This presentation describes the importance of literature review, how to run literature search, and how to write it. Tools to manage references are also covered.

1.  
Dr. Harris Shah Abd Hamid
Department Of Psychology
International Islamic University Malaysia
11/7/2014

2. • Understand the purpose and basic requirements of an
effective literature review.
• Able to critically assess research materials.
• Able to develop strategies for writing a literature review.
• Use a tool to manage sources appropriately.

3.  Introduction to LR
 Conducting an LR
 Writing an LR
 Options for Citations

4. 

5. A research literature review is a
systematic, explicit and reproducible
method for identifying, evaluating, and
synthesizing the existing body of
completed and recorded work produced
by researchers, scholars, and
practitioners.
Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature
Reviews. London: Sage.

6.  Literature = books, journal articles, electronic
journals, newspapers, magazines, theses and
dissertations, conference proceedings, reports, and
documentaries.
 Literature reviews
 a section of the paper.
 a paper in itself.

8.  A summary is a recap of
the important information
of the source
 As synthesis is a re-
organization, or a
reshuffling, of information.
 effective evaluation of selected
documents on a research topic.
 a critical synthesis of previous
research.
 To give a new interpretation of old material or combine new
with old interpretations.
 To trace the intellectual progression of the field, including
major debates.
 To evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most
pertinent or relevant.
research question(s)

9. A ‘good’ LR
…synthesis of available
research
…critical evaluation
…appropriate breadth and
depth
…clarity and conciseness
…uses rigorous and consistent
methods
A ‘poor’ LR.
..an annotated bibliography
.. confined to description
.. narrow and shallow
.. confusing and
longwinded
.. constructed in an
arbitrary way

10. • Google search as if searching for a gossip
• Download lots of pdf to fill up LR folder
• Prints lots of pdf to fill up thesis ring binder
• Cut from pdf and paste onto doc

11. The literature review is a critical look at the existing
research that is significant to the work that you
are carrying out.
 To provide background information
 To establish importance
 To demonstrate familiarity
 To “carve out a space” for further research

12.  For a research paper on a thesis, the literature
review provides a background to the study being
proposed.
 The background may consider one or more of the
following aspects
 Theoretical background – past, present or future
 Clinical practice – previous or contemporary
 Methodology and/or research methods
 Previous findings
 Rationale and/or relevance of the current study

13.  In a broader context Hart (1998) lists the following
purposes of a review:
 Distinguishing what has been done from what needs to be
done;
 Discovering important variables relevant to the topic;
 Synthesising and gaining a new perspective;
 Identifying relationships between ideas and practice;
 Establishing the context of the topic or problem;

14.  Rationalising the significance of the problem;
 Enhancing and acquiring the subject vocabulary;
 Understanding the structure of the subject;
 Relating ideas and theory to applications;
 Identifying methodologies and techniques that have
been used;
 Placing the research in a historical context to show
familiarity with state-of-the-art developments.

15. 

16. 1. Selecting research questions
2. Selecting your sources
3. Choosing search terms
4. Running your search
5. Applying practical screening criteria
6. Applying methodological screening criteria
7. Synthesizing the results

17. Planning
Reading and Research
Analyzing
Drafting
Revising

18.  Find similarities and differences between studies at
different levels, e.g.:
- philosophy
- epistemology
- morality
- methodology
- methods
- types of data
- data analysis
- interpretation

19.  Vagueness due to too much or inappropriate
generalisation
 Limited range
 Insufficient information
 Irrelevant material
 Omission of contrasting views
 Omission of recent work

20. • explaining key themes or issues
relevant to the topicTheme
• discussing interdisciplinary approaches
to a topic or when discussing a number
of studies with a different approach
Methodology
• historical changes that are central to
explaining the topic.Chronology

21. Broad:
 What is the prevalence of atrial fibrillation?
Narrow:
 What costs are associated with hospitalization for atrial
fibrillation?
Very Narrow:
 What strategies have been utilized in Hospital Kuala
Lumpur to reduce length of stay for patients with atrial
fibrillation?

