Independent Variable is the variable changed by the scientist
- 1. How to write a literature review Nguyen Minh Tan, Ph.D nguyenminhtan@dntu.edu.vn
- 3. Objectives of this lecture Understand what is “literature review”? Understand why it is important? Recognise what makes a good literature review? Understand how to write a good literature review? Adopt a critical approach when writing review
- 4. What is meant by “literature” and “review” "Review“ means an overview summarizing major parts and bringing them together to build a picture of a topic. "The Literature" means the major writings - especially scholarly writings - on the topic. “The literature" may include: journal articles books published essays government reports, and so on.
- 5. Literature Review: Comprehensive Definition “A Literature Review Surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources (e.g., dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a topic for a thesis or dissertation. Its purpose is to demonstrate that the writer has insightfully and critically surveyed relevant literature on his or her topic in order to convince an intended audience that the topic is worth addressing” ~from Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: Entering the Discussion By Irene L. Clark
- 6. Why do literature review? To identify gaps in the research area To continue from what others have completed. To know other people working in the field To measure the depth of knowledge of the subject.
- 7. Literature review vs an academic research paper An academic research paper focuses on developing a new argument, and contain a literature review as one of its parts. The literature is used as a foundation to build up and as a support for a new insight that this research has contributed. A literature review focuses on summarizing and synthesizing the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions.
- 8. Literature search and review on the topic What are the gaps? What are the key theories, concepts and ideas? What are the main questions and problems that have been addressed to date? What are the major issues and debates about the topic? How is knowledge on the topic structured and organized? How have approaches to these questions increased our understanding and knowledge?
- 9. Literature Review may be: A part (subsection) of a larger report of a: Research proposal, Research project or research grant, Research paper, Thesis (masters or PhD) Separate assignment Scholarly journal article It can be a stand-alone bibliographic essay: A review article, that is published in a scholarly journal Theoretical report e.g a Masters thesis, without research (theoretical) to understand and write up current research on a topic
- 10. Why write a literature review? Literature reviews provides a guide to a particular topic. Provide a solid background for the research investigation. Gives an overview and acts as a stepping stone. Helps to keep up to date with what is current in the field. Helps avoid unnecessary duplication of research. Emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field. Helps in suggesting research in a specific previously unexplored direction. (Comprehensive knowledge of the literature of the field is essential to most research)
- 11. Why are literature reviews necessary? They are necessary for several reasons. They are an essential part of the research process. They give an overview of a topic's theoretical background. Researchers use literature reviews to identify gaps in existing knowledge and to set the context for their research studies. Students can be asked to complete a literature review as part of their course to help them understand a topic more deeply. Writing a literature review can enable a student to demonstrate what they have learned about a topic and develop their own connecting ideas within that topic further.
- 12. The literature review should: Compare and contrast different authors' views on the topic of research Groups those authors who have drawn similar conclusions Be Critical of the methodology aspects Points out areas of disagreement between authors Highlight gaps in research Concludes by summarizing what the literature says.
- 14. Writing a literature review Step-by-step guide 1. Select a topic 2. Search and choose the literature 3. Analyze the literature 4. your 4. Your research methodology and collect data 5. 5. interpret your data compare to the literature
- 15. Structure of the literature review The overall structure of the review depends largely on the research area. Similar findings and suggestions are grouped together. The varying opinions of different writers on the topics are compared and contrasted. Controversial issues are discussed by questions to which there are varying approaches and theories. Discusses what the different literature argues, and links this to the present research.
- 16. Manage your references Manually Using reference management programs Endnote Mendely
- 17. Document each reference An essential step, which cannot be emphasised more. As a reference is read, it must be immediately documented and source cited. Bookmark online sources. Bookmark “hard copy.” Mark pages with relevant information. “Never say I will do it later”
- 18. Record each reference that you read. How? 40 Authors Year volume pages Title Journal Name Many journals have different style to write the references.
- 19. Endnote Download Endnote and install it. 41 Use it to search Pubmed and create your own library
- 20. Endnote Could be used to download literatures and archiving them in a library. Open Endnote, make a new library. Insert citations in Word and save the word file as plain text. You can build a reference library from a pdf folder. 42
- 21. Remember A good literature review needs a clear line of argument. You therefore need to use the critical notes and comments you made while doing your reading to express an academic opinion.
- 22. Your literature review is…the backbone of your research Provides context –sets the scene Demonstrates knowledge –of current theory, definitions, terminology Provides a rationale –justifies why you’ve chosen your project Tells the story that leads to your research question/topic
- 23. Length of the Literature reviews Depending on the purpose: As part of a Ph.D./M.Sc dissertation, literature review will be comprehensive covering all research on the topic. As a proposal/project, it covers the different aspects related to the research project, and is reasonably comprehensive. As part of a research report/paper, the literature review covers the major work that has been done on the topic recently, but does not try to identify all research on the subject.
- 24. Avoid plagiarism At all times avoid plagiarising of your sources. Always separate your source opinions from your own hypothesis. Making sure you consistently reference the literature you are referring to. When you are doing your reading and making notes, it might be an idea to use different colours to distinguish between your ideas and those of others.
- 25. An excellent literature review Requires reading extensively Writing again and again Thinking over what you have written Being critical Rewriting Discussing with others
Editor's Notes
- #3: Áp dụng phương pháp tiếp cận mang tính phê bình/ phản biện khi viết
- #4: major writings: công trình nghiên cứu quan trọng/ chính scholarly writings : công trình học thuật
- #9: research grant: tài trợ nghiên cứu
- #10: Helps to keep up to date with what is current in the field: Giúp cập nhật những thông tin mới nhất trong lĩnh vực này. Gives an overview and acts as a stepping stone. : Cung cấp cái nhìn tổng quan và đóng vai trò là bước đệm. Emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field. : Nhấn mạnh đến độ tin cậy của người viết trong lĩnh vực của mình.
- #12: Compare and contrast different authors' views on the topic of research: So sánh và đối chiếu quan điểm của các tác giả khác nhau vềchủ đề nghiên cứu
- #13: Controversy: discuss
- #21: Do đó, bạn cần sử dụng các ghi chú quan trọng và
- #22: Terminology: thuật ngữ Provides a rationale: Cung cấp một lý do hợp lý
- #25: Being critical : Có tính phê phán