2. Outcomes
• What is a literature
review?
• Purpose of lit review
Basics
• Select a topic
• Search the literature
• Evaluate the literature
• Critique the literature
• Write the review
Steps
4. What is a literature review?
A literature review is a critical
evaluation, summary and explanation
of the complete and current state of
knowledge on a limited topic.
Product vs Process
5. Why do a literature review?
Gives historical background
Overview of the current context
Discusses relevant theories and concepts
Introduces relevant terminology and definitions
Demonstrates the depth of your knowledge and extends it
Provides supporting evidence for your research
9. 1. Select a topic
All research begins with curiosity
Work with your supervisor / lecturer to help define your topic if you are
not assigned one
Luckily you already have one
11. 2. Search the literature
i. Finding the literature
◦ Search strategies
ii. Manage your literature
◦ Inclusion / exclusion criteria
◦ Reference Managers
◦ Skimming
12. Literature Synthesis table
AUTHOR (S)
(YEAR) TITLE
PURPOSE
OF THE
STUDY
METHOD SAMPLE FINDINGS THEMES SIMILARITIES UNIQUENESS DATA QUALITY
Mather, C. and
Greenberg, S.,
2003. Market
Liberalisation in
Post-Apartheid
South Africa: the
Restructuring of
Citrus Exports
after
'Deregulation'.
Explores the
impact of market
liberalisation on
South Africa’s
citrus export
Industry,
specifically from
a grower’s
perspective
Literature
review
conducted
Qualitative
data collected
from
interviews
Growers from
4 co-
operatives
within 4
specific
geographical
areas
Former cooperatives
have faced
problems in using
the resources they
inherited from the
past, increasing
differentiation
between those who
are able to take
advantage of
deregulation
and those who are
not. Deregulation
has affected labour
on farms and in
packhouses but
could be as a result
of liberalisation of
the economy having
intensified structural
changes in the
agricultural labour
market that have
been present for
some time.
The literature review synthesis table
13. Reference management tools
Programs that assist you in storing your
citations, managing your citations and then
inserting citations in a specific citation style
while you write your assignment
14. How to skim read
First
sentence of
each
paragraph
Introduction
+ conclusion
Table of
contents
Abstract
Title, author,
journal, date
16. 3. Evaluating the Literature
Through evaluating your literature, you can start to group it by theme,
and develop your “argument” or golden thread
17. 2. Search the literature
Critical reading
I. Read with research question in mind and consider the evidence
I. Is the evidence sufficient?
II. Are the sources reliable?
III. Are the data and its interpretations adequate?
IV. Where does the data come from?
Incorporate all of this into your Synthesis Table
18. Evaluating the Literature
Purpose of article
•Why was the article written?
•To persuade the reader to do something? Inform the reader? Prove something?
Type of audience
& journal
•Is it a scholarly journal?
•For what type of reader is the author writing?
Organization and
content
•Is the material organized and focused?
•Is the argument / presentation understandable?
•Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece?
19. iii. Evaluating the Literature
Bias, date,
bibliography
• Bias: Does the publisher / author have a bias?
• Date: Is it up-to-date, out-of-date or timeless?
Authority /
author
• Is the author an expert in this field? What else have they written?
• Where is the author employed?
• Has the author won any awards?
Usefulness &
coverage
• Is the article relevant to the current research project?
• Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it
an overview?
20. Mapping core ideas
PEST analysis
Export of
citrus
Market
Regulations Export
Citrus
South Africa
PEST Analysis
• You can use a mindmap style
to map out your themes /
ideas and structure your
research
• There are tools that let you do
this – such as CMAP tools, or
powerpoint (used here), or
just a simple piece of pen and
paper
21. Surveying the literature
This just means you look at an overview of all the literature you have
collected
◦ You can use the literature synthesis table to help here.
Synthesize the information
◦ Complete your table and analyse it
22. Literature Synthesis table
AUTHOR (S)
(YEAR) TITLE
PURPOSOF
THE STUDY
METHOD SAMPLE FINDINGS THEMES SIMILARITIES UNIQUENESS DATA
QUALITY
Mather, C. and
Greenberg, S.,
2003. Market
Liberalisation in
Post-Apartheid
South Africa:
the
Restructuring of
Citrus Exports
after
'Deregulation'.
Explores the
impact of
market
liberalisation on
South Africa’s
citrus export
Industry,
specifically
from a grower’s
perspective
Literature
review
conducted
Qualitative
data
collected
from
interviews
Growers
from 4 co-
operatives
within 4
specific
geographic
al areas
Former
cooperatives
have faced
problems in using
the resources
they inherited
from the past,
increasing
differentiation
between those
who are able to
take advantage
of deregulation
and those who
are not.
Deregulation has
affected labour
on farms and in
packhouses but
could be as a
result of
liberalisation of
the economy
having intensified
structural
changes in the
agricultural
labour market
that have been
present for some
time.
Market
regulation
Export regulations
(Butler,
Washington).
Effect on farm
labourers(Washin
gton). Similar to
Cohen for risk
factors.
Analysis of the
‘deregulation’ of
citrus exports
draws on political
economy
approaches
to markets and
suggests that the
impact of
liberalisation is
far more
complex.
Data was
triangulated
through
variables.
Bias was
countered
through pre-
testing.
All results
reported (no
leaving out of
results).