22. Relevancy
Retrieval
(# of search
results)
Broad
Questions
Narrow
Questions
High =
lots of
articles
Low =
very few
articles
High = directly
relevant articles
Low = mostly
irrelevant articles

23.  Job satisfaction: 2,020,000 hits
 Job satisfaction among nurses: 240, 000 hits
 Job satisfaction among nurses acute care: 54, 000
 Job satisfaction among nurses acute care burnout: 17,
000

24. 1. Online public bibliographic databases
2. Commercial bibliographic databases
3. Specialized bibliographic databases
4. Manual or “hand searches” of references lists
5. “Grey literature”
6. Web reports
7. Expert opinions

25. Bibliographic Databases
 Medicine
o PubMed (or Ovid MEDLINE), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO
 Multidisciplinary
o Scopus
o Web of Science
 Nursing and Allied Health
o CINAHL
Websites
 Associations, Organizations & Government
o World Health Organization, Health Canada, Canadian Medical Association,
etc.
Other
 “Grey Literature”
o Dissertations & Theses, SCOPUS (conference proceedings), Web search
engines

26.  Is the study’s research design internally & externally
valid?
 Are the data sources used in the study reliable & valid?
 Are the analytic methods appropriate?
 Are the results meaningful in practical & statistical
terms?*
*Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews. London: Sage.

27. Focus
o What is the specific thesis, problem, or research
question that my literature review helps to define?
o Identifying a focus that allows you to:
• Sort and categorize information
• Eliminate irrelevant information
Type
o What type of literature review am I conducting?
o Theory; Methodology; Policy; Quantitative; Qualitative

28.  Scope
o What is the scope of my literature review?
o What types of sources am I using?
 Academic Discipline
o What field(s) am I working in?

29.  Collect and read material.
 Summarize sources.
o Who is the author?
o What is the author's main purpose?
o What is the author’s theoretical perspective? Research
methodology?
o Who is the intended audience?
o What is the principal point, conclusion, thesis, contention, or
question?
o How is the author’s position supported?
o How does this study relate to other studies of the problem or
topic?
o What does this study add to your project?
 Select only relevant books and articles.

30.  A literature review is never just a list of
studies—it always offers an argument about
a body of research
 Analysis occurs on two levels:
o Individual sources
o Body of research

31. TASKS OF
LITERATURE
REVIEW
SUMMARIZE SYNTHESIZE CRITIQUE COMPARE

32. In your own words, summarize and/or synthesize the
key findings relevant to your study.
 What do we know about the immediate area?
 What are the key arguments, key characteristics,
key concepts or key figures?
 What are the existing debates/theories?
 What common methodologies are used?

33.  Normadin has demonstrated…
 Early work by Hausman, Schwarz, and Graves was
concerned with…
 Elsayed and Stern compared algorithms for handling…
 Additional work by Karasawa et. al, Azadivar, and
Parry et. al deals with…

34. Under the restriction of small populations, four possible ways
[to avoid premature convergence] were presented. The first one
is to revise the gene operators. . . .Griffiths and Miles applied
advanced two-dimensional gene operators to search the optimal
cross-section of a beam and significantly improve results. The
second way is to adjust gene probability. Leite and Topping
adopted a variable mutation probability and obtained an
outperformed result.

35. When patients are in hospital or sick at home and visited by a nurse, it is important that the
care they receive is recorded properly. Nurses record a wide variety of information about a
patient’s care and progress. For example, nurses would record a patient’s status while in ICU
every hour, or when and how pain medication should be given and when it was given, or the
progress of a pregnant woman visiting a clinic. These nursing records are a way for nurses to
share care information with other nurses, other health care professionals and sometimes with
patients. This is Information that can ensure patient care is consistent when staff changes
shifts or information that can be used later as a history of previous care. But what is the best
way to record and share this information? Is there a system or way of recording care
information that is best? It has been suggested that there may be a difference in how nurses
practice or how well a patient does with the use of one record system compared to another. A
review of the effect of different nursing record systems was conducted. After searching for all
relevant studies, 9 studies were found. These studies compared nursing records filled out on
paper with nursing records done on computer; nursing records that were held by patients
themselves to records kept at a hospital or clinic; and nursing records which used different
types of forms. The evidence shows that nursing record systems which aim to fix a specific
problem, such as reducing lost notes, decreasing the time required for data entry, or the
amount of paper files, may be successful at fixing that problem. But it is uncertain whether
changing an entire system of recording nursing care may improve how nurses practice or how
well a patient does. What this review did show, is that there needs to be more work with the
nursing professions to understand exactly what needs to be recorded and how it will be used,
and that it is important to involve the nursing staff in the design and development of the nursing
record systems.

