WRITING THE LIT REVIEW OF YOUR PROPOSAL

WHAT IS IT?

• Any collection of material• examination of the research that

has been conducted in a particular field of study.

• Combies Sum /Synthesis• Dialogue among authors and

researchers

WHY WRITING

A LR?

• analyse critically published articles through summary, classification and comparison

HOW TO WRITE A

LR?

• Organize those in support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely

PAPERS

Lit Review

Summary

Synthesize

academic

Your Own Arguments

Academic Research and Lit Review

Argument of others ideas

Briefly recapping the main points in your own words.

Bringing together information from several sources to make a new point. (You relate the effect the movie had on you to something you read about in a psychology course)

It provides a handy guide to a particular topic

It emphasizes on the credibility of the study

It gives a solid background for research papers

WHY DO A

LIT REVIE

W

LET’S GET TO IT

Find model

Narrow the topic

Current sources

Get sense of the type of themes or organize

Depends on the fieldMedicine = importantHumanities= Relevant

Limit the scope of your studyAsk experts

Find the focus

• What issues connect to your study

Construct a working thesis

statement

• Not an argument but a particular perspective

Consider organizatio

n

• Intro• Body• Conclusion

Organizational Method

Stategies for writing the lit review

ChonologicalThematicMethodologicalOthers

Overview of the subject, issue or theory

Division of works into categories (those in support, those against, and those offering alternative theses)

Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others

Conclusions as to which pieces are make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research

COMPONENTS

Why a lit

review?

identify gaps

reinventing the wheel

identify areas of

controversy

Incorporate

others’ works

ideas for future

projects

How to structure a literature review

Broad introduction to topic

Specific information of the topic

At the end of your literature review the reader must have only one thought in their heads…….

DO I HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION OF THE TOPIC?

level of detail

Problem formulation- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?

Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored

Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic

Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

SOURCES FOR THE LITERATURE REVIEW

TWO TYPES OF SOURCES

REFERENCES ACTUAL

• Indices•Computer searches•Bibliography list•Personal Conferences•Underground Press

•Journals articles•Discussed sources•Reviews•Edited collections•Books

Material- collect information from journal papers, conference papers, books, media

releases, websites, bibliographies, personal confereces

Provenance— Who wrote it and why did they write it ? What are the author's credentials? Are the

author's arguments supported by evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives,

statistics, recent scientific findings)?

Validity- When was it published (and what info has come out since)? Where was it published and how was it reviewed/edited (i.e. journal

paper )?

Direct Quote

Paraphrased workSummary

REPORTING VERBS

READING THE LITERATURE Locate the material/determine relevancy How much reviewing Which references Which aspects DETERMINING THE RELEVANCE OF THE MATERIAL

Directly related Source of the report

Journals aimed at Researchers Well known and highly valued Primary sources versus Secondary sources

ORGANIZING AND REPORTING THE REVIEW OF LITERATURE

ORGANIZATION amount of information specific variables chronologically or historically

REPORTING THE LITERATURE REVIEW Section of the research ( describes and

synthesize) Focus briefly on major findings

Samples of Thesis Statements The current trend in treatment for

congestive heart failure combines surgery and medicine

More and more culture studies scholars are accepting popular media as a subject worthy of academic consideration