LIBRARY RESOURCES

ARCH 4070

MELANIE PARLETTE, BA, MLIS

ENGINEERING & IT LIAISON

LIBRARY RESOURCE CENTRE

CONESTOGA

TODAY YOU’LL LEARN . . .• What a Literature Review is and why you should do one

• How to work through the Literature Review process

• Review of two research databases/tools

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You can use your PIN to:

• Access resources from Off-Campus• Renew a book, place a hold• Review your account

Reminder!

YOUR RESEARCH GUIDELRC Homepage Research Help Engineering APFM

Reminder!

THE LITERATURE REVIEW

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?

The aim of a literature review is to show "that the writer has studied existing work in the field with insight" (Haywood and

Wragg, 1982). 

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?An effective review analyses and synthesizes material, and it

should meet the following requirements: (Caulley, 1992)

• Compare and contrast different authors' views on an issue

• Group authors who draw similar conclusions,

• Note areas in which authors are in disagreement,

• Highlight exemplary studies,

• Identify patterns or trends in the literature

• Highlight gaps in and omissions in previous research or questions left unanswered

• Conclude by summarizing what the literature says.

Source:http://unimelb.libguides.com/content.php?pid=87165&sid=648279

SELECTING A TOPIC

• Consider the scope of your selected topic and the timeframe you have for this project.

• Narrow down the topic if it is too broad.

• Establish your research interest questions and organize your literature into logical categories around the subject and sub topic areas.

SEARCH THE LITERATURE• VARIETY!

• Books, Journals, Theses, Conference Papers, Government or Industry Reports

• Reference sources such as dictionaries can assist in defining terminology, and encyclopedias may be useful in introducing topics and listing key references.

• REVIEW

• Review literature and analyze.• You may need to go back to find additional information on

your different sub-topics.

SEARCH THE LITERATUREThe literature review relates to your topic so think of the

key concepts/issues surrounding them.• Establish terminology and key words. Thesauri can assist. Mind spelling variations

• Construct a search strategy. Use Boolean operators (OR, AND, NOT)

• The absence of research in the literature may help confirm that this is an area which needs further research. You may need to broaden your search by looking for literature in related fields.

• Decide whether to be comprehensive or selective in your coverage? What is your rationale? What is your interest? There are inherent difficulties in attempting to be comprehensive

• How far back you should search may depend on the topic/subject? You might only include historical landmark studies while including a broader approach to more current research

• Start with the most recent sources and search backwards (Hint – check the bibliographies of current studies for referenced works)

• You may read articles only to decide to exclude them

• It is worth thinking laterally to other fields given the multidisciplinary nature of research.

Things to consider

Source: http://unimelb.libguides.com/content.php?pid=87165&sid=648287

CRITICAL READINGUse the CRAAP test.

• Currency

• Relevancy

• Authority

• Accuracy

• Purpose

See Tutorials for more information: http://exploreguides.conestogac.on.ca/content.php?pid=107396&sid=807737

WRITE THE LITERATURE REVIEW

• Use evidence

• Be selective

• Use quotes sparingly

• Summarize and synthesize

• Keep your own voice

• Use caution when paraphrasing

Source:http://libguides.utdallas.edu/content.php?pid=72743&sid=544074

WRITE THE LITERATURE REVIEW

Your literature review should include:

• an introduction which explains how your review is organized. 

• a body which contains the headings and subheadings that provide a map to show the various perspectives of your argument.

• the body contains the evaluation or synthesize of the materials you want to include on your topic.

• a summary.

 

Source: http://guides.monmouth.edu/content.php?pid=162720&sid=1374528&search_terms=Literature+review

CREATE A BIBLIOGRAPHY

REFWORKS & APA

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM• Keep organized.

• Take good notes – this will help you write your review and clearly give credit to your sources.

• Look for: • Major concepts• Conclusions• Theories• Arguments• How are they the same or different from other literature you have

found.

• Citations, Citations, Citations

• Use RefWorks! • You can add notes to each citation to keep track of where it fits, etc.

EMERALD BUILT ENVIRONMENT

EMERALD BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Building information modelling

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Articles are not necessarily:

• Scholarly (you can filter in library databases)

• Full Text (you may be linked to the publishers website where they want you to pay)

Searching is by keyword only:

• You cannot filter by subject or controlled vocabulary

• We don’t know exactly what is in Google Scholar

Library Databases vs. Google Scholar

GOOGLE SCHOLAROff Campus? Click Setting icon to set your library links to include Conestoga resources.

Click Full-Text to access items available through Conestoga.

GOOGLE SCHOLAR• Think of Google Scholar as a quick look to "see what's out there."

Conestoga offers a variety of journal and eBook databases that can be more effective when searched individually.

• Relying on just one source is not usually the best search strategy. You will want to search across relevant databases, varying your search strategy and taking advantage of the specialized databases.

• Google Scholar can be a helpful starting point for a search before you focus you topic and begin looking comprehensively for the highest quality information.

• Remember, searching within a databases offer search features that Google Scholar doesn’t.

Melanie Parlette, APFM Liaisonmparlette@conestogac.on.ca

Cambridge (South Campus) LRCService Desk Hours: Monday – Friday 8AM – NOON

Office Hours: Tuesday 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, or by appointment

HOW TO GET HELP . . .

Or try askON on the LRC Homepage (Instant Messaging Research Help)

Email, Call, or Visit in Person