36. Six randomized controlled trials involving 749 workers were included in
this systematic review. In five studies the workers had musculoskeletal
disorders and in one study they had mental health problems. The
results of this review show that there is moderate-quality evidence to
support the use of workplace interventions to reduce sickness
absence among workers with musculoskeletal disorders when
compared to usual care. However, workplace interventions were not
effective to improve health outcomes among workers with
musculoskeletal disorders. Considering all the types of work disability
together, the results showed low-quality evidence that workplace
interventions are more effective than usual care in reducing absence
from work because of sickness. Unfortunately, no conclusions could be
drawn regarding interventions for people with mental health problems
and other health conditions due to a lack of studies. In conclusion,
care providers could implement workplace interventions in guiding
workers disabled with musculoskeletal disorders if the main goal is
return to work.

37. Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development and
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development are commonly
used for educational psychology courses (Borich & Tombari,
1997; LeFrancois, 1997; Slavin, 1997). Piaget described
characteristic behaviors, including artistic ones such as
drawing, as evidence of how children think and what
children do as they progress beyond developmental
milestones into and through stages of development.

38. Evaluates the strength and weaknesses of the
work:
 How do the different studies relate? What is new, different,
or controversial?
 What views need further testing?
 What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradicting, or
too limited?
 What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory?

39.  In this ambitious but flawed study, Jones and Wang…
 These general results, reflecting the stochastic nature of
the flow of goods, are similar to those reported by
Rosenblatt and Roll…

40.  The critical response to the poetry of Phillis Wheatley often
registers disappointment or surprise. Some critics have
complained that the verse of this African American slave is
insecure (Collins 1975, 78), imitative (Richmond 1974, 54-
66), and incapacitated (Burke 1991, 33, 38)—at worst, the
product of a “White mind” (Jameson 1974, 414-15). Others,
in contrast, have applauded Wheatley’s critique of Anglo-
American discourse(Kendrick 1993,222-23), her revision of
literary models…

41.  The situationist model has also received its share of criticism.
One of the most frequently cited shortcomings of this
approach centers around the assumption that individuals enter
into the work context tabula rasa.

42.  Unusual
 Small
 Simple
 Exploratory
 Limited
 Restricted
 Flawed
 Complex
 Competent
 Important
 Innovative
 Impressive
 Useful
 Careful

43. Once you have summarized, synthesized, compared, and
critiqued your chosen material, you may consider whether
these studies
 Demonstrate the topic’s chronological development.
 Show different approaches to the problem.
 Show an ongoing debate.
 Center on a “seminal” study or studies.
 Demonstrate a “paradigm shift.”

44.  What do researchers KNOW about this field?
 What do researchers NOT KNOW?
 Why should we (further) study this topic?
 What will my study contribute?

45. 

46. To help you approach your draft in a
manageable fashion, this section addresses
the following topics:
 Exigency
 Thesis Statement
 Organization
 Introduction and conclusion
 Citations

47. The thesis statement offers an argument about
the literature. It may do any of or a
combination of the following:
 Offer an argument and critical assessment of the literature (i.e.
topic + claim).
 Provide an overview of current scholarly conversations.
 Point out gaps or weaknesses in the literature.
 Relate the literature to the larger aim of the study.

48. 1) In spite of these difficulties we believe that preservice elementary art
teachers and classroom teachers need some knowledge of stage theories
of children’s development…[then goes on to review theories of
development]
2) Research on the meaning and experience of home has proliferated over
the past two decades, particularly within the disciplines of sociology,
anthropology, psychology, human geography, history, architecture and
philosophy. . . . Many researchers now understand home as a
multidimensional concept and acknowledge the presence of and need for
multidisciplinary research in the field. However, with the exception of
two exemplary articles by Després (1991) and Somerville (1997) few
have translated this awareness into genuinely, interdisciplinary studies of
the meaning of home.

