University of Washington Psychology Writing Center http ... · Literature reviews survey research...
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UniversityofWashingtonPsychologyWritingCenterhttp://www.psych.uw.edu/psych.php?p=335|[email protected]
Copyright2016,UniversityofWashington litrev.pdf
WritingaLiteratureReviewinPsychology
Whatisaliteraturereview?Howisaliteraturereviewdifferentfromaresearcharticle?Thetwopurposes:describe/compareandevaluateGettingstarted
Selectatopicandgatherarticles Chooseacurrent,well-studied,specifictopic SearchtheresearchliteratureReadthearticlesWritetheliteraturereview
StructureHowtoproceed:describe,compare,evaluateTips
Conclusion
WHATISALITERATUREREVIEW?
Literaturereviewssurveyresearchonaparticularareaortopicinpsychology.Theirmainpurposeistoknittogethertheoriesandresultsfrommultiplestudiestogiveanoverviewofafieldofresearch.
HowisaLiteratureReviewDifferentfromaResearchArticle?
Researcharticles:• areempiricalarticlesthatdescribeoneorseveralrelatedstudiesonaspecific,quantitative,testableresearch
question• aretypicallyorganizedintofourtextsections:Introduction,Methods,Results,Discussion
TheIntroductionofaresearcharticleincludesacondensedliteraturereview.Itspurposeistodescribewhatisknownabouttheareaofstudy,withthegoalofgivingthecontextandrationaleforthestudyitself.
Publishedliteraturereviewsarecalledreviewarticles.Reviewarticlesemphasizeinterpretation.Bysurveyingthekeystudiesdoneinacertainresearcharea,areviewarticleinterpretshoweachlineofresearchsupportsorfailstosupportatheory.Unlikearesearcharticle,whichisquitespecific,areviewarticletellsamoregeneralstoryofanareaofresearchbydescribing,comparing,andevaluatingthekeytheoriesandmainevidenceinthatarea.
TheTwoPurposesofaLiteratureReview
Yourreviewhastwopurposes:(1)todescribeandcomparestudiesinaspecificareaofresearchand(2)toevaluatethosestudies.Bothpurposesarevital:athoroughsummaryandcomparisonofthecurrentresearchisnecessarybeforeyoucanbuildastrongevaluativeargumentaboutthetheoriestested.
GettingStarted(1) Selectaresearchtopicandidentifyrelevantarticles.(2) Readthearticlesuntilyouunderstandwhataboutthemisrelevanttoyourreview.(3) Digestthearticles:Understandthemainpointswellenoughtotalkaboutthem.(4) Writethereview,keepinginmindyourtwopurposes:todescribeandcompare,andtoevaluate.
SELECTATOPICANDCOLLECTARTICLES
ChooseaCurrent,Well-Studied,SpecificTopic
Pickatopicthatinterestsyou.Ifyou'reinterestedinasubject,you'relikelytoalreadyknowsomethingaboutit.Yourinterestwillhelpyoutochoosemeaningfularticles,makingyourpapermorefunbothtowriteandtoread.
Thetopicshouldbebothcurrentandwellstudied.Yourgoalistodescribeandevaluaterecentfindingsinaspecificareaofresearch,sopickatopicthatyoufindincurrentresearchjournals.RecentissuesofAPAjournalscanprovide
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inspiration.Findanareathatiswelldefinedandwellstudied,meaningthatseveralresearchgroupsarestudyingthetopicandhaveapproacheditfromdifferentperspectives.Ifallthearticlesyoufindarefromthesameresearchgroup(i.e.,thesameauthors),broadenyourtopicorusemoregeneralsearchterms.
Youmayneedtonarrowyourtopic.Thesubjectofashortliteraturereviewmustbespecificenough,yethavesufficientliteratureonthesubject,foryoutocoveritindepth.Abroadtopicwillyieldthousandsofarticles,whichisimpossibletosurveymeaningfully.Ifyouaredrowninginarticles,oreacharticleyoufindseemstobeaboutacompletelydifferentaspectofthesubject,narrowyourtopic.Chooseonearticlethatintereststoyouandfocusonthespecificquestioninvestigated.Forexample,asearchfor‘teenagealcoholuse’willfloodyouwitharticles,butsearchingfor‘teenagealcoholuseandcriminalbehavior’willyieldbothfewerandmorefocusedarticles.
Youmayneedtobroadenyourtopic.Youneedenougharticlesonyourtopicforathoroughreviewoftheresearch.Ifyou’reunabletofindmuchliteratureonyourtopic,orifyoufindarticlesyouwantthatarenoteasytofindonline,broadenyourtopic.What’samoregeneralwaytoaskyourquestionofinterest?Forexample,ifyou’rehavingahardtimefindingarticleson‘discriminationagainstAsian-AmericanwomeninSTEMfields,’broadenyourtopic(e.g.,‘academicdiscriminationagainstAsian-Americanwomen’or‘discriminationagainstwomeninSTEM.’)
