Literature Reviews Professor Kathleen Keating kkeating@unm.edu
Outline for this Literature Review session Define a Literature Review Identify resources to search for Literature Reviews How to begin the process of collecting material for the development of a Literature Review
What is a Literature Review? Definition: The process of reading, analyzing, evaluating, and summarizing scholarly materials about a specific topic. Use: The results of a literature review may be complied in a report or they may serve as a part of a research article, thesis, or grant proposal.
Literature Reviews State-of-the-Art Assessment (1) Written for specialists (2) Exhaustive bibliography
Purpose of the literature review To show that you are a scholar To demonstrate how your research will contribute to the existing knowledge To show your skills in Information seeking: that you know and can find the pertinent materials in your field Critical appraisal: that you can evaluate the relevance/significance of your studies in your field
Grant Proposals If the grant requires a background review of the literature and/or a discussion of theory, be sure you are very thorough. It is not uncommon that one or more of the reviewers on the grant will be subject matter experts in that field and will expect to see familiar and relative works cited in the literature review. http://www.esri.com/grants/abou t/grant_application_writing.html The literature review section of a grant proposal is similar to that of an empirical article, but it is often much shorter. Given space limitations, it is important to only discuss literature that is directly relevant to your research topic. The literature review should demonstrate that this work has not been done before, or if previously conducted, had serious flaws or employed a different population (Herek, 1995). You should describe how your work will overcome previous limitations and should capitalize on the strengths of past research. Be sure to critically evaluate the literature and include literature that tells more than one side of the story. Describe the corresponding literature in the same order that you listed your research questions and hypotheses. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/ getarticle.cfm?id=1415
Vocabulary Literature Reviews Literature Review* Literature Survey Look at Advanced Search Options in databases: Systematic Review Limit Review Add to a search box Meta Analysis
Resources to Find Literature Reviews Scholarly Literature Annual Reviews of (Journals) Congressional Hearings Congressional Committee Prints Congressional Research Service reports Doctoral dissertations Masters Theses Online catalogs, LIBROS, WorldCat
Annual Reviews Electronic Journal & Archives Pathway: http://elibarary.unm.edu, select Databases tab, from the alphabetical list, select A for Annual Reviews. You will be prompted to supply your UNM NetID and password. Since 1932, Annual Reviews has offered comprehensive, timely collections of critical reviews written by leading scientists. Annual Reviews volumes are published each year for 40 focused disciplines within the Biomedical, Life, Physical, and Social Sciences, including Economics
Scholarly Literature Web of Science: Access to the worlds leading scholarly literature in the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities. (Literature reviews or literature surveys) Science Citation Index PsycINFO (Methodology: Literature Review Systematic Review) ERIC, Education Resources Information Center (Thesaurus Descriptor) Social Sciences Citation Index Arts & Humanities Citation Index Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) Document type: Journal Article, Literature Review Google Scholar
U.S. Congress Congressional Hearings, Prints, and Congressional Research Service Database: ProQuest Congressional
Doctoral Dissertations/Masters Theses Database: Digital Dissertations LoboVault Google Google Scholar
Medicine/Health Care Literature Review Vocabulary Databases: Literature Reviews PubMed Systematic Review Cochrane Meta-analysis DynaMed Review
Steps to writing a literature review Clarify How many sources? What types of sources? Will you summarize, synthesize, or critique your sources? Will you evaluate your sources? Find models Narrow your topic Current sources Pathway: http://elibrary.unm.edu Databases Tab, Research Guides http://libguides.unm.edu/ Consult experts
Strategies for writing Find a focus & construct a working thesis statement Consider organization Chronological, publication, trend Thematic Methodological Methods and/or Standards
Begin Composing Use evidence Be selective Use quotes sparingly Summarize and synthesize Keep your own voice Use caution when paraphrasing Revise, revise, revise
Other resources Grant Proposal Writing: Elements for Success http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/pdf/efop/efo31072.pdf (See Literature Review) Lit Review synthesis matrix http://coe.unm.edu/uploads/docs/writingstudio/lit%20review%20synthesis%20matrix.pdf LIBROS Online Catalog http://libros.unm.edu/search~s7 Search for Literature Reviews in Keyword search
Questions?