49. 3) Polyvalency refers to the simultaneous binding of multiple ligands on
one entity to multiple receptors on another. Polyvalent interactions are
ubiquitous in nature, with examples including the attachment of
viruses to target cells, bacteria to cells, cells to other cells, and the
binding of antibodies to pathogens. . . . In this article, I review recent
developments in polyvalency and discuss the numerous opportunities
for chemical engineers to make contributions to this exciting field,
whose applications include drug discovery, tissue engineering, and
nanofabrication.
4) In this article, we review and critique scholarship on place-based
education in order to consider the ingredients of a critical place-based
pedagogy for the arts and humanities. . . We begin by reviewing
ecohumanism's call for a more locally responsive education in light of
the marginalization of place and community…

50. Five common approaches to organizing the body
of your paper include:
 Topical
 Distant to close
 Debate
 Chronological
 Seminal Study

51.  Most common approach
 Breaks the field into a number of subfields, subject areas,
or approaches
 Discusses each subsection individually, sometimes with
critiques of each
 Most useful for organizing a large body of literature that
does not have one or two studies that stand out as most
important or a clear chronological development

52.  Three important areas of this field have received attention: A,
B, C.
 A has been approached from two perspectives F and G.
 The most important developments in terms of B have been…
 C has also been an important area of study in this field.

53.  A type of topical organization, with studies grouped by their
relevance to current research.
 Starts by describing studies with general similarities to current
research and ends with studies most relevant to the specific
topic.
 Most useful for studies of methods or models.

54.  Method/Model M (slightly similar to current research)
addresses …
 Drawing upon method/model N (more similar to current
research) can help . . .
 This study applies the procedure used in method/model O
(most similar to current research) to . . .

55.  Another type of topical approach, with a chronological
component.
 Emphasizes various strands of research in which proponents of
various models openly criticize one another.
 Most useful when clear opposing positions are present in the
literature.

56.  There have been two (three, four, etc.) distinct approaches this
problem.
 The first model posits…
 The second model argues that the first model is wrong for
three reasons. Instead, the second model claims…

57. Lists studies in terms of chronological
development
Useful when the field displays clear
development over a period of time
o Linear progression
o Paradigm shift

58.  This subject was first studied by X, who argued/found…
 In (date), Y modified/extended/contradicted X’s work by…
 Today, research by Z represents the current state of the field.

59.  Begins with detailed description of extremely important
study.
 Later work is organized using another pattern.
 Most useful when one study is clearly most important or
central in laying the groundwork for future research.

60.  The most important research on this topic was the study
by X in (date).
 Following X’s study, research fell into two camps
(extended X’s work, etc.)

61. Indicate scope of the literature review.
Provide some background to the topic.
Demonstrate the importance or need for
research.
Make a claim.
Offer an overview/map of the ensuing
discussion.

62.  There is currently much controversy over how nonhuman
primates understand the behavior of other animate beings. On
the one hand, they might simply attend to and recall the
specific actions of others in particular contexts, and therefore,
when that context recurs, be able to predict their behavior
(Tomasello & Call, 1994, 1997). On the other hand, they
might be able to understand something of the goals or
intentions of others and thus be able to predict others’
behaviors in a host of novel circumstances. Several lines of
evidence (e.g., involving processes of social learning;
Tomasello, 1997) and a number of anecdotal observations
(e.g., Savage-Rumbaugh, 1984) have been adduced on both
sides of the question, but few studies directly address the
question: Do nonhuman primates understand the intentions of
others?

63. Summarize the main findings of your
review.
Provide closure.
Explain “so what?”
Implications for future research.
OR
Connections to the current study.

64.  In summary, although there is some suggestive evidence
that chimpanzees may understand others’ intentions, there
are also negative findings (e.g., Povinelli et al., 1998) and a
host of alternative explanations. As a consequence,
currently it is not clear whether chimpanzees (or other
nonhuman primates) distinguish between intentional and
accidental actions performed by others. In contrast, there
are several studies indicating that children as young as 14
months of age have some understanding of others’
intentions, but the lack of comparative studies makes it
difficult to know how children compare to apes. This study
is the first to directly compare children, chimpanzees, and
orangutans with the use of a nonverbal task in which the
subjects were to discriminate between the experimenter’s
intentional and accidental actions.

65. If it’s not your own idea (and not common knowledge)—
DOCUMENT IT!
 Paraphrase key ideas.
 Use quotations sparingly.
 Introduce quotations effectively.
 Use proper in-text citation to document the source of ideas.
 Maintain accurate bibliographic records.