Considerseveraltopics,andkeepanopenmind.Don'tfallinlovewithatopicbeforeyoufindhowmuchresearchhasbeendoneinthatarea.Byexploringdifferenttopics,youmaydiscoversomethingthatisnewlyexcitingtoyou!
SearchtheResearchLiterature
Doapreliminarysearch.Useonlinedatabases(e.g.,PsycInfo,SocialSciencesCitationIndex(SSCI),Medline)tosearchtheresearchliterature.Ifyoudon’tknowhowtosearchonlinedatabases,askyourinstructororreferencelibrarian.Referencelibrariansareinvaluable!
Searchforhelpfularticles.Findoneormorepivotalarticlesthatcanbeafoundationforyourpaper.Apivotalarticlemaybeexceptionallywellwritten,containparticularlyvaluablecitations,orclarifyrelationshipsbetweendifferentbutrelatedlinesofresearch.Twosourcesofsucharticlesinpsychologyare:
• PsychologicalBulletin• CurrentDirectionsinPsychologicalScience(publishedbytheAmericanPsychologicalSociety)hasgeneral,
shortarticleswrittenbyscientistswhohavepublishedalotintheirresearcharea.
Olderreviewarticles(5-10yearsold)mayhelpyoutounderstandthehistoryofaresearchareaandtofindmorecurrentresearchinthatarea.Tofollowuponanolderreviewarticle:
• SearchPsycInfoforwhetherauthorscitedinanearlierarticlehavecontinuedtodoresearchinthearea• SearchSSCIforrecentstudiesthathavecitedtheauthorsofanearlierreview
Howmanyarticles?Althoughpublishedreviewarticlesmaycitemorethan100articles,literaturereviewsforcoursesareoftenshorterbecausetheypresentonlyhighlightsofaresearchareaandarenotexhaustive.Ashortliteraturereviewmaysurvey7-12researcharticlesandbeabout10-15pageslong.Forcoursepaperguidelines,askyourinstructor.
Chooserepresentativearticles,notjustthefirstonesyoufind.Thisconsiderationismoreimportantthanthelengthofyourreview.
Choosereadablearticles.Someresearchareasarehardertounderstandthanothers.Scanarticlesinthetopicareasyouareconsideringtodecideonthereadabilityoftheresearchinthoseareas.
READTHEARTICLES
Towriteaneffectivereview,you’llneedasolidgraspoftherelevantresearch.Beginbyreadingthearticleyoufindeasiest.Read,re-read,andmentallydigestituntilyouhaveaconversationalunderstandingofthepaper.Youdon’tknowwhatyouknowuntilyoucantalkaboutit.Andifyoucan’ttalkaboutit,youwon’tbeabletowriteaboutit.
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Readselectively.Don'tstartbyreadingthearticlesfrombeginningtoend.First,readjusttheAbstracttogetanoverviewofthestudy.
Scanthearticletoidentifytheanswerstothese“Why-What-What-What”questions:(1) Whydidtheydothestudy?Whydoesitmatter?(2) Whatdidtheydo?(3) Whatdidtheyfind?(4) Whatdoesitmean?
Thepreviousfourquestionscorrespondtothesepartsofaresearcharticle:(1) Introduction:theresearchquestionandhypotheses(2) Methods(3) Results(4) Discussion
Createasummarysheetofeacharticle’skeypoints.Thiswillhelpyoutointegrateeacharticleintoyourpaper.
Readfordepth.Afteryouunderstandanarticle’smainpoints,readeachsectionindetailfortogainthenecessaryin-depthunderstandingtocomparetheworkofdifferentresearchers.
WRITETHELITERATUREREVIEW
MainGoal
Yourgoalistoevaluateabodyofliterature;i.e.,to“identifyrelations,contradictions,gaps,andinconsistencies”and“suggestnextstepstosolvetheresearchproblem”(APAPublicationManual2010,p.10).Beginwritingwhenyouhavedecidedonyourstoryandhowtoorganizeyourresearchtosupportthatstory.
Organization
Organizetheliteraturereviewtohighlightthethemethatyouwanttoemphasize–thestorythatyouwanttotell.Literaturereviewstendtobeorganizedsomethinglikethis:
Introduction:(1) Introducetheresearchtopic(whatitis,whydoesitmatter)(2) Framethestory:narrowtheresearchtopictothestudiesyouwilldiscuss(3) Brieflyoutlinehowyouhaveorganizedthereview
Body:(1) Headings.Usethemeheadingstoorganizeyourargument(seebelow)(2) Describe,compare,andevaluatestudiesforeachsectionofyourargumentunderyourheadings
(a) Describetherelevantpartsofeachstudyandexplainwhyitisrelevanttothesubtopicathand.(b) Comparethestudiesifneedbe,todiscusstheirimplications(i.e.,yourinterpretationofwhatthe
studiesshowandwhetherthereareimportantdifferencesorsimilarities)(c) Evaluatetheimportanceofeachstudyorgroupofstudies,aswellastheimplicationsforthe
subtopic,andwhereresearchshouldgofromhere(onthelevelofthesubtopic)
Conclusion:Finalevaluation,summationandconclusion
Headings.Useheadingstoidentifymajorsectionsthatshowtheorganizationofthepaper.(Headingsalsohelpyoutoidentifyorganizationalproblemswhileyou’rewriting.)Avoidthestandardheadingsofresearcharticles(Introduction,Method,Results,Discussion).Usespecific,conceptualheadings.Ifyouarereviewingwhetherfacialexpressionsareuniversallyunderstood,headingsmightincludeStudiesinWesternCulturesandStudiesinNon-WesternCultures.Organizeyourargumentintotopicsthatfitundereachheading(oneormoreperheading).
