ELS
Effective
Learning
Service
Writing a
Literature
Review
For appointments contact:
els@qmu.ac.uk or elsinternational@qmu.ac.uk
web: www.qmu.ac.uk/ELS
What is a review of the literature?
A literature review is:
•
an account of what has been published on a certain topic by accredited
scholars and researchers. Your purpose is to convey to your reader
what knowledge and ideas have been established on the topic, and
what their strengths and weaknesses are
•
a critical analytical summary and synthesis of the current
knowledge of a topic.
A literature review should:
•
compare and relate different theories, findings etc.
•
have a particular focus or theme to organise the review.
A literature review is not :
•
a summary of each of your sources listed one by one
•
just a descriptive summary of the historical background to your topic.
Types of literature review
There are different types of literature reviews and different purposes for
writing one. The most common are listed below.
Stand alone literature reviews
•
These provide an overview and analysis of the current state of
research on a topic or question.
•
The goal is to evaluate and compare previous research on a topic to
provide an analysis of what is currently known; also to reveal
controversies, weaknesses or gaps in current work.
Part of a research proposal (for a PhD dissertation, a thesis, a class
project, or a submission for a grant:
•
By pointing out current issues and questions concerning a topic the
review is crucial to demonstrating how your proposed research will
contribute to the field.
Part of a research report
• The review should provide the context to which your work is a
contribution.
Why write a literature review?
A literature review:
•
enlarges your knowledge about the topic
•
lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas:
¾ information-seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, to
identify a set of useful articles and books
¾ critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to
identify.
How does a literature review differ from an academic essay?
•
In an academic essay the main focus is on supporting your own
argument while in a literature review the main focus is summarising
and synthesising the arguments and ideas of others.
•
You may use a range of sources in an essay but these are usually a
select number because the emphasis is on your argument. A literature
review can also have an ‘argument’ but this is not as important as
covering a number of sources.
Remember!
A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or
summarizing one piece of literature after another.
It is usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a
researcher. Instead, organise the literature review into sections that present
themes or identify trends, including relevant theory.
You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesise and
evaluate it according to a guiding concept (e.g. your research objective, the
problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis).
Before you begin reading
Do note that it is a good idea to check with your lecturer about
specific requirements in your subject area as these may vary.
Clarify
•
Roughly how many sources should you include?
•
What types of sources (books, journal articles, websites)?
•
Should you summarise, synthesise or critique your sources by discussing
a common theme or issue?
•
Should you evaluate your sources?
Find models
Look for literature reviews in your discipline and read them to get a sense of
the types of themes you might want to look for in your own reading or research
or of ways to organise your final review.
Narrow your topic
The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you
need in order to have a good survey of the material. Your tutor will not
expect you to read everything on the topic. You will make your task easier if you
first limit your scope. (However, you may need to broaden the topic if you are
not finding enough sources!)
Ask yourself:
•
What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that my literature
review helps to define?
•
What type of literature review am I conducting?
Am I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative
research? (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure) qualitative
research? (e.g. studies).
As you read
Consider whether your sources are current or not.
Some disciplines, the sciences for example, require that you use sources that
are as current as possible. However, in the humanities or social sciences, a
survey of the history of the literature may be required, focussing on how
perspectives have changed through the years or in a certain time period.
Read abstracts of articles first.
This way you can check to see if the article is relevant or appropriate
Keep your purpose in mind when you read.
•
Before beginning to read, take a few moments to think about what it is you
are expecting from the article or chapter.
•
Skim the heading and the abstract of the piece, perhaps looking at the first
line of each paragraph and the conclusion
•
Do you need to read everything with equal attention?
•
Can you see where the arguments are headed?
Ask questions as you read.
Have specific questions in mind as you read.
These may be quite general:
“Have there been any specific studies on the role of women in
electoral lobbying?”
or more specific :
“Are these results comparable with the Japanese study using the same
questionnaire?”
These will help you concentrate and deal with material in an active manner.
These questions will form the basis of your written review. Asking them as you
read will tend to slow your reading process down, because you will be thinking
as you go.
However, doing your critical work early will make the process of writing a
critical review much easier.
Make notes as you read
Your note-taking should reflect your reading questions. Summaries have their
uses, but they aren't the building blocks of a good literature review. Taking notes
and making critical comments is more useful.
Keep in mind that, although taking notes is time consuming, much of it will be
directly usable later. If you take comprehensive notes in your own words as you
read and think, you will have done the really hard work before you start to write.
It doesn't really matter how you organise and write your notes as long as you:
•
make sure your notes are legible
•
remember to provide clear references including page
numbers in case you want to look at the original material
again, or cite it in your review.
One possible way of recording notes is to use a ‘synthesis’ matrix. This allows you
to sort and categorize the different arguments presented on an issue.
Across the top of the chart are the spaces to record sources, and along the side of
the chart are the spaces to record the main points of argument on the topic at hand.
As you examine your first source, you will work vertically in the column belonging to
that source, recording as much information as possible about each significant idea
presented in the work. Leave a column at the end for your points/comments.
Research topic
Author A
Author B
Author C
Burnout syndrome
Peterson, A.
Bannerman, J.
