Characterstics of a good Literature REview

Research Essentials: Characteristics of a Good
Literature Review
Presented by Engr. Dr. Raja Masood Larik
Assistant Professor NEDUET
Department of Electrical Engineering
rmlarik@neduet.edu.pk
Dr. Larik (Google Scholar Profile)
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7
z1g_I0AAAAJ
LR by Dr.R.M.Larik 1

Academic Background
• B.E (Electrical Engineering), NED University of Engineering &
Technology Karachi, Sindh-Pakistan. 1998.
• M.Engg (Electrical Engineering, CGPA 3.45/4.00), NED University of
Engineering& Technology Karachi, Sindh-Pakistan. 2006
• Doctor of Philosophy (Electrical Engineering) from University
Technology Malaysia (UTM). CGPA 3.67/4.00 2019.

Professional Experience
• November 2006-date: Full Time Assistant Professor and Class Advisor
Second Year (Electrical Engineering), NED UET Karachi.
• July 2005-Octoberr2006: Full Time Lecturer (Electronic Engineering),
SSUET Karachi.
• October 2003 June 2006-date: Assistant Executive Engineer Karachi
Electric Supply Corporation limited (K.E.S.C)
• October 2000 - October 2003 Laboratory In-charge Electrical
Engineering, NED UET Karachi.
• July 1998-June 2000 Assistant Plant Manager China Petroleum
Engineering Construction corporation (CPECC)

Professional Memberships
• Senior Member of IEEE since November 2018
• Life Member PEC since 1998
• Life Member IEP Karachi Chapter
• Life Member IEEEP Pakistan Chapter
• Member Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA)
• Programme Chair (IEEC-2020) an International Conference organized
by Electrical Engineering Department

Main Objectives
1.Outlining important research trends.
2. Assessing the strengths and weakness of existing research.
3.Identifying potential gaps in knowledge.
4.How the connection can be build between your work with others.
5.Does the LR give you a new thought
6. How make your LR to be critical concise and logical.
7. The LR must support the Problem statement
8. LR must be conducted from reliable source.
9. LR must address the issues and flaws in the existing research
10. LR raises a research question which must be a valid reason for solving a specific problem.

Learning Outcomes
• Understand the basis for literature review
• Able to apply different approaches to do literature review
• Write a critical review of literature

What is a Review Article
• A review paper is not only a summary of the information you read for your
review.
• You are required to analyze, synthesize, and interpret the information you
read in some meaningful way.
• It is not enough to simply present the material you have found.
• You must go beyond that, i.e. explain its relevance and signiﬁcance in diﬀer
ent context
• (Something from your own pocket!)

What are literature reviews?
Literature reviews are literally reviews of the literature (the academic writing e.g.
academic books, journal articles etc.)that have been published on a particular
research topic. They aim to identify what is already known on the topic at that time.
• Analysis and critical synthesis of primary source materials, written in
a specific style which flows from broad to narrow, and takes into
account both the theoretical and empirical issues of the problem
without over-citing any source or sources.
• (Note: A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but
a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information)
• The evaluation of the literature that leads logically to the research
question.
• WHAT IS RESEARCH?
• Seeks the answer of certain questions which have not been answered so far.
• A structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve
problems and create new knowledge.

THE NEED FOR LITERATURE REVIEW
1. One of the early steps in planning a research work is to review research done previously in the
particular area of interest and relevant area quantitative and qualitative analysis of this research
usually gives the worker an indication of the direction.
2. It is very essential for every investigator to be up-to-date in his information about the literature,
related to his own problem already done by others. It is considered the most important prerequisite
to actual planning and conducting the study.
3. It avoids the replication of the study of findings to take an advantage from similar or related
literature as regards, to methodology, techniques of data collection, procedure adopted and
conclusions drawn. He can justify his own endeavour in the field.
4. It provides as source of problem of study, an analogy may be drawn for identifying and selecting
his own problem of research. The researcher formulates his hypothesis on the basis of review of
literature. It also provides the rationale for the study. The results and findings of the study can also
be discussed at length.
The review of literature indicates the clear picture of the problem to be solved.

Importance of LR
• Literature Reviews are considered important for numerous reasons:
1) They allow you to know just WHAT is out there;
2) They allow you to demonstrate mastery over a subject;
3) They allow you to locate your area of research within the literature, such as “how does this
fit in with everything else that has been written on this subject?”

