EFFICIENT R

EADING AND

DEVELOPIN

G YOUR

LITERATU

RE REVIEW

K E L L Y P R E E C E

R E S E A R C H E R D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E M A N A G E R ( P G R S )

RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT

www.exeter.ac.uk/as/rdp/ @UofE_RD

Meet the Experts Series of sessions supporting Postgraduate Researchers and Research Staff encouraging

researchers to think more widely about career choice by exploring a range of options.

15th June 2016

To find out more visit:http://as.exeter.ac.uk/rdp/postgraduateresearchers/careerspanelday2016/

Morning sessions include: Research Careers Outside Higher Education STEMM

Research Careers Outside Higher Education HASSDoctoral Graduates in Business, Finance and Law

Afternoon sessions include:Doctoral Graduates in the Cultural and Creative Industries

HE Professional Services Careers Doctoral Graduates into Teaching

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM THIS COURSE…?

TODAY WE WILL COVER

Introducing the Literature ReviewSearching the LiteratureReadingNote-takingOrganising your ideasStructuring and Writing the Literature Review

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Reduce reading load by intelligent selection

Retain more of what you readSearch and judge relevance of source

material efficientlyKnow strengths and weaknesses of

various types of sources

Read and take notes with a defined purpose

Understand the purpose and value of a literature review

Feel confident when outlining and writing up the review

PADLET

https://padlet.com/UofE_RD/efficientreadinganddevelopingyourlitreview13_6_16

PART 1: INTRODUCING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?

‘The ‘literature review’ is the part of the thesis where there is extensive reference to related research and theory in your field; it is where connections are made between the source texts that you draw on and where you position yourself and your research among these sources…

…You can use the literature to support your identification of a problem to research and to illustrate that there is a gap in previous research which needs to be filled.’

(Ridley, 2012: 3)

TWO PARTS

ProductProcess

TYPES OF LITERATURE REVIEW

• Conceptual• State-of-the-art• Expert• Scoping• Traditional

(Thomson, 2013)

SO, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A LITERATURE REVIEW?

THE MULTIPLE PURPOSES OF A LITERATURE REVIEW• It provides a historical background for your

research;• It gives an overview of the current context in

which your research is situated by referring to contemporary debates, issues and questions in the field;

• It includes a discussion of relevant theories and concepts which underpin your research;

• It introduces relevant terminology and provides definitions to clarify how terms are being used in the context of your own work;

• It describes related research in the field and shows how your work extends or challenges this, or addresses a gap in work in the field;

• It provides supporting evidence for a practical problem or issue which your research is addressing, thereby underlining it significance.

(Ridley, 2012: 24)

WHAT DOES A LITERATURE REVIEW DO FOR MY RESEARCH?

Builds your confidence as a researcher and a member of the academic community

Helps you to define the boundaries of your project, which will be as important as knowing your core findings

Develops your skill as an excellent researcher, who can locate, analyse, critique, synthesise and build on existing knowledge

LEARNING TO SITUATE YOUR RESEARCH IN THE FIELD

THE PROCESS

PHASES OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Thinking

Searching Reading

Reading

Writing

The initial research question

The refined research question

The initial scope of research

The revised scope of the review

PART 2: SEARCHING THE LITERATURE

FINDING LITERATUREBreakdown your topic and/or research

questions to identify ‘key words’ Pay attention to the keywords used in articlesUse Boolean logic and logical operators –

AND/OR/*Narrow your search – exact phrase or

ADJ/NEARConsider the limits of your search

THE SNOWBALL TECHNIQUE

FOR MORE SUPPORT

RECORDING YOUR SEARCHES

The proposed topic of my researchKey word searches have been completed in the

following places:

Name of catalogue, database, search engine or social bookmarking site

Key word searches conducted or tags used

Results of search (e.g. articles and books located)

Date of search

KEEPING UP TO DATE – ALERTING SERVICES

• New book alerts• Journal table of content alerts• Database search and auto alerts• Conference alerts• Web content alertsFor more information:

http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/515918/mod_resource/content/1/keepinguptodate.pdf

IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU USE THE FOLLOWING?

TARGETING SOURCE MATERIALSSocial mediaWord-of-mouthIndicesCritical reviewsEdited volumes

Journal articles Monographs FootnotesTheses

PART 3: READING

TYPES OF READING• Pleasure or interest• Functional (News, Information and

Instructions)• Work (Keeping up to date: ‘local news’,

Reports, Research)

AN ACTIVE READER…

Is selectiveIs critical Interacts with the textChanges reading orderRe-reads with a purposeAnticipates

DISCUSSION – READING HABITS

How many hours do you spend reading a week? (Research reading only)

Do you feel you read enough? Where do you read?When do you read?How long is your ‘attention span’?

