Dissertations & Major Project Writing Week 2 of 5: Research skills, ‘surveying the literature’ & the ‘literature review’ Robert Walsha, LDU City campus, Calcutta House, CM2-22 An LDU short course presentation
May 25, 2015
Dissertations & Major Project Writing
Week 2 of 5:
Research skills,‘surveying the literature’& the ‘literature review’
Robert Walsha, LDU City campus, Calcutta House, CM2-22
An LDU short course presentation
Dissertations & Major Project Writing week 2
This week’s topics:
• Research skills, methods & methodology:– critical analytical research: effective
information gathering;– critical reflection;– keeping a research journal.
• ‘Surveying the literature’: understanding & undertaking effective literature reviews
critical analytical research
• It’s all about asking questions!• Note-taking strategies for success;
– Skim-reading, chapter/index searching, etc– Using the margins;– Note-taking for context;– Photocopying as a tool / highlighting;– Spider/flow diagrams or mind-maps for
keeping focus of key issues & their relationships with one another; also for establishing clear structural approaches;
critical analytical research
– Spider/flow diagrams or mind-maps …
Example of a mind-map
– ‘Cornell’ system, to facilitate questioning, critical pro-active note-taking
Climate ClassificationGB234 / 03/04/02
I. System of Climate Classification
Koppen A. Invented by Vladimir Koppen, botanist. Saw biologicalactivities as function of climate characteristics
What did he do?Why important?
B. Created climograph; displays mo'ly temp. and precip. On 1graph
Defineclimograph. Howdo you calculate
C. Main concern was make it simple: rel'ship betweenpotential evap and amt of mois rec'd at any geo. location
Give example
II. Arctic Climates: ET + EF. E avg. mo'ly temp<50
List and define Eclimates
ET: avg. temp. warm'st mo. 50F + < 32F
CharacteristicsET? EF?
*tundra or continental sub arctic
EF: avg. temp. in warm'st mo. <32F
*ice cap or arctic
Define Humid DryBoundary
III. Humid Dry Boundary
How HBDcalculated?
A. Marks maj. diff. between humid + dry climate regime.
Example? B. Must know how boundary calculated
Summary: Koppen was a botanist who invented a system of climate classification.He believed that characteristics of climate determined biological activities (such as????) o classify climates he developed the climograph, which displays variables ofmo'ly temp. and precip. We are looking at the relationship between potentialevaporation and amt. of moisture rcvd at a particular geographical location. E-typeclimates are locations where avg. mo. Temps are less than 50F. precip. is rcvd. Butcomes as snow. ET climates are tundra or continental sub-arctic. Warmest mo.temps of 50-32F. EF climates are ice cap or arctic. Warmest mo. = below 32F.
critical analytical research
(Source unknown)
critical analytical research
• Note-taking strategies for success (cont.);– Attention to detail with quotation marks
(avoiding risk of unintended plagiarism);– Once beyond initial researching stages: keep
separate notes for separate parts of your dissertation / project (e.g., one set of notes per chapter / section);
– Or try recording your notes (MP3 recorders, etc).
critical analytical research
• Critical analytical research/note-taking: the importance of asking questions ‘as you go’:– Look for central ‘themes’ ~ ‘It will be
argued…’;– Skim reading to identify potentially relevant
passages;– Be selective about information you record:– Seek to discern: (i) analysis (ii) description.
critical analytical research
• Constantly question:– ‘is this relevant?’ ‘is it information I (might)
need?’– ‘have I fully understood what the author is
saying?’– ‘Is it “argument”?’ ‘If so, is the source a
“messenger” or “originator”?’ If messenger, where are the ideas coming from?
critical analytical research
• Constantly question:– ‘What are the issues here?’
• The ‘who’ ‘what’ ‘where’ ‘how’ ‘why’ ‘when’ questions;
• Be inquisitorial, not adversarial, in asking questions about the author(s) interpretations:– ‘Is the author correct, or is there a flaw in
their argument’?
critical analytical research
– Preconceptions?– Does date of publication influence the
author’s evaluation? – What about place of publication?– Any bias or personal attachment?– Do they have a stake in the subject they are
writing about?– Is the information accurate, or are there
errors?
critical analytical research
– Have subtleties been missed? Has any fundamental perspective been missed?