LR: Why as you go?
• This is a good idea because you can do the following:
1) Each article you find germane is ALREADY summarized, so you WRITE AS YOU
GO;
2) You have a better chance of remembering something and drawing connections;
• Do NOT just take notes—WRITE AS YOU READ. This cuts down on 90% of your
workload.
• CITE AS YOU GO! You will not have to go back to examine a source.
• You can either maintain separate sections for EACH author OR you can create
sections that deal with similar ideas and place the information within those
sections.
• Regardless of whether you choose to paraphrase as you go OR NOT, you will
need at a minimum:
1) The FULL bibliographic/Reference page/Works Cited page citation;
2) The methodology;
3) The major findings;
4) The areas of expansion;
5) Weaknesses and strengths

Broaden Your Knowledge Base in Your Research Area
• Literature review ensures you read widely around the subject area in which you are intend to
conduct your research study.
• It is important to know what other researchers have found in regard to the same or similar
questions, what theories have been put forward and what gap exit in the relevant body of
knowledge

Contextualise your findings
• Literature review helps identifying how your findings compared to the existing body of
knowledge.
• How do answers to your questions compare to what other have found?
• What contribution have you been able to make to the existing body of knowledge?
• How your finding different from others?

Common Errors Made in LRs
• Review isn’t logically organized Review isn’t focused on most important
facets of the study
• Review doesn’t relate literature to the study
• Too few references or outdated references cited
• Review isn’t written in author’s own words
• Review reads like a series of disjointed summaries
• Review doesn’t argue a point
• Recent references are omitted

Getting Started: Some General Guidelines
i. The first place to begin is to establish a GENERAL field of
interest.
ii. You DO NOT have to narrow right away.
iii. This step is just to get the most basic idea about the field.
iv. Start with the MOST RECENT and WORK BACKWARDS to the
oldest.
Many books suggest using a five-year span from the present for
sufficient coverage.
v. Read through abstracts to identify if an article would be good
vi. Believe it or not, some professors of mine actually start with a
GOOGLE search or even with WIKIPEDIA to get a general idea
about a field.
vii. Look for MAJOR figures in the field and MAJOR
studies/articles.

General Guidelines to Writing a Literature Review
• Introduce the literature review by pointing out the major research topic
that will be discussed Identify the broad problem area but don’t be too
global (for example, discussing the history of education when the topic is
on specific instructional strategy)
• Discuss the general importance of your topic for those in your field
• Don’t attempt to cover everything written on your topic
• You will need to pick out the research most relevant to the topic you are
studying
• You will use the studies in your literature review as “evidence” that your
research question is an important one
• It is important to cover research relevant to all the variables being
studied.
• Research that explains the relationship between these variables is a top
priority.
• You will need to plan how you will structure your literature review and
write from this plan.

• Before you write any paper, be clear about the targeted readers

Characteristics of Well Written
Literature Reviews
Organization: In most cases the literature review should flow from
general to specific. This means that the writer should present
information that is only generally related to the topic of the paper
first, and as the literature review is used to build a case for the
specific research questions or hypotheses in the study, the
literature becomes more focused on the specific questions or
hypotheses of the study. Writing the review in the form of general
first and more specifically focused on the topic of the study later
helps to focus the reader's attention to the importance of the
questions or hypotheses addressed in the study
Omissions: As a writer, one should take care to provide all points of
view on a given topic. This does not mean that a writer must
include in the review every study conducted on a given topic;
rather, this means that one makes an honest attempt not to
conceal points of view on a topic that may not support the writer's
position. Honesty and integrity are important in research, and not
all researchers share these human characteristics.

Conclude Review
• After reviewing the literature, summarize what has been done, what has
not been done, and what needs to be done
• Remember you are arguing your point of why your study is important!
• Then pose a formal research question or state a hypothesis—be sure this is
clearly linked to your literature review
• All sources cited in the literature review should be listed in the references
• To sum, a literature review should include introduction, summary and
critique of journal articles, justifications for your research project and the
hypothesis for your research project

Notice
• Be aware that sometimes a title does not provide enough information to decide if a book/ journal
is going to be of use.
• Start with the latest issue, examine its contents page to see if there is an article of relevance to
your research topic.
• Start by reading the abstract. If it is relevant then download and read.

Purpose of LR
The 'Literature Review' is the part where there
is extensive reference to related research and
theory in the field; it is where connections are
made between the source texts that you draw
on and where you position yourself amongst
these sources.

Problem Statement
• A "Problem Statement" is a description of a difficulty or
lack that needs to be solved or at least researched to see
whether a solution can be found. It can also be described
as either a gap between the real and the desired or a
contradiction between principle and practice.
• Critically analyze previous work
• Look for opportunities/MAJOR improvement
Reference: http://www.professorbwisa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111:how-to-
write-a-statement-of-the-problem-in-four-steps

LITERATURE SURVEY
• Because a Ph.D./MSc thesis is a study in depth aiming
contribution to knowledge, a careful check should be
made to ensure that the proposed study has not
previously been performed and reported.
• The earlier studies which are relevant to the problem
chosen should be carefully studied.
• Ignorance of prior studies may lead to a researcher
duplicating a work already carried out by another
researcher.
• Carefully point out the flaws of previous research work so
that a problem statement can be made strongly.
• Criticize the previous work but under the circle of ethics
• Make sure that you read every article related to the area
of interest if you missed a single one than it may treated
as incomplete.