PREPARING TO READ

Prepare your workspaceScope the reading projectCollect materialsNo interruptions!

WHY HARDCOPY WINS

Annotations are flexible and easy Navigation by look and touch Multitasking easierEasier viewing of several documents Easier on the eye

PREVIEWING AND SELECTING

At the moment…

How do you select what is worth reading? How is this working for you? Do you read every line?

PREVIEWING AND SELECTING

Currency?Credibility?Relevance?What is new to me?What do I already know?In which order should I read the sections/chapters?

What needs my in-depth attention?

TASK - SCAN READING

1 Read the title2 Read the abstract3 Read the introduction, the headings, the first

and last sentence of every paragraph and the conclusion and then

4 Tell your neighbour what you thought the article was about

(Thomson, 2012)

READING CRITICALLY• What is the author’s central argument or main

point, i.e. what does the author want you, the reader, to accept?

• What conclusions does the author reach?• What evidence does the author put forward in

support of his or her arguments and conclusions?• Do you think the evidence is strong enough to

support the arguments and conclusions i.e. is the evidence relevant and wide reaching enough?

• Does the author make any unstated assumptions about shared beliefs with the reader?

• Can these assumptions be challenged?• What is the background context in which the text

was written? Does the cultural and historical context have an effect on the author's assumptions, the content and the way it has been presented?

(Ridley, 2012: 66)

ACCELERATION BY DEFAULT

Reading more quickly is the result of Eliminating distractions where possible (or responding to them positively)

Finding focus: time, place, environment Selecting more efficiently (preview, skimming)

Making space for proper reading sessions

STEPS

KNOWING WHEN TO STOP

DEALING WITH INFORMATION OVERLOAD

‘Information overload will make your head spin for a while, but once its settled down again, you will find that you are much better at sorting the good stuff from the bad, and quickly.’

(Marshall and Green, 2010: 55)

HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING SOMEWHERE?

‘[If you're] starting find themes and patterns in the literature ... that means you are making progress.’

(Marshall and Green, 2010: 54)

HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING SOMEWHERE?

‘You will also find that, after a while, the same things keep cropping up, and that means you have covered most of the intellectual ground, even if you haven't read everything written on the matter.’

(Marshall and Green, 2010: 54)

THE LITERATURE REVIEW: KNOWING WHERE TO STOP• Time• Prioitise• Control• Familiarity• Be realistic

Eloise Zoppos for The Thesis Whisperer

‘Build an argument, not a library’.

(Rudestam and Newton, 1992: 49)

// COMFORT BREAK \\

PART 4: NOTE-TAKING

TALK ABOUT

Why do you take notes?

What is in your notes?

WHY DO YOU TAKE NOTES?

• To identify and understand the main points of a text• To aid recall• To use in later research and writing• To aid concentration• To make connections between different sources• To rearrange information for writing• To avoid plagiarism

(Ridley, 2012: 67)

YOUR NOTES

Key wordsParaphrase with the book closed and with

citationsEnclose all quotes or near quotes in your

original notes Summarise each new substantive text in one

short paragraph

YOUR NOTES

Comparisons with other worksYour critical appraisalNotes should interrogate the text!Knowledge and information mapping

YOUR NOTESWrite the argument and the claim of the paper in

no more than three to four sentences, then answer these questions:

• Is the text located in the same field, or another one?

• What aspect of your topic does the text address?

• What definition is offered of the topic?

• If the text is in the same or a different field, what concepts and language are brought to bear on the topic that might be helpful to you?

• What kind of text is this? Is it theory building? A think piece? A meta-study or systematic review? An empirical piece of work?

• What categorisations are offered? • What connections does this text make?

(Thomson, 2012)

HAND-WRITING WINS

NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES

SUMMARISINGMake a record of the mains points of a text –

notetaking, highlighting, annotatingDraft a summary acknowledging the source and

writing down the main points the text is making. Consider: purpose, main evidence/supporting points, and connections between evidence and argument

Redraft to present the main points in the most logical order

(Adapted from Ridley, 2012 and Thomson, 2015)

CORNELL METHOD

NOTE-TAKING MATRIX

Text Argument Field Thesis Topic

Definitions Concepts Type of text

Categorisations offered

Connections

NOTE-TAKING MATRIX

Author/s (year)

Aims or research questions

Location of study

Sample size and identity

Data collection and methods

Key findings

NOTE-TAKING MATRIX

Themes in research

Preece (2015)

Wood (2012)

Torr (2009)

Smart (2013)

White (2015)