– ‘Is there a reason why the information may have been presented in the way it has?’
– Does the nature of the source affect the way it is written and the judgements that are made?
– ‘Why was the work written?’ What was the intended audience?
– How does it ‘fit’ with argument located elsewhere? Are there similarities? Differences? … and how compatible?
critical analytical research
• And ask questions about the author’s evidence:– ‘Do the sources/research approaches used by
the writer affect the way he/she writes?’;– ‘Is the evidence well-presented, and are the
conclusions drawn the appropriate ones?’– Has the writer relied on primary or secondary
material?;– Is there anything ‘new’ about the evidence
utilised?;
critical analytical research
• Finally:– ‘What is really being said here?’– ‘Are there any points the author might be
seen to have inadvertently missed (or deliberately avoided)?’
critical reflection
• Reflection ‘as you go’: assessing significance, relationships between things you have learnt; identifying argument, noting your view of strength & compatibility of arguments, etc.
• Also: ‘post-study reflection’ can be helpful in this process.
Keeping a research journal
• Is there a requirement for keeping a research journal or log?
• If yes, maintain this on a daily basis …
• … make as in-depth/ critical as possible …
• … evidence especially useful for discussion in any ‘research methods’ section.
Keeping a research journal
• Even if no requirement: a research log can:– Improve your introducing of the topic, your
ability to convey exactly what you are interested in/looking for;
– improve the focus & coherency of your information gathering, aiding critical reflection as your research develops … and so benefit the focus/coherency of your end project
literature reviews
• The purpose of a ‘literature review’;
• What the literature review should show:– understanding of the debate related to topic;– where the different explanations/
interpretations/ theories/ suggestions/ ideas originate …
– … plus their relative contribution;
literature reviews
– any difficulties and problems within the literature or in wider assumptions that will require investigation;
– any misconceptions/ misunderstandings
• Variations of literature review (over)
literature reviews
Lit. Review options (placing)
AIssue-structured(arts-humanities
model)
BExperiment/survey/
results-led(i.e., scientific-model)
1. … as part of Introduction
X ? (too large for intro?)
2. … as separate section following Intro?
3. … ‘as-you-go’ (i.e. dealing with topic-by-topic in main chapters)
X: need for a distinct Lit Review section at start; main chapters focus on own research results
literature reviews
Lit. Review options
AIssue-structured
(arts-humanities model)
BExperiment/survey/
results-led(i.e., scientific-model)
Function Introductory Introductory +
If part of Introduction section, may be anything from a paragraph upwards;
If a separate section, would need to be larger
Lit. reviews tend to be more detailed, as subsequent chapters centre on own experiment or survey results
literature reviews
• What types of source should I mention in my literature review?
• Being selective about sources & information included;
literature reviews
• The importance is identifying the nature & purpose of the source …– Academic? Non-academic? If, ‘non’, what?– ‘messenger’ or ‘originator’ of information?– Intent? To inform? To persuade?
literature reviews• Important: determine the nature of ‘what it is
saying’ (or not, as the case may be): e.g.,– new idea/argument/research/approach?– a reinterpretation?/an adaptation?– A synthesis?
• … and ‘what it represents’: e.g.,– In terms of academic understandings? Popular
understandings? Misunderstandings?– Old? New? Unusual? Orthodox? Representative?
Unrepresentative? views
• … and ‘how it relates’ to the knowledge.Deciding what to include .. And what not (see slides / separate handout)
literature reviews
• How general or exact-topic-specific?
Precise topicof investi-
gation
Wider relatedTopic (for
useful context)
Trajectories of Lit
Reviews
literature reviews
Trajectories of Lit
Surveys
Example 1: Lots of literature on your topic? Start on context / bigger picture / essential related research; move swiftly to your precise topic …
Main Topic
Wider topic/context
1
literature reviews
Trajectories of Lit
Surveys
Example 2: Not much written on your topic? Start on context / bigger picture / related studies, concentrating on parallels, but crucially commenting on (relative) lack of research/published material on your precise topic
Main Topic
Wider topic/ context
2
literature reviews
• Keeping the literature review within bounds;
• Should I review books I’ve not read?
• How should I structure my review?
• Do I ‘criticise’ or merely ‘present’ the literature?
• Final tip: see how the academics do it themselves!