24. 4. Critique the literature
Two steps:
◦ Interpret the current understanding about the topic of research and
◦ Determine how this knowledge answers your research topic
What is the answer to the research question that you have posed given
what you know about the subject?
◦ Make sure your literature covers all aspects of your “research question”
sufficiently
Use your evaluation of literature and mapping to also build into the
critiquing
25. 4. Critique the literature
• Comparing and contrasting
• Strategic referencing to support arguments
• Synthesising and reformulating arguments
• Agreeing, confirming, or defending findings
• Conceding that some views have weaknesses
• Rejecting certain points of view
26. Step 5:
Write the
review
Step 4:
Critique
the
literature
Step 3:
Evaluate
the
literature
Step 2:
Search the
literature
Step 1:
Select a
topic
27. 5. Write the review
Write to understand
◦ Act of learning and owning the subject matter
Write to be understood
Write
Evaluate
Edit
28. 5. Write the review
When writing, adopt a critical mindset. This means
that
• Clear reasons for referencing a source
• Making connections
• Negative critiques
• Being respectful
29. Write early and write often
• the more you write, the easier it becomes, and it becomes
a habit
Don't get it right, get it written
• drafting helps you to clarify your thoughts, start by writing
the parts you are clear on, this identifies the bits that
need more work
30. Main points to remember
when writing:
A 'golden thread‘
◦ an overall line of argument - running through the paper, holding it together
'Sign-posts‘
◦ crisp titles, sub-titles and headings that identify the direction being followed
'Authority‘
◦ good engagement with existing literature and a comprehensive bibliography
- the bibliography is the window to the paper and its author
32. Some basic structures to help
Introduction
◦ What it should include
Body
◦ What it should include
◦ How to structure a paragraph
◦ The funnel approach
Conclusion
◦ What it should include
32
33. •Explains the focus
•Establishes the importance of the subject
•What kind of work has been done on the topic
• identifies any controversies within the field
• any recent research which has raised questions about
earlier assumptions
•Background or history
•A purpose or thesis statement.
Outline - Introduction
34. •Summarises and evaluates
•Major themes or topics
•Most important trends
•Organized chronologically, thematically,
methodologically etc.
•Any findings about which researchers agree or
disagree.
Outline - Body
35. Topic
Sentence
• Summarises argument
• Indicates approach
Elaboration
• May provide additional information or restate the
topic sentence in a more extended way.
Evidence
• Maybe be quantitative or qualitative data, or
analysis of data.
Link
• This makes the connection to the next paragraph
explicit.
Paragraph structure
36. The funnel approach
Your topic
Impact of temperature
breaks on coldchain
General
Cold chain
Temperature breaks
Go from the general
to the specific
Identifying temperature breaks and its impact on the export of citrus
37. •Summarizes all the evidence
•Shows its significance
•Highlights gaps
•Indicates how previous research leads to your own
research project
Outline - Conclusion
The purpose of a literature review mirrors what it is and can be broken down into the following:
It Identifies gaps in current knowledge.
Avoids reinventing the wheel – i.e. it saves you wasting time researching something that’s already been done.
Allows you to show that you are building on a foundation of existing knowledge and ideas – i.e. carrying on from where others have already reached.
Identifies other people working in the same field. Knowing who’s already working in your area and getting in touch with them can be an invaluable source of knowledge and support.
Demonstrates the depth of your knowledge about your research.
Identifies the important works in your area and shows that you’ve read them.
So you can see a literature review is to show that you as a researcher are grounded in current research practices, and that you are building on what already exists. It also provides scholarly motivation for your research project.
Literature review is a kind of a journey – the secret to a successful journey is planning and preparation
Must have a plan of action
Interest – ideas – researchable topic
A successful research topic is usually a result of an interest in a practical problem
3 STEPS:
Choose a research interest
Select a research interest from an everyday interest
Use the research interest to choose a research topic
Sometimes you may want to research an area, but it is much more complex than you realise
Speaking to somebody who is familiar with the field will help to clarify any areas that you are uncertain about
Two questions that guide your literature search:
What is the subject of your inquiry?
What literature must you include that will tell you about the subject?
How to skim:
Review the abstracts or introduction
These summarise what the article is about so you know if to include it
Note main ideas
Does it address topic statement?
You are not looking for every article ever written
Just the seminal ones that convey the main academic opinions about the topic
Assembling the data - allows you to see all the puzzle pieces
Bibliographic documentation, themes etc.
Research puzzle – patterns appear and organisation follows
Evaluate the data collected
Looking for the logic
Cause and effect
Effect to cause
Sign, symptoms
Looking for the logic
Cause and effect
Effect to cause
Sign, symptoms
Looking for the logic
Cause and effect
Effect to cause
Sign, symptoms
Explains the focus and Establishes the importance of the subject.
It discusses what kind of work has been done on the topic and identifies any controversies within the field or any recent research which has raised questions about earlier assumptions.
It may provide background or history.
It concludes with a purpose or thesis statement.
Often divided by headings/subheadings,
The body summarizes and evaluates the current state of knowledge in the field.
It notes major themes or topics, the most important trends,
and any findings about which researchers agree or disagree.
Summarizes all the evidence presented
and shows its significance.
If the review is an introduction to your own research,
it highlights gaps and indicates how previous research leads to your own research project and chosen methodology.
