6 November 2014
The Literature Review and
Research
Support
James Webley
6 November 2014
Today’s talk:
The importance of the literature review.
Outline the research/literature review process.
Where to go to find academic resources.
Referencing and software to help (EndNote).
Good research habits.
Further help and advice.
6 November 2014
Why review?
“If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of
giants.”
Isaac Newton, 1676
To make sure you are not re-inventing the wheel.
Demonstrate how your work is situated within, builds upon, departs from
earlier publications.
It shows that you are a member of your chosen field.
Generally agreed that a researcher should have knowledge of previous work
on a topic before undertaking any investigation.
Past studies can contribute to the design of good new studies.
6 November 2014
Research/LR process
Starting out
Locating and accessing material
Search techniques
Reviewing and evaluating your results
Writing up
Referencing (paraphrasing, summarising, quoting)
Final Checklist
6 November 2014
Starting out
Decide your topic and devise a research question.
Books/ebooks (recommended textbooks), review articles, web
searches, patents, Wikipedia, newspapers, online reports,
previous projects/dissertations, Supervisor, Subject Librarian.
Build up key concepts and words relevant to your topic. Identify
phrases.
Remember variant spellings (e.g. US and English), different
meanings, synonyms etc.
6 November 2014
Locating material
Select appropriate resources and search for a variety of materials –
Print and online, primary and secondary.
‘Library Search’ for books and journals (print and E)
Subject Databases, Patents, Standards, Ejournals and websites:
For one-stop-shop: ‘Library Aerospace Bristol’
Search engines – Government /Inter-governmental and corporate reports,
open access material.
Follow a ‘research trail’ – bibliographies, references, citations.
Find/access material not held at Bristol - COPAC/ILL /SCONUL/Subject Lib
6 November 2014
Accessing material
Access based on IP address, so if off-campus or
using your own PC/Laptop…
1. University username and password (Shibboleth/UK Federation)
2.Remote Student Desktop or Off-Site Proxy
…and if we really don’t have access to an article you need then
request via the ‘ILL requests’ link on ‘Library Search’. The article will
be emailed direct to your desktop.
Email lucy.wilkins@bristol.ac.uk for voucher/payment.
6 November 2014
Search Techniques
Use search tools in databases
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•
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Boolean (AND, OR)
Truncation - * (e.g. dynamic* = dynamics, dynamical, dynamically)
Wildcard - ? (e.g. organi?ation = organisation, organization)
Search within results and citation searches
Refine by year, type of publication, subject etc.
and search engines:
• Phrase searching – “Machine learning”
• Limit by file type, date, language etc.
• Limit by domain - .org, .ac.uk, .eu, .co.uk/.com, .gov.uk
6 November 2014
Reviewing/Evaluating results
Read the abstract – is it relevant? – Coverage
Is it free of errors backed up by reliable sources? - Accuracy
Who wrote it? Expert? Academic? Corporation? – Authority
Is it cited, peer reviewed/edited – Academic authority
Bias? Commercial interest? - Objectivity
When was it published? - Currency
6 November 2014
Writing up
Structure the review and impose some order on your findings
(Synthesis).
Link the ideas in your review.
Cite – acknowledge your sources.
Store, manage and share references as you go.
6 November 2014
Structure the review
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Introduction
General description, accepted knowledge, present information
that is widely known.
Clarify the scope and organisation of the review.
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Body
Synthesise the literature (your findings).
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Conclusion
Make a point (opinion) and guide your reader to see the need
for your research and to show you understand the field.
6 November 2014
Imposing order on the literature
Chronological (publication date/development)
Provenance (country of origin)
Sub-discipline within a larger field (thematic)
Perspective (writer’s attitude - positive, negative, neutral)
Genre (type of publication - book, article, website, blog etc.)
6 November 2014
Linking the literature
Metadiscourse
Citing and Referencing
Citation type and tense (grammar)
Reporting verbs (linking words)
6 November 2014
Metadiscourse
…do not add specific content, but are intended to reveal
organisation and help readers through your text…
The first part of this review traces the early development of
fibre-reinforced polymers.
The negative aspect of FRPs in the civil infrastructure will be
taken up in the next section.
This section examines studies in the use of FRPs in bridge
construction.
…builds up a relationship with your reader, engages them.
6 November 2014
Citing and Referencing
Paraphrasing
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Restating a specific point or points from another work
Summarising
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Conveying the main message of a source
Quoting
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Directly re-using the words and structure (verbatim) from a source.
All the above require citations and references in your work
your own opinions, results from your own surveys/experiments, common knowledge do not.
– writing
6 November 2014
Citing and Referencing
Strategies for paraphrasing and summarising:
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Find key points and the relationships between them – do you understand?
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Rearrange the key points
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Use different linking phrases/verbs, e.g. although, however, due to, caused by etc.
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Use synonyms and change parts of speech where possible (plain English?).
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Additions/deletions
6 November 2014
Citations (type)
Integral citations (Author prominent)
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According to Jay et al. (2006) about 25% of the labour force in industrialised countries…
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Rogers & Mayhew (1992) and Keenan (1941) discussed the relative importance of
thermodynamics in their respective seminal works…
Non-integral citations (Research prominent)
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Research indicates that around 25% of the workforce in industrialised countries…(Jay et al.,
2006)
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The relative importance of thermodynamics has been clearly stated in numerous seminal works
(Rogers & Mayhew, 1992; Keenan, 1941)
6 November 2014
Citations (tense)
Past tense
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Arslan (2007) investigated the performance of biodiesel as a diesel engine fuel.
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Biodiesel was shown to have promise as an alternative to regular diesel (Arslan,
2007).
Present Perfect
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The potential of biodiesel as an alternative to regular diesel has been widely
investigated (Arslan, 2007)
•
Many researchers have investigated the potential of biodiesel as an alternative to
regular diesel Arslan, 2007; Gardner, 2009)
Present
•
The scarcity of petroleum is making renewable energy resources increasingly
attractive (Hargreaves, 2007)
6 November 2014
Reporting verbs
Propose
Use
Discuss
Investigate
Describe
Show
Publish
Report
Give
Develop
Study
Expand
6 November 2014
Literature Review Checklist
Have you shown a clear understanding of the topic?
Have a variety of sources been used? Journals, books, websites,
government reports etc.
Have you appropriately linked your various sources?
Have you described the literature in an original manner and
cited so that questions of plagiarism will not arise?
Have you stated clear conclusions about previous research?
Don’t leave your work open to questions like:
“What is your evidence here?”, “Who says so?”, “What makes you
think so?”
6 November 2014
Referencing
EndNote Basic:
Free service that helps with collecting, storing, and sharing
references.
Automatically creates bibliographies and citations within
coursework.
www.myendnoteweb.com
6 November 2014
Good research habits:
An awareness of the search tools available to you.
Google: ‘Library Aerospace Bristol’
A knowledge of search techniques and how to
refine/sort/combine your searches.
Critically evaluate the resources you find.
Use appropriate tools to manage your information.
6 November 2014
For help and advice…
Subject Enquiries
lucy.wilkins@bristol.ac.uk
‘Library Aerospace Bristol’
@BristolUniLib