Foster (2014)

NOTE-TAKING TECHNOLOGIESEvernote - https://evernote.com/

Freemind - http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Goodreader - http://www.goodreader.com/

Google Keep - https://www.google.com/keep/

Microsoft One Note - https://www.onenote.com/

Mindnode - https://mindnode.com/

Noteability - http://www.gingerlabs.com/

Scan Pen - http://scanmarker.com/

Scrivener - http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCING TOOLSEndnote - http://endnote.com/Mendeley – https://www.mendeley.com/ReadCube - https://www.readcube.com/Zotero - https://www.zotero.org/

For more information: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/library/subjectguides/general/referencing/referencingsoftware/

DATA MANAGEMENT

PART 5: ORGANISING YOUR IDEAS

A KNOWLEDGE MAP/MIND MAP

WHAT GETS SORTED?

Meaningful thingsThings often encounteredUnique things

A Radiant Hierarchy of Ideas

MIND MAP TO STRUCTURE

WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW: SIX STEPS TO GET YOU FROM START TO FINISHStep One: Decide on your areas of

researchStep Two: Search for the literatureStep Three: Find relevant excerpts in

your books and articles

Step Four: Code the literatureStep Five: Create Your Conceptual

SchemaStep Six: Begin to Write Your Literature

Review

LATCH – PROCESSING YOUR LITERATURE

Location

Alphabet

Time

Category

Hierarchy

From: The Thesis Whisperer

‘5 Ways to Tame the Literature Dragon’

PART 6: STRUCTURING AND WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

STRUCTURING YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW

• Chronologically• By theme• By sector • By development of ideas• By some combination of the above, or by

another structure you create(University of Leicester, 2016)

STRATEGIES TO IDENTIFY YOUR STRUCTUREDiscuss the structure with a colleague,

explaining it as a continuous story you're trying to write 

Use visual techniques like mind-mappingCreate a storyboard for your literature review.

This tells the ‘story' of the literature review in a small number of panels that mix text and pictures

Sort index cards with key ideas into a coherent structure

Use post-it notes with key ideas on a whiteboard to make connections with lines and colours

(Vitae, 2015)

ANALYSING EXISTING THESES

Macro level:• Structure:

•How many sections?•How long is each section?•How has the writer organised the material (thematically, chronologically, methodologically…)?

• Signposting

Mid level:• Linking between sections• Repetition

Micro level:• Paragraph structure• Sentence structure• Choice of words

(adapted from Vitae, 2009 and 2015)

ANALYSING EXISTING THESES – KEY ISSUES

• how the gap in knowledge is shown?• how is the research contextualised within

the wider scholarly field?• how has the writer rationalised their choice

of literature(s)?• how is the writer’s voice shown?

(adapted from Vitae, 2009)

PLANNING

Adopt a planning tool to draft and re-draft your Lit Review

MindmapsGantt chartsLists…

RD COURSES ON

Research Planning & Time Management Plan and Write your ThesisCreative Approaches to Writing your

Thesis Completing your Thesis

WRITE

‘It doesn’t matter if it is dot points, poorly thought out ideas, scribbles from paper notes… Whatever it is, start writing your chapters. Many people only give themselves 6 months to write, and it is so relieving to go back and see stuff already on paper. You will thank yourself for organising your literature, giving yourself some reminders or for thinking! Writing early may save you months of effort when you are strapped for time.’

Extracted from a blog post on www.thesiswhisperer.com

SO, WRITE EARLY, WRITE OFTEN.

DEVELOP A CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Forms an index of referencesHelps you keep track of what you’ve readHighlights key points – for re-readingGets you to critique not just describeWriting practiceContent you could potentially use in your

thesis

SOME GUIDANCE FOR WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

TO WRITE CRITICALLY YOU SHOULD:Present logical arguments which lead into

your conclusionsProvide sound evidence to support your

argumentEvaluate, select, organise and categorise

(Ridley, 2012: 142)

STRATEGIES FOR WRITING CRITICALLYComparing and contrasting Strategic and selective referencing Synthesising and reformulating arguments Agreeing with, confirming and defending Highlighting strengths and weaknessesRejecting a point of view with a rationale

(Ridley, 2012: 143)

FOREGROUND YOUR OWN VOICE

The organisation of the textMaking your own assertions, supported by

relevant referencesMaking explicit connections between theories

and conceptsSummarising and evaluating source material

Providing summaries at the end of sections/chapters

The use of personal pronounsExpressing a point of

view/agreement/disagreement(Ridley, 2012: 159-174)

QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU!

researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk

www.exeter.ac.uk/as/rdp

@UofE_RD