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Describe.Foreachsectionorsubtopic,brieflydescribeeacharticleorlineofresearch.Avoidsuddenjumpsbetewenbroaderandnarrowerideas.Keepyourstoryinmindtohelpkeepyourthoughtsconnected.
Compare.Foreachsectionortopic,comparerelatedstudies,ifthisisrelevanttoyoustory.Comparisonsmayinvolvetheresearchquestion,hypotheses,methods,dataanalysis,results,orconclusions.However,youdon’twanttocompareeverything.Thatwouldn’tbeastory!Whichpartsarerelevant?Whatevidencesupportsyourarguments?Identifyingstrengthsandweaknessesofeachstudywillhelpyoumakemeaningfulcomparisons.
Ifyou'rehavingtroublesynthesizinginformation,youprobablydon'tunderstandthearticleswell.Rereadsectionsyoudon’tunderstand.Discussthestudieswithsomeone:youdon’tknowwhatyouknowuntilyoucantalkaboutit.
Evaluate.Descriptions/comparisonsalonearenotilluminating.Foreachsectionortopic,evaluatethestudiesyouhavereviewedbasedonyourcomparisons.Tellyourreaderwhatyouconclude,andwhy.Evaluatingresearchisthemostsubjectivepartofyourpaper.Evenso,alwayssupportyourclaimswithevidence.Evaluationrequiresmuchthoughtandtakesonsomerisk,butwithoutit,yourpaperisjustabookreport.
Finalevaluationandsummation.Onabroaderscale,relatingtoyourmaintheme,tellyourreaderwhatyouconcludeandwhy.Reiterateyourmainclaimsandoutlinetheevidencethatsupportsthem.
Conclusion.Howdoesyourevaluatiochangeoraddtocurrentknowledgeinthefieldfield?Whatfuturestudiesareimpliedbyyouranalysis?Howwouldsuchstudiesaddtocurrentknowledgeofthetopic?
Tips
Allowenoughtime.Don’tunderestimatethetimerequiredtochoosetherightarticles.Selectyourtopicandcollectarticlesearly.Budgethalfofyourtimeforresearchandreading,andtheotherhalfforwriting.
Don'tstartwritingtooearly.Youneedasolidunderstandingoftheresearchbeforeyoucanevaluateit,andyouneedtoevaluatetheresearchbeforeyoucanwriteaboutit.Thistakesmoretimethanmanynovicewritersrealize.
Takebreaks.Leavetimetostepawayfromthepapersothatyou'llhaveafreshperspectivewhenyoureturn.
Reviseandrevise.Expecttorevisemultipletimes.Askotherstoreadyourpaperbeforeyouwritethefinalversion.
Usespecificlanguageandconcreteexamples.Avoidvaguereferencessuchas"this"(e.g.,not"thisshows",but"thisresultshows").Sentencesthatstartwith"Ifeel"signalunsupportedstatements;reviseordelete.Haveareasonforeverythingyouwrite.Makeeverywordmeansomething.
Paraphrase,don'tquote.Directquotesareseldomusedinscientificwritingandshouldbeavoided;paraphraseinstead(APAPublicationManual,2010).
Don’tplagiarize.Plagiarismiseasytoavoidifyougivecreditwheredue.Wheneveryoucitesomeoneelse'sideasorusetheirlanguage,identifytheauthorandyearofpublication.Ifyou’renotsurewhethertocite,cite.Usingoldreviewarticlesisnotplagiarismaslongasyoucitethosepapersanddon'tpresenttheirideasasyourown.
CONCLUSION
Thepurposeofaliteraturereviewistosurvey,describe,compare,andevaluateresearcharticlesonaparticulartopic.Chooseacurrenttopicthatisneithertoobroadnortoonarrow.Findthestorythatyouwanttotell.Spendalotoftimereadingandthinkingbeforeyouwrite.Thinkcriticallyaboutthemainhypotheses,findings,andargumentsinalineofresearch.Identifyareasofagreementamongdifferentarticlesaswellastheirdifferencesandareasforfuturestudy.Expecttoreviseyourreviewmanytimestorefineyourstory.Awell-writtenliteraturereviewgivesthereaderacomprehensiveunderstandingofthemainfindingsandremainingquestionsbroughtaboutbyresearchonthattopic.