Goal of Problem Statement
• The ultimate goal of a problem statement is to transform a generalized problem into a targeted,
well-defined problem one that can be resolved through focused research and careful decision-
making.
• Writing a Problem Statement should help you clearly identify the purpose of the project you will
propose.
• Often, the Problem Statement will also serve as the basis for the introductory section of your final
proposal, directing your readers attention quickly to the issues that your proposed project will
address and providing the reader with a concise statement of the proposed project itself.
• A statement problem need not be long and windy. One page is more than enough for a good
statement of problem. Or even one paragraph

Key Characteristics of Problem Statement
A good research problem should;
1. address a gap.
2. be significant enough to contribute to the existing body of research.
3. be one that will lead to more research.
4. renter itself to be investigated via collection of data.
5. be interesting to the researcher and suit his/her skills, time and resources.
6. be ethical.
• defined in hurry.

How do you asses whether the defined problem as a
good problem?
You can ask a series of questions on the problem. Some are:
• Is the problem really interesting to you and to the scientific community?
• Is the problem significant to the present status of the topic?
• Is there sufficient supervision/guidance?
• Can the problem be solved in the required time frame?
• Are the necessary equipment's, adequate library and computational facilities, etc. available?
• If the answers to these questions are satisfactory, then you can
• initiate work on the chosen problem.

LITERATURE SURVEY
• After defining a problem, you has to do literature survey connected with
the problem.
• Literature survey is a collection of research publications, books and other
documents related to the defined problem.
• It is very essential to know whether the defined problem has already
been solved, status of the problem, techniques that are useful to
investigate the problem and other related details.

Search for existing literature
• Start with at least some idea of the broad subject area and of the problem you wish to
investigate, in order to set parameters for your search.
• Next compile a bibliography for this broad area. There are two sources that you can use to
prepare a
• bibliography:
• – books;
• – journals.

Collecting information

LITERATURE SURVEY:: Source of Information

Relationship between your study and LR
• The literature review should discuss all of the research that has been done on the subject.
• – Describes what others have done and hence sets a benchmark for the current project
• – You should not discuss all of the literature in-depth....group your literature according to some
general topics and only discuss specific studies if they are “landmark” studies for your area of
research.
• – The literature review should end with a discussion of how the literature relates to your study.

Structure of the Review Article
Title
● Abstract
● Keywords
● Intro
● The review material itself
● Discussion
● Conclusion
● References

Life of Review Article

Attractive Review Article
Something from your own pocket!
Able to use your OWN expert judgment on certain critical points
● Oﬀer new explanations for discrepancies
● Future outlook
● Future challenges
● Critical Evaluation
Expectation of reader:
• The authors of review papers are supposed to be experts in the
field.
• So, they are expected to have some insight on the issues being
discussed

Others tips for literature review
Some tips…
• Some supervisors do not expect a long literature review for the thesis
proposal or the thesis - be sure you ask your supervisors!
• Make it a point to keep on top of your field of study by making regular
visits to the library and to the electronic journals websites.
• Make sure that you have read and understood cited work
• Organize your content according to ideas instead of individual
publications.
• DO NOT simply quote or paraphrase the contents of published
articles. Weave the information into focused views. Demonstrate your
deeper understanding of the topic.
• DO NOT be tempted to summarize everything you have read; only
include those relevant to your main points.
• Make sure all figures / captured are clear, re-draw if possible

Writing the Literature Review
• Plagiarism includes
1. Using another writer’s words without proper citation
2. Using another writer’s ideas without proper citation
3. Citing a source but reproducing the exact word without
quotation marks
4. Borrowing the structure of another author’s phrases/sentences
without giving the source
5. Borrowing all or part of another student’s paper
6. Using paper-writing service or having a friend write the paper

Why do I need to reference my work?
1. To avoid plagiarism, a form of academic theft.
2. Referencing your work correctly ensures that you give appropriate credit to the sources and authors that you
have used to complete your assignment.
3. Referencing the sources that you have used for your assignment demonstrates that you have undertaken
wide-ranging research in order to create your work.
4. Referencing your work enables the reader to consult for themselves the same materials that you used.
Plagiarism
uses someone’s words, ideas or information
without referencing them, i.e. presenting them as your own. is a very
serious academic offence and leads to severe penalties.

