Project Lecture A4

Using the literature legitimately and well

Literature search, management + literature review

Referencing

Notes towards writing up

Why is a literature review important?• It justifies your project – shows it is worth doing• It sets your project within context by looking at

research in the project area• It helps to refine your project idea• It identifies research methods and strategies

which you could use• It helps you avoid repeating the work of others• Basis for further reading, as your project

develops• Distinguishes your work as an academic project

Doing a literature review

• Literature search – “A systematic gathering of published information

relating to a subject”University of Derby, 1995

– Start broad, then focus– Includes information management

• Literature review– Read the literature– Critically evaluate what you have found

• More than one iteration – continue through life of project

Literature search

• Start with broad focus: identify topics of interest to provide a starting point– At this stage: use subjective understanding, student

text books, interest publications

• Narrow the focus: – focus on key authors, specific journals (identify from

reading lists), identify key themes

• Redefine/refine search– Continuous cycle – identify different thinking in the

area, understand which material to include/exclude,

Searching for literature 1

• Choose keywords relating to the branch of computer science you are in

• Try different keyword phrases• Assess quality of what you are pointed to (library

has a link to Internet Detective)

Software engineering

StagesActivities

Support elements

Models

Methods

Techniques

DocumentationQualityProject mgtCommunications

AnalysisSynthesisOperationsRetirement

Processes

WaterfallSpiralPrototyping

Standards Tools

SSM

SSADM

JSPDFDOODPrototyping Evolutionary

Throw awayIncrementalExperimentalRapid

ISO 9000 ISO 9126 MS ProjectQuality mgt systemDocumentation system

TQM

Dawson (2005)

Artificial Intelligence

Philosophicalissues

Knowledge representation

AI techniquesApplication areas

Rule-basedsystems

Semanticnetworks

Frames Predicate logic

Machine learning

Search techniques

Expert systems

Expert tasks

Mundane tasks

Medical diagnosis

PredictionPlanning Vision Robotics

Pattern recognition

Image processing

Dawson (2005)

Sources of literature

Source Where to find them Useful means offinding sources

Books University library; publiclibrary; own collection

Bibliographic databases;reading lists

Papers injournals

University library; inter-library loan

Bibliographic databases;lists of references inother papers

On-linedocuments

WWW pages; FTParchives

WWW search engines

Features of literature search

• Systematic• Published – i.e. recognised, refereed• Is something worth reading?

– Title, contents list, index – are keywords relevant? – Author recognised in field?– Book up to date, latest edition?– References include citations of other key works, can

use them?– Written at appropriate level? (technical, introductory,

review, discussion)

Searching for literature 2

• Read recognised leaders and original theorists in your field

• Use lists of references in things you read• Citation indexes are a measure of quality• KEEP NOTES

– bibliographic information (citation) – saves you time

– notes on contents – precis as you read

Quality of what you read

Good indications:+ In a refereed

journal+ Widely-read source+ Author is well

known and respected

+ Referred to by other sources

Bad indications:- Self-published or

unpublished work- In an obscure

publication- You wouldn't know

the author from Adam

- Does not refer to other published work

Active reading

• Look at the title of the passage/article• Look at contents list (if present)/ paragraph

headings – structure• Look at index- does your item have lots of

entries?• Is there an abstract?• Flick through and note main points that catch

your eye• Then settle down to read through

(Cottrell (2001))

Managing your information

• Be strategic – decide what you know already and what direction you want to go

• Be focused – don’t acquire a mass of material you can’t digest

• Use mind mapping to – identify topics of interest and how they link

together– sort what you have found

and…

• Housekeeping:– Keep references electronically (EndNote)– Set up an index system

• Note quotes and use to support arguments rather than give new ideas

• Know when to stop

Critical evaluation of literature 1

• Critical evaluation:– Goes beyond description by development

judgement, responding to what has been written

– Relates different writings to each other– Does not take what is written at face value– Sees research as area where different views

and positions may be made(Blaxter (2001))

Critical evaluation of literature 2

• What type of article is it? up to date?• How does the article fit within its context? support

your project?• Are the arguments made logical? supported or

contradicted by others? applicable only in certain cases?

• Does the article support the status quo or contradict other viewpoints?

• Fact or opinion?• Do you agree? counterarguments?• Is research design, methodology, results, conclusions

etc valid?• Use of references?

How to write up a project 18

2. Literature review

• Reader needs:– context by which to read your report– background to be able to tell whether your approach was

valid or best• What has been written:

– about your problem?– about solutions which have been proposed, how successful

they were?• Be relevant and explain how and why it is

– use examples to illustrate important points– be “critical” in the positive sense of the word – if authors say different things, make a judgement

• Remember audience is academic – no palaeontology

What a literature review is not…

• Not a report listing all the reading you have done whether it is relevant or not – be selective

• Not a paragraph about each article, reporting on content, without critiquing or linking to your main discussion

Suggested review approaches

• Explain about area of study: general review of area, concentrating on academic literature

• Try and tell a story, supported by your references

• Present arguments and counter-arguments• Alternative theories and methods and

explanation why they are relevant

Other possible strategies

• Show how topic has evolved, but beware paleontology

• Focus more precisely and discuss some recent developments in the field

• Criteria / reasons for choice of methods • Short overview of relevant technologies

Writing the literature review - summary

• Identifies relevant literature in your field• Refers to past and present articles, commenting

on omissions and biases• References support your arguments where

appropriate• Shows where your project topic fits into the field• http://dissertations.port.ac.uk

What is plagiarism?• Plagiarism is passing off an idea as your own• For every idea, decide:

– Is it your own? (reading will help ensure this)– Is it common knowledge (multiple sources)?– Does it have one source (or a small number)? – then it needs a

reference

• You must acknowledge other people’s ideas• Three failures in 2003-2004 due to plagiarism; three in

2004-2005, four in 2005-2006, two in 2006-2007• Project mark reduced to 0 if plagiarism is detected

Plagiarism gets in the way of your creativity: your specific voice.

• Why do people plagiarise?– lack of time– lack of confidence– lack of understanding

• Plagiarism of ideas• Much is unintentional (but still guilty)

– intent is not an issue• Poor scholarship – no/sloppy citing, evidently different

work, not malicious

How to avoid plagiarism

• Identify words:– Quotation marks or

similar (legal but poor scholarship)

– Jim Briggs states that …– As Checkland describes,

…

– Name names!– Paraphrasing in

your own words shows you understand

• Identify source:– Conventional way is

to include a bibliographic citation next to idea in your report [Briggs98]

– How to do it? See http://www.pums.cam.port.ac.uk/projects/docs/projcite.htm

Anti-plagiarism resources

• PUMS info– http://www.pums.cam.port.ac.uk

/projects/docs/projcite.htm

• A good example!– http://www.tech.port.ac.uk/staffw

eb/briggsj/SENG2/reuse.htm• Turnitin software

• http://www.fsu.edu/~crimdo/class.html - Cecil Greek in Florida

• http://www.uwo.ca/geog/undergraduate/essay_guide/definiti.htm - University of Western Ontario

• http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/studentinfo/gradhonor/ghsconst.html#app3a - Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Starting to write

A suggested technique

• Start with something concrete – your requirements analysis, design, implementation

• Move on to literature review (from your notes and conceptual models)

• Finish with introduction and conclusion, where you are writing at a more abstract level