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2. How to Write a Literature Review Gail Pansacola 4/10/2012

3. Overview of Presentation • Introduction – What is a literature Review? • Why is it necessary? • The Steps • Analytical Reading • Organizing Content • Writing the Review • Questions

4. What is a Literature Review? • A review of the academic writing on a particular topic • A critical analysis of the relationship between different works or groups of work • Can be written as a stand-alone paper or as the context for a research study or thesis

5. Qualities of a Well-Executed Literature Review Source: http://www.ais.up.ac.za/med/tnm800/tnmwritingliteraturereviewlie.htm

6. Why is it necessary? A literature review provides information on: • The theoretical background of a research topic • Different practices or an overview of the history of practice • Research methodology • Previous findings • Rationale or relevance of the current study • Enhancing the subject vocabulary • Identifying relationships between ideas and practice

7. The Steps

8. The Initial Search

9. Sorting Through the Muck

10. Nuggets of Information

11. Organizing!

12. Creating Your Masterpiece!

13. The Steps • Searching for literature • Sorting through articles • Analytical reading of papers • Taking notes • Organizing the content • Writing the review • Synthesizing information

14. Searching for Literature: Tips and Tricks • Use Keywords Example: Creating a support program for youth in foster care who are emancipating from the system

15. Searching for Literature • Find relevant articles using authors and journals • Save articles in category folders

16. Searching for Literature • Find relevant articles using authors and journals • Save articles in category folders

17. Analytical Reading of Papers (Three Steps) Directed Reading – Read with a Purpose! • Skim the articles to ensure their relevance • Useful sections: abstract, introduction, first few paragraphs, and the conclusion • Occasionally, the methodology or results sections will be useful Taking Notes • Look for: • Key terms • Useful quotes • Major trends or patterns • Relationships between studies Organizing the Content

18. Taking Notes/Organizing the Content • The Word Document • The Excel File • The Spider Gram

19. Examples Counter- Examples Theme 1 Theory Theory Examples Topic Theme 3 Theory Theme 2 Counter- Examples Counter- Examples Examples

20. Comprehensive School Reform Community Organizing Existing Models 21st Century Skills Education Reform Asset and Social Development Public Policy Theoretical Orientations Defining the Issue Constructionism

21. Theory 1 What’s a dog?? (definition) Types of dogs Theory 2 Famous dogs in history Reason 1 Reasons that dogs might not be so great Reasons that dogs are great Rebuttal Reason 2 Reason 2 Reason 1 Rebuttal

22. Comprehensive School Reform Community Organizing Existing Models 21st Century Skills Education Reform Asset and Social Development Public Policy Theoretical Orientations Defining the Issue Constructionism

23. Example – Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT) Possible Themes: • What is CBT? (Define the topic) • Why do it? (Justify its use) • How to do it? (Do authors differ on this? Do they agree?) • Why is it important to study? (Is it effective? Is it useful?)

24. Methods Definitions Who is it for? What is it? Cognitive Behavioral Theory For Why is it important to study? Does it work? Reason 1 Reason 2 Against

25. Writing the Review • Writing the review/Synthesizing • Develop an outline or argument for your literature review • Use your major headings • Use a synthesis matrix to organize your information

26. Synthesis Matrix

27. Writing the Literature Review • Introduction • Body • Conclusion

28. Writing the Literature Review – The Introduction • In writing the intro, identify the topic, issue or problem area early on • Mention the purpose of the lit review – is it to provide context? Prove relevance? • Broadly outline the general headings

29. Writing the Literature Review – The Body • Let the outline guide you, but don’t let it limit you • Example of synthesizing information: • For each major section, create a header sentence that touches upon each subtopic Capital punishment literature explores several topics, including the public’s perception of capital punishment as a crime deterrent, research on capital punishment as a crime deterrent, and research on the negative effects of capital punishment.

30. Writing the Literature Review – The Body • For each subtopic, create a header sentence that (1) synthesizes the literature and (2) describes the literature Much of the literature points out thatwhile capital punishment does not deter crime, most Americans still believe that it does deter crime. Not only does the literature agree that capital punishment does not deter crime, some literature suggests that capital punishment may in fact cause more crime.

31. Writing the Literature Review – The Body Research has shown that while teaching summary skills improves reading comprehension, specific age groups have difficulty implementing basic summarization rules. Research has shownthat while teaching summary skills improves reading comprehension, specific age groups have difficulty implementing basic summarization rules. (Compare and contrast) These criticisms of achievement-based measures of school effectiveness are, by now, well-established in the social science. These criticisms of achievement-based measures of school effectivenessare, by now, well-established in the social science.

32. Writing the Literature Review – The Body • Support topic sentences with quotes or paraphrases

33. Writing the Literature Review – The Body (Citations) • Citing multiple authors in one line Studies that do no include adequate representation from minority and oppressed populations are not generalizable to those populations (Harlow, 1983; Rubin & Babbie, 2009). Young adolescents may act out in rebellious ways against those closest to them, such as their parents or guardians. This rebellion is normal because the youths are attempting demonstrate that they have minds and wills of their own. While the rebellion may be viewed as scary or bothersome to the parents, it is actually better that the youth rebel during these years than in a later part of their life (D. Cassidy, 2000; L. Cassidy, 1999). • Citing original citations within articles Jones argued that...(as cited in Barry, 2003, p. 102).

34. Writing the Literature Review – Conclusion • How you end it depends on your reason for writing it • If it’s a stand alone review, it should make clear how the material in the body supports the assertion made in the introduction • If it’s a review for a thesis, dissertation, or journal article, it usually leads to an overview of the questions that will be discussed

35. Activity – Synthesizing Information • Richard Becker (1999): an “individualist” is a person who is unique and does not “fall into the common mode of doing things”; would not follow a pattern set by society. “A youngster who is not involved in the drug scene just because his friends are.” A good word; it would be insulting only if it referred to a troublemaker. • Simon Jackson (2000): doing things on your own, by yourself. “She’s such as individualist that she insisted on answering the question in her own way.” Sometimes the word is good, but mostly it has a bad connotation: someone who rebels against society or authority. • Lois Archer (2011): one who doesn’t “follow the flock.” The word refers to someone who is very independent. “I respect Jane because she is an individualist and her own person.” Usually very complimentary. • Vera Lewis (2005): an extremely independent person. “An individualist is a person who does not want to contribute to society.” Bad meaning: usually antisocial. She first heard the word in psych class, describing the characteristics of the individualist and “how he reacts to society.”

36. Activity – Synthesizing Information • Experts divides individualism into two schools of thought: one that views it positively and the other that views it negatively (Archer, 2011; Becker, 1999; Jackson, 2000; Lewis, 2005). • While much of the literature agrees that individualism is defined by a person’s resistance to following societal patterns, it is divided between authors that regard it positively and authors that regard it negatively (Archer, 2011; Becker, 1999; Jackson, 2000; Lewis, 2005).

37. Sources • http://www.une.edu.au/library/eskillsplus/literature/litreview.php • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/666/01/ • http://www.d.umn.edu/~hrallis/guides/researching/litreview.html

38. Questions? • PEGS – (310) 243-2700 • pegs@csudh.edu