Justifying yourself…
• Your study/paper/thesis performs at least one of the following:
1) Closes gaps in the research;
2) Tests an aspect of a theory;
3) Replicates an important study;
4) Retests a hypothesis with a new or improved methodology;
5) Resolves conflicts in the field;
6) Creates original research (this is rare).

Review the literature selected
• Now that you have identified several books and articles as useful, the next step is to start reading
them critically to pull together themes and issues that are associated.
• If you do not have a theoretical framework or themes in mind to start with, use separate sheets of
paper for each article or book.
• Once you develop rough frameworks, slot the findings from the material so far reviewed into that
framework, using a separate sheet of paper for each themes of that framework. As you read further,
go on slotting the information where it logically belongs under the themes so far developed.
• Notice where there are significant differences of opinion among researchers and give your opinion
about the validity of these differences.
• Ascertain the areas in which little or nothing is known-the gaps that exist in the body of knowledge.

Organizing Your Literature Review

Organizing Your Literature Review
• General-to-Specific Order—(Also called the funnel approach) Examine broad-based research first
and then focus on specific studies that relate to the topic
• Specific-to-General Order—Try to make discuss specific research studies so conclusions can be
drawn

LR - Improve Your Methodology
• Acquaints you with the methodologies that have been used by others to find answers to questions similar to
the one you are investigating.
• Tells you if others have used procedures and methods similar to the ones that you are proposing, which
procedures and methods worked well for them and what pitfalls they have faced with them.

Sample of my Review Article
• A blackout is usually the result of increasing load beyond the transmission capacity of the power system. One of
the main reasons for power blackouts is voltage collapse. To avoid this problem, the proper corrective measures
called load shedding is required. In critical and extreme emergencies, under voltage load shedding (UVLS) is
performed as a final remedy to avoid a larger scale voltage collapse. Therefore, UVLS is considered state of the art
to achieve voltage stability. This review summarizes and updates the important aspects of UVLS; it also provides
principle understanding of UVLS, which are critical in planning such defence schemes. Moreover, this article
provides a discussion on recent state‐of‐art UVLS schemes applied in various power industries. Additionally, the
pros and cons of the conventional and computational intelligence techniques are discussed. It is envisioned that
this work will serve as one‐stop information for power system engineers, designers, and researches.
Review paper considers the following:
• Fundamentals of UVLS, its applications, and industrial practices.
• Load characteristics along with various approaches to solving the UVLS problem and future trends.
• Discussions on PV and QV curves with respect to contingency conditions.
• Discussion of conventional and computational techniques for solving load‐shedding problems along with their pros and cons.
• Load‐shedding models based on mathematical equations.
• Different types of voltage and line indices to predict voltage collapse.
• Critical analysis of UVLS schemes based on a genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization.

After You Get Reviews Back
Carefully classify comments into:
◼ Unreasonable comments (e.g., misunderstanding):
⚫ Try to improve the clarity of your writing
◼ Reasonable comments
⚫ Constructive: easy to implement
⚫ Non-constructive: think about it, either argue the other way or mention weakness of your work in the paper
If paper is accepted
◼ Take the last chance to polish the paper as much as you can
◼ You’ll regret if later you discover an inaccurate statement of a typo in your published paper If paper is
rejected
◼ Digest comments and try to improve the research work and the paper
◼ Run more experiments if necessary
◼ Don’t try to please reviewers (the next reviewer might say something opposite); instead use your own
judgments and use their comments to help improve your judgments
◼ Reposition the paper if necessary (again, don’t reposition it just because a reviewer rejected your original
positioning)

Format for Citing References
• Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of book (edition if not first). City: Publisher.
• Book by a single author Leshin, C.B. (1997). Management on the World Wide Web. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
• Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of book (edition if not first). City: Publisher.
• Book by more than one author Cornett, M., Wiley, B.J., & Sankar, S. (1998). The pleasures of nurturing
(2nded). London: McMunster Publishing.
• Journal Article
• Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page
numbers.
Barry, H. (1996). Cross-cultural research with matched pairs of societies. Journal of Social Psychology, 79 (1),
25-33. Jeanquart, S., & Peluchette, J. (1997). Diversity in the workforce and management models, Journal of
Social Work Studies, 43, 72-85.

Format for Citing References
• Referencing Electronic Sources
Author, A. (year, month day). Title of article. Title of
Newspaper. Retrieved from home page web address
Nader, C. (2009, June 19). Mental health issues soar
among children. The Age. Retrieved from
http://www.theage.com.au
• All references cited, including those in Tables and Figure
captions. No more, no less.
• Use consistent style throughout.

Questions

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