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)
Stages
Activities
Documentation
Quality
Project mgt
Communications
Analysis
Synthesis
Operations
Retirement
Software
engineering
Models
Support
elements
Methods
Techniques
Standards
ISO 9000
ISO 9126
Dawson (2005)
MS Project
Quality mgt system
Documentation
system
TQM
Waterfall
Spiral
Prototyping
SSADM
SSM
JSP
DFD
OOD
Prototyping
Tools
Processes
Evolutionary
Throw away
Incremental
Experimental
Rapid
Artificial Intelligence
Application
areas
AI techniques
Search
techniques
Machine
learning
Expert
systems
Mundane
tasks
Expert
tasks
Planning
Pattern
recognition
Vision
Robotics
Image
processing
Dawson (2005)
Medical
diagnosis
Prediction
Knowledge
representation
Semantic
networks
Rulebased
systems
Philosophical
issues
Frames
Predicate
logic
Sources of literature
Source
Where to find them
Useful means of
finding sources
Books
University library; public Bibliographic databases;
library; own collection
reading lists
Papers in
journals
University library; interlibrary loan
On-line
documents
WWW pages; FTP
archives
Bibliographic databases;
lists of references in
other papers
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?
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
How to write up a project
18
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/undergra
duate/essay_guide/definiti.htm University of Western Ontario
http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/studentinf
o/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