66. Plagiarism
Irrelevant quotations.
Un-introduced quotations.

67.  Quoting: Despite pleasant depictions of home life in art, the fact remains
that for most Seventeenth-century Dutch women, the home represented a
curtailment of some degree of independence. Art historian Laurinda Dixon
writes that “for the majority of women, however, home was a prison,
though a prison made bearable by love and approval” (1995, p. 136 ).
 Paraphrasing: Despite pleasant depictions of home life in art, the fact
remains that for most Seventeenth-century Dutch women, the home
represented a curtailment of some degree of independence. Art historian
Laurinda Dixon argues that the home actually imprisoned most women.
She adds that this prison was made attractive by three things: the
prescriptions of doctors of the day against idleness, the praise given diligent
housewives, and the romantic ideal based on love and respect (1995, p.
136).

68.  Title: Is my title consistent with the content of my paper?
 Introduction: Do I appropriately introduce my review?
 Thesis: Does my review have a clear claim?
 Body: Is the organization clear? Have I provided headings?
 Topic sentences: Have I clearly indicated the major idea(s) of
each paragraph?
 Transitions: Does my writing flow?
 Conclusion: Do I provide sufficient closure?
 Spelling and Grammar: Are there any major spelling or
grammatical mistakes?

69.  As you read, try to see the “big picture”—your literature
review should provide an overview of the state of research.
 Include only those source materials that help you shape
your argument. Resist the temptation to include everything
you’ve read!
 Balance summary and analysis as you write.
 Keep in mind your purpose for writing:
o How will this review benefit readers?
o How does this review contribute to your study?
 Be meticulous about citations.

70. 

71.  Create a balance between direct quotation (citation)
and paraphrasing. Avoid too much direct quoting.
The verb tense chosen depends on your emphasis:
 When you are citing a specific author's findings, use
the past tense: (found, demonstrated);
 When you are writing about an accepted fact, use
the present tense: (demonstrates, finds); and
 When you are citing several authors or making a
general statement, use the present perfect tense:
(have shown, have found, little research has been
done).
Dr. Lili Ann SMM4999 - Literature Review 71

72.  Content from studies must be presented honestly and
not distorted to support a selected utilization project.
 The weaknesses of a study need to be addressed, but it
is not necessary to be highly critical of a researcher’s
work.
 Criticism should focus on the content, be related to your
project, and be neutral and scholarly rather than
negative and blaming.
 Sources should be accurately documented.

73.  Human errors
o Typos
o Un-alphabetical
o Missed periods
o Copy and pasted
the wrong details
 I’m-just-a-human error
o Can’t spell correctly
o Can’t remember the
correct style
o Can’t detect mistakes
o Can’t type fast enough

74.  Manual:
o Write and type
o Laborious, time inefficient, error-prone
 Auto
o Clap and smile
o Pure fantasy
 Semi-auto
o Point and click
o More time efficient, less error, instill confidence, motivating

75.  Stand-alone system
o RefWork
o Mendeley
o EndNotes
 Packaged
o Reference Manager in MS Word
o Google ‘cite’ function

76. RefWorks EndNote Mendeley
Where can I
use it?
Anywhere with
web access
On computers with
EndNote
installed.
Recently
released EndNote
web
Anywhere with web
access
And on computers
with Mendeley
installed
How much
does it cost?
Free to
members of
subscribing
institution
Individual copy
must be
purchased.
Free. Upgrade can
be purchased
Is it easy to
learn?
Basics are easy
to learn
Medium
Basics are easy to
learn
Where are
my files
stored?
Remotely, on
the web (local
backups may be
made as well)
Locally, on your
computer
Locally, on your
computer
And remotely, on the
web. Can
synchronise the files.

77. 

79. • Automatically generate bibliographies
• Collaborate easily with other researchers online
• Easily import papers from other research software
• Find relevant papers based on what you’re reading
• Access your papers from anywhere online
• Read papers on the go, with our new iPhone app

80. • Insert citation into text
• Insert references
• Build reference list
• Import citation data
• Export citation data

81. • Create Mendeley account (www.mendeley.com)
• Download and install Mendeley Desktop
• Install Mendeley Add-on for MS Word
• Build a library of references
• Use library items
o Send citation to text
o Create reference list

82.  www.mendeley.com

87.  Add individual files
 Add folders
 Add item manually (or, is it?)

94. • Bugs
• Cannot edit reference list
• Authors with multiple entries
• Similar names of multiple authors
• Upgrades cost money

95. Cite

97.  Nature of LR
 Steps in doing LR
 How to write an LR report
 Using a references manager