1. LIBRARY
RESOURCE
S
ARCH 4070
MELANIE PARLETTE, BA, MLIS
ENGINEERING & IT LIAISON
LIBRARY RESOURCE CENTRE
CONESTOGA

2. TODAY YOU’LL
LEARN . . .
• What a Literature Review is and why you should do one
• How to work through the Literature Review process
• Review of two research databases/tools

3. Rem
inde
r!
PIN NUMBERS
You can use your PIN to:
• Access resources from Off-Campus
• Renew a book, place a hold
• Review your account

4. Rem
inde
r!
YOUR RESEARCH GUIDE
LRC Homepage  Research Help  Engineering  APFM

5. THE LITERATURE REVIEW

6. WHAT IS A
LITERATURE
REVIEW?
"that the
The aim of a literature review is to show
writer has studied existing work
in the field with insight" (Haywood and
Wragg, 1982).

7. WHAT IS A
LITERATURE
REVIEW?
An effective review analyses and synthesizes material, and it
should meet the following requirements: (Caulley, 1992)
• Compare and contrast different authors' views on
an issue
• Group authors who draw similar conclusions,
• Note areas in which authors are in disagreement,
• Highlight exemplary studies,
• Identify patterns or trends in the literature
• Highlight gaps in and omissions in
previous research or questions left unanswered
• Conclude by summarizing what the literature says.
Source:http://unimelb.libguides.com/content.php?pid=87165&sid=648279

8. SELECTING A TOPIC
• Consider the scope of
your selected topic and
the timeframe you have
for this project.
• Narrow down the topic if
it is too broad.
• Establish your research
interest questions and
organize
your literature into logical
categories around the
subject and sub topic
areas.

9. SEARCH THE
LITERATURE
• VARIETY!
• Books, Journals, Theses, Conference Papers, Government or
Industry Reports
• Reference sources such as dictionaries can assist in defining
terminology, and encyclopedias may be useful in introducing
topics and listing key references.
• REVIEW
• Review literature and analyze.
• You may need to go back to find additional information on
your different sub-topics.

10. SEARCH THE Thin
gs t
con o
LITERATURE side
r
The literature review relates to your topic so think of
the key concepts/issues surrounding them.
• Establish terminology and key words. Thesauri can assist. Mind spelling variations
• Construct a search strategy. Use Boolean operators (OR, AND, NOT)
• The absence of research in the literature may help confirm that this is an area which
needs further research. You may need to broaden your search by looking for literature in
related fields.
• Decide whether to be comprehensive or selective in your coverage? What is your
rationale? What is your interest? There are inherent difficulties in attempting to be
comprehensive
• How far back you should search may depend on the topic/subject? You might only
include historical landmark studies while including a broader approach to more current
research
• Start with the most recent sources and search backwards (Hint – check the
bibliographies of current studies for referenced works)
• You may read articles only to decide to exclude them
• It is worth thinking laterally to other fields given the multidisciplinary nature of research.
Source: http://unimelb.libguides.com/content.php?pid=87165&sid=648287

11. CRITICAL READING
Use the CRAAP test.
• Currency
• Relevancy
• Authority
• Accuracy
• Purpose
See Tutorials for more information:
http://exploreguides.conestogac.on.ca/content.php?pid=10739

12. WRITE THE
LITERATURE REVIEW
• Use evidence
• Be selective
• Use quotes sparingly
• Summarize and synthesize
• Keep your own voice
• Use caution when paraphrasing
Source:http://libguides.utdallas.edu/content.php?pid=72743&sid=544074

13. WRITE THE
LITERATURE REVIEW
Your literature review should include:
• an introduction which explains how your review is
organized.
• a body which contains the headings and
subheadings that provide a map to show the various
perspectives of your argument.
• the body contains the evaluation or synthesize of
the materials you want to include on your topic.
• a summary.
Source: http://guides.monmouth.edu/content.php?pid=162720&sid=1374528&search_terms=Literature+review

14. CREATE A
BIBLIOGRAPHY

15. REFWORKS & APA

16. AVOIDING
PLAGIARISM
• Keep organized.
• Take good notes – this will help you write your review and
clearly give credit to your sources.
• Look for:
• Major concepts
• Conclusions
• Theories
• Arguments
• How are they the same or different from other literature you
have found.
• Citations, Citations, Citations
• Use RefWorks!
• You can add notes to each citation to keep track of where it
fits, etc.

17. EMERALD BUILT ENVIRONMENT

18. EMERALD BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Building information modelling

19. GOOGLE SCHOLAR
Library Databases vs. Google Scholar
Articles are not necessarily:
• Scholarly (you can filter in library databases)
• Full Text (you may be linked to the publishers website
where they want you to pay)
Searching is by keyword only:
• You cannot filter by subject or controlled vocabulary
• We don’t know exactly what is in Google Scholar

20. GOOGLE SCHOLAR
Off Campus? Click
Setting icon to set your
library links to include
Conestoga resources.
Click Full-Text to access
items available through
Conestoga.

21. GOOGLE SCHOLAR
• Think of Google Scholar as a quick look to "see what's out there."
Conestoga offers a variety of journal and eBook databases that
can be more effective when searched individually.
• Relying on just one source is not usually the best search strategy.
You will want to search across relevant databases, varying your
search strategy and taking advantage of the specialized
databases.
• Google Scholar can be a helpful starting point for a search before
you focus you topic and begin looking comprehensively for the
highest quality information.
• Remember, searching within a databases offer search features
that Google Scholar doesn’t.

22. HOW TO GET HELP . . .
Email, Call, or Visit in Person
Melanie Parlette, APFM Liaison
mparlette@conestogac.on.ca
Cambridge (South Campus) LRC
Service Desk Hours: Monday – Friday 8AM – NOON
Office Hours: Tuesday 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, or by appointment
Or try askON on the LRC
Homepage (Instant
Messaging Research Help)