Allan,S. and
amongst ICU nurses
Points to note/comments
White, M.
Article title/details
Research aims
Methods
Findings
Discussion/analysis
Conclusions
qualitative:
qualitative:
qualitative:
A = case study over longer
case study :
questionnaire:
cross-sectional
research period than B and
6 ICU nurses
572 general
survey of 5956
C (only questionnaires) –
over 9 months
ward nurses
staff nurses
significant?
Starting thinking about writing
Think about organisation
Once you have the basic categories in place, you need to consider how you will
present the sources themselves within the body of your paper. Create an
organisational method to focus this section even further. This could be:
chronological; by theme; or by method used, for example.
Chronological:
You write about the materials according to when they were
published; however, there may be relatively no continuity
between sources here.
By theme:
Thematic reviews are organised around a topic or issue,
rather than the progression of time. (A review organised
in this manner would ideally shift between time periods
within each section according to the point made.)
By method:
This approach differs from the two above in that the focus
usually does not have to do with the content of the material.
Instead, it focuses on the ‘methods’ used in the research
being reviewed.
Talk to your supervisor/lecturer before you
make a final decision and start writing.
Structure
Like most academic papers, literature reviews also contain at least three basic
elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review
containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or
recommendations section to end the review.
Introduction:
a brief idea of the topic of the literature review, perhaps the
central theme and the organisational pattern
Body:
a discussion of sources, organised either chronologically,
thematically, or methodologically
Conclusion/
a summary of what has emerged from the review
Recommendations: and reiterates conclusions/makes recommendations.
Writing the review
Do note that it is a good idea to check with your lecturer about
specific requirements in your subject area as these may vary.
Once you’ve settled on a general pattern of organisation, you’re ready to write each
section. Below are a few guidelines to follow during this stage.
Use evidence:
• A literature review is just like any other academic research paper. Your
interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to
show that what you are saying is valid.
Be selective:
• Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the
review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly
to the focus of the review.
Use quotes sparingly:
• The survey nature of a literature review does not allow for in-depth
discussion or detailed quotes from the text. Some short quotes here and
there are acceptable if you want to emphasise a point.
Summarise and synthesise:
• Do this within each paragraph as well as throughout the review.
• Do not present material from one author, followed by information from
another, then another. You need to group authors and link ideas to avoid
this problem.
• A synthesis matrix may help you to think/write in ‘sub-topics’ comparing
and contrasting the different researches.
Focus on analysis, not description
Look at the synthesis matrix below and then study the paragraph which follows.
Research
topic
(A) Smith
(B) French
(C) Haroon
(D) Hope
Nursing
home
environments
and resident
autonomy
(1998)
Nursing home
residents:
dependence
and
independence
(2000)
Enhancing
the autonomy
of nursing
home
residents
(2002)
Qualitative:
115 residents /
32 nursing
homes
(different
autonomy
levels)
Qualitative:
225 residents
various
nursing
homes
Privacy not
only aspect.
Physical
structures
(standardised
furniture/f
heating/no
house key) =
limited feeling
of
independence.
Resources
and also
location =
features
which are
important to
residents for
their
independence
.
Points to
note/comments
Care homes:
residents’
perception of
autonomy
article title/
details
methods
findings
Care home
environments,
motivation, and
psychological
adjustment
(2000)
Qualitative:
residents/staff in
two intermediate
care facilities
Physical
environment
had minimum
effects on
residents’
perception of
autonomy (apart
from personal
privacy
available)
Availability of
private areas
= not only
aspect phys.
envir/mt.. that
determines
autonomy
A= smaller
number of
institutions and
residents
interviewed.
Also
interviewed
staff–
significant?
C = different
levels autonomy
– significant?
B, C, D disagree
with A – bigger
interview
samples? D
also considers
location is
important.
Focus on analysis, not description (cont’d)
This passage below is taking an analytical and evaluative approach to the literature
by comparing and contrasting it. This approach is well signalled by linguistic
markers indicating logical connections: words such as ‘however’, ‘moreover’; and
phrases such as ‘substantiates the claim that’ which indicate supporting evidence
and the writer’s ability to synthesise knowledge.
After studying residents and staff from two intermediate care facilities in
Calgary, Alberta, Smith (2000) came to the conclusion that except for
the amount of personal privacy available to residents, the physical
environment of these institutions had minimal if any effect on their
perceptions of control (autonomy). However, French (1998) and
Haroon (2000) found that availability of private areas is not the only
aspect of the physical environment that determines residents'
autonomy. Haroon interviewed 115 residents from 32 different nursing
homes known to have different levels of autonomy (2000). It was found
that physical structures, such as standardized furniture, heating that
could not be individually regulated, and no possession of a house key
for residents limited their feelings of independence. Moreover, Hope
(2002), who interviewed 225 residents from various nursing homes,
substantiates the claim that characteristics of the institutional
environment such as the extent of resources in the facility, as well as
its location, are features which residents have indicated as being of
great importance to their independence.
As you write
Ask yourself:
¾ Have I critically analysed the literature I use?
¾ Do I follow through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items
to each other?
¾
Instead of just listing and summarising items, do I assess them,
discussing strengths and weaknesses.
¾
Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and
useful?