Intro to ProSeminar: Geo 518
Winter 2006
GEO 518
Anne Nolin and Dawn Wright
Outline for 9 January 2006
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Course information
Introductions
Three major areas of OSU geography
Honing in on a research topic
Listing your keywords
The literature review: the Hows, Whys and
Wherefores
Course Information
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Syllabus and course website
Learning objectives
Weekly readings
Assignments
Grading
• 20% Attendance & participation as well as short
in-class assignments
• 20% Homework assignments
• 20% Student-led panel discussions
• 40% Research proposal including:
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outline (with some detail)
written proposal
presentation of proposal
appendix of an annotated bibliography of 10 scientific
articles.
OSU Geography Program
• Definitions:
– Physical Geography
– Resource Geography
– Geographic Information Science
Introductions
Honing in on a research topic
• "It is really important to do the right
research as well as to do the research
right. You need to do 'wow' research,
research that is compelling, not just
interesting."George Springer, chairman
of the aeronautics and astronautics
department at Stanford University
11 points to consider (From Robert Smith,
in his book Graduate Research: A Guide for Students
in the Sciences (ISI Press, 1984)
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Can it be enthusiastically pursued?
Can interest be sustained by it?
Is the problem solvable?
Is it worth doing?
Will it lead to other research problems?
Is it manageable in size?
11 points (continued)
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What is the potential for making an original
contribution to the literature in the field?
If the problem is solved, will the results be
reviewed well by scholars in your field?
Are you, or will you become, competent to
solve it?
By solving it, will you have demonstrated
independent skills in your discipline?
Will the necessary research prepare you in
an area of demand or promise for the
future?
Where to start?
• Develop a list of
keywords that
describe your interest
in a particular
research area
Snow
Glaciers/ice sheets
Climate change
Arctic
Pacific Northwest
Water resources
Sea level rise
Socio-economic impacts
Remote sensing
Sensor webs
The Literature Review
The Hows, Whys, and Wherefores
What is a Literature Review?
• an overview of previous research on your
research topic
• a comprehensive review of all published
research that is relevant to your proposed
investigation and guided by your research
objectives
Questions to Keep in Mind:
• What is known about the subject?
• Are there any gaps in the knowledge of the subject?
• Have areas of further study been identified by other researchers that
you may want to consider?
• Who are the significant research personalities in this area?
• Is there consensus about the topic?
• What aspects have generated significant debate on the topic?
• What methods or problems were identified by others studying in the
field and how might they impact your research?
• What is the most productive methodology for your research based on
the literature you have reviewed?
• What is the current status of research in this area?
• What sources of information or data were identified that might be
useful to you?
(from http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/litrev.html)
Purpose of a Literature Review
• Convey the depth and breadth of research that
has been accomplished on a subject
• Supports the motivation and significance of the
research
• Identify important issues and link to hypotheses
• Identify key areas of missing knowledge
• Describe methodologies used
• Describe existing data sets
• Link proposed research to previous and ongoing
research efforts -- provide context
Purpose of a Lit Review
• Helps you learn everything about your
subject
• Ensures that you are not “reinventing the
wheel”
• Helps you learn about the people in the
field (important for networking)
How to do a Literature Review
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Define the research topic
Compile and prioritize a list of keywords
Identify sources of information
Read, evaluate, analyze all the works
Discuss findings and conclusions with others -- important
for understanding context, gaps in previous research
• Divide works into supportive and antithetical positions
• Identify relationships between works in the literature
• Articulate how these apply to your research
Identify Resources
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Books
Journals
Conference Papers
Dissertations
Bibliographies
Maps
Internet
Indexes/Abstracts Printed
Electronic Databases
Government publications
Theses
Interviews and other unpublished research
Assessment
• Assess the quality of the information source:
– refereed journal article?
– conference proceedings?
– corporate report?
• Assess the standing of the author
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academic?
journalist?
government employee?
is the work in their major field of research?
Evaluate the Information
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determine the facts/points of view
examine new findings
question assumptions
determine if methodology is appropriate
are the objectives clearly outlined
do the conclusions logically follow from the
objectives?
• identify classic, “landmark” articles
Continually Evaluate Your
Research Process
• No relevant information?
– Need to reconsider your search strategy
– New keywords
– Explore other disciplines for information
• Too many irrelevant items?
– Re-evaluate keywords
– Narrow scope of your search
• Document your search strategy
– Keep multiple lists of keywords
– Indicate what works, what doesn’t
Getting the Information
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Download full text from the Internet
University library
Interlibrary loan
Government offices
Specialty libraries
Information Management
• Select a strategy for organizing information
– Notecards (primitive but it works!)
– List of references on a computer
– Bibliographic database software (EndNote)
• Develop good lit search habits
– Start immediately
– Keep searches up to date
– Summarize papers that you read
Questions?