Quoting or citing to define
Insomnia is defined as inadequate or poor sleep based on
the quality of sleep, number of wakings in a night, length
of time sleeping, and length of time spent awake during
the night (Vincent et aI., 2006).
Causes of insomnia can be transient or chronic (Schenck,
2008).
Integral Citations
Swales and Feak (2010) discuss…
Smith (2014) claims …
Griffin and Moorhead (2014) investigate…
Al Jadidid and Stern (2009) compare…
A printed journal article
Padda, J. (2003) ‘Creative
Writing in Coventry’. Journal of
Writing Studies 3 (2), 44-59
When to write page numbers
If information from a source is summarized, the page
number is not given in in-text citations
If the information from a source is paraphrased or
quoted, the page number is given in in-text citations
Language of the Literature Review
Use reporting verbs to express other authors’ ideas
Do not use first person “I think that…”
Use formal language
Use signal words to link your ideas
Using academic language
Use academic language which is formal and
grammatically correct.
Academic writing uses a mixture of the passive
voice (It was found that…) and active voice (Most
researchers claim that…)
Do not use slang or words such as 'actually' or
'basically'.
You should avoid using first person (I, me, my, we
or our).
Sentence Stems
Introduction:
This report discusses...
...is explored...
...is defined...
... is explained and illustrated with examples...
... is demonstrated...
Thesis/ Topic statements
The purpose of this report is to examine...
Themain goal/ focus of this project is to (e.g. to analyze/ provide an
overview/ discuss...)
This projectreport discusses/ addresses/ examines/ illustrates that...
To conclude:
To summarise,...
To conclude,...
In brief,...
To sum up...
Citingsources/ supporting arguments, claims, conclusions and
generalisations.
•-According to ....
•-As XXX says/ claims
•-XXX demonstrates that thee results show evidence for....
To compare and contrast:
In comparison/ both A and B are similar in that...
Similarly,.../Inthe same way...
However,.../In contrastto...
Whereas,.../ A is unlike B with respect to
Citing sources/ referring to external sources of knowledge
It is/ has been asserted/ believed/ noted that XXX (Anon, 2003).
It is often assertedthat XXX...
It has been noted that XXX...
To add ideas:
In addition, ...
Moreover,...
Furthermore...
Firstly/ secondly..., thirdly, ...finally,...
Generalization:
Overall,
Ingeneral,
On the whole,
In most cases...
To give examples:
For example,...
... is shown ...
Asan example...
... As can be seen in...
Such as...
For instance...
Classification:
XXXcan / may be divided / classified into yyy
XXX and YYY are categories of ZZZ.
There are many types of yyy.
Two additional examples of
unreal conditional statements
(Language features for
evaluation)
This article would have been more persuasive if the
author had related the findings to previous work on the
topic.
It would have been better if the authors had discussed
the limitations of the method used.
phrase
+
have
participl
e
expression
The
images
would
have
been
more
informative
phras
e
changed
The
measur
ement
been
would
have
more
accurate
complemen
in colour
if
they
had
been
if
substa
ntial
Joule
heatin
g
had
occurred
if
it
had
been
done
Past Unreal Conditionals
The
might
resoluti- have
on of
the gel
materia
l
participl
e
immediately
after the
earthquake
An example:
This was a well-written review of current information, but the
connection between A, B, and C could have received greater coverage.
The paper would have been somewhat more relevant, if the authors
had used ______.
The author suggests that journal articles written in languages other
than English may have limited impact; however, he fails to recognize
that they may be important at the regional level.
Function
Signal Words (refer handout)
Subordinators
(introduce a dependent
clause that must be joined
to a complete sentence)
Addition
Sentence Connectors
(introduce a complete
sentence or independent
clause)
Phrase Linkers
(introduce a noun phrase)
furthermore
in addition
moreover
in addition to
Adversativity
Although
Even though
Despite the fact
However
Nevertheless
Despite
In spite of
Cause and Effect
Because
since
Therefore
As a result
Consequently
Hence
thus
Because of
Due to
As a result of
Clarification
While
whereas
In contrast
However
On the other hand
conversely
unlike
Illustration
For example
For instance
Intensification
On the contrary
Reporting verbs
Neutral stance
(position)
says, writes, claims, comments, notes, discusses, describes,
observes, remarks
Proposing a new idea
assumes, contends, suggests, asserts, believes, proposes,
speculates, examines, establishes, finds, recommends
Adds/ emphasizes
information
points out, emphasizes, adds, agrees, confirms, maintains,
persuades, proves, supports, rejects
Takes a counterargument
argues, challenges, disagrees, warns, contends, speculates,
contradicts, objects
Some Don’ts
1. Do not put URLs in citations
2. Do not define what an LR is
3. Do not treat the LR as a book review
4. Make sure that you include enough number of sources
in your LR (ask your teacher if you are not sure)
5. Tools like Google translators are not allowed for
paraphrasing or summarizing texts
6. Make sure you understand MEC regulations on
plagiarism
References
Swales, J.M. & Feak, C.B. (2012) Academic Writing for
Graduate Students: Essential Skills and tasks.
Michigan: Michigan University Press
Centre for Academic Writing (2009) Coventry University
Harvard Reference Style Guide, Unpublished booklet,
[online] available from
http://www.coventry.ac.uk/caw/htm [ Dec 22, 2014]
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