Writing Related Literature

Writing Related Literature

by Norman Tabios

​Where to start?

​YOU DON’T NEED TO READ EVERYTHING – you can’t!

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You don’t need to read every text!

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You don’t need to read every word!

Open Ended

When thinking about what a literature review is, we need to think about what it is for. What is the purpose of a literature review?

In pairs, discuss what you think a literature review is for. Jot your ideas down on paper.

​What is a literature review (for)?

​§Establishes the terms and context. How else will you define exactly what you’re looking at and where its limits are?

§Presents a survey of preceding literature on the topic. How else will you know what’s been done already?

§Explores ways that others have solved similar questions/problems. How else will you select an appropriate methodology and approach?

​​What is a literature review (for)?

​§Outlines the relationship of these texts to each other. How else will you know what the different perspectives and debates are, and where you are coming from?

§Evaluates the quality and relevance of the literature. How else will you be able to build on or reject it?

§Establishes the gaps or inadequacies. How else will you justify your own contribution?

§Demonstrates your scholarly rigor. How else can I have faith in your conclusions?

Multiple Choice

The review of related literature enables researchers to look through research instruments from previous researches that can also be used to answer their own research questions.

Which of the following roles of RRL does this refer to?

• The RRL helps us conceptualize and justify the research because an extensive review can assure no duplication.

• The RRL provides source of significant problems.

• The RRL states the stand of the researcher on conflicting views relative to the study.

• The RRL leads to definitions of problems, selection of methods, and interpretation of findings.

​More than just a chapter…

​§A literature review is a process as well as an outcome!

§Literature review as an outcome: appears in the final draft of your thesis as part of your introduction or as a separate chapter.

§Literature review as a process: critical engagement (thinking, reading and writing) with relevant research on your topic. It is a crucial and formative stage of your thesis journey.

Open Ended

What are the sample questions  you often ask to yourself whenever you are reading a related literature of your study ?

​Reading critically

​Think about:

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§What were the research aims of the paper/book?

§Is the research aim achieved? If so, how did they do it?

§Are there any problems with their methodology?

§Was it a strong or a weak research model?

§How will this research help with your own research?

§What can you take from it?

§What needs to be avoided?

§What are you doing differently?

​Critical thinking(a three-year-old’s guide)

​§Why?

§How does that work?

§What’s that made of?

§What’s that for?

§What does that mean?

§But X says…

§How do you know?

§So what?

§Says who?

§What happens if…

​Organising your material: Identifying a debate

​• disagrees with

• agrees with (school of thought?

• builds on the conclusions of

• confirms the findings of

• has reservations about

​Writing the review

​§Start with an overview

§Decide on organising principles (themes, trends, methodology, chronology, controversies – usually a combination of some of these)

§Use headings for the different sections of the review

§Provide summative signposts of where your argument is leading

§Summarise your review/highlight ‘gap’ in research

​Paragraphs and flow

​§Paragraph:

-Topic sentence

-Discussion of topic

-Closing sentence

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§Thematic and grammatical links

-Logical progression from one paragraph to the next

-Demonstrate links in your language

​Use of citations in the literature review

​Two types of citations:

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§Integral: The author’s name appears in the sentence.

§Example (author-date system): Lillis (2001) argues that both tutors and students often lack explicit knowledge of the conventions governing the construction of academic texts.

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§Non-integral: The author’s name appears outside sentence.

§Example: Both tutors and students often lack explicit knowledge of the conventions governing the construction of academic texts (Lillis, 2001).

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​Whose voice is dominant  - the writer’s or the original author’s?

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​§The moon is made of cheese (Brie 1999).

§Brie (1999) argues that the moon is made of cheese.

§As Brie (1999) points out, the moon is made of cheese.

§According to Brie (1999), the moon is made of cheese. However, ….

§Brie (1999) argues out that the moon is made of cheese. However, ….

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Multiple Choice

Which of the  following Research Gap involves contradictions in the findings of the prior research. It occurs if results from studies allow for conclusions in their own right, but are contradictory when examined from a more abstract point of view.

• Population Gap

• Knowledge Gap

• Evidence Gap

• Methodological Gap

​What tense should I use when writing a literature review?

​Past tense: If your focus is on the study itself or the people who studied it, then it is better to use the past tense. In this case, the study would be the subject of your sentence, "e.g., Jones (2013) reported that..." The past tense is most commonly used and is also known as "the reporting tense."

​What tense should I use when writing a literature review?

1. Present tense: If you are sharing your own views about a previous study, it might be better to use the present tense, e.g., "Jones (2013) argues."

2. Present perfect tense: Sometimes, the present perfect tense is used if the research you are referring to is fairly recent, e.g., "Recent studies have demonstrated that...(Jones, 2015; Pinto 2014)". It is also used to make generalizations about past research in an area, e.g., "Several researchers have studied these stimuli...."

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a strong reporting verb ?

• imply

• postulate

• comment

• reject

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General descriptions of the relevant literature

The literature on X lacks clarity regarding ...

The literature has emphasised the importance of ...

Different theories exist in the literature regarding ...

More recent attention has focused on the provision of ...

There are relatively few historical studies in the area of ...

A great deal of previous research into X has focused on ...

A large and growing body of literature has investigated ...

​Previous Research: History

​

Research into X has a long history.

For many years, this phenomenon was surprisingly neglected by ...

Prior to the work of Smith (1983) the role of X was largely unknown.

Only in the past ten years have studies of X directly addressed how ...

Over the past decade, most research in X has emphasized the use of ...

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on ... Early examples of research into X include ... (Smith, 1962; O’Brien, 1974).

Previous research: Approaches taken

Most research on X has been carried out in ...

Most researchers investigating X have utilised ...

The vast majority of studies on X, have been quantitative.

There are number of large cross-sectional studies which suggest ...

Much of the X research has focused on identifying and evaluating the ...

Multiple Choice

Which of the following phrases showcases the previous approaches taken in a related literature ?

• Publications that concentrate on X more frequently adopt a historical or chronological approach ...

• Over the past two decades, major advances in molecular biology have allowed ...

• A considerable amount of literature has been published on X. These studies ...

• X is positively related to Y (Smith, 2007).

Open Ended

Lets practice writing  a sample related literature 

The literature on X lacks clarity regarding ...

The literature has emphasised the importance of ...

Different theories exist in the literature regarding ...

More recent attention has focused on the provision of ...

There are relatively few historical studies in the area of ...

A great deal of previous research into X has focused on ...

A large and growing body of literature has investigated ...

​

Research into X has a long history.

For many years, this phenomenon was surprisingly neglected by ...

Prior to the work of Smith (1983) the role of X was largely unknown.

Only in the past ten years have studies of X directly addressed how ...

Over the past decade, most research in X has emphasized the use of ...

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on ... Early examples of research into X include ... (Smith, 1962; O’Brien, 1974).

Most research on X has been carried out in ...

Most researchers investigating X have utilised ...

The vast majority of studies on X, have been quantitative.

There are number of large cross-sectional studies which suggest ...

Much of the X research has focused on identifying and evaluating the ...

Multiple Choice

Which of the  following Research Gap  deals with the conflict that occurs due to the influence of how the study was carried out and its effect on research results. .

• Population Gap

• Knowledge Gap

• Evidence Gap

• Methodological Gap

Open Ended

Based on the review of the prior research, there is a population gap. Some of these sub-populations have been unexplored and under- researched. The________ appear to be important and worthy of investigation in the context of __________________________. An investigation of this group is important because ________________________. Furthermore, previous research has focused primarily on this population of _________________. Very little research has been done on ______________