For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/ Literature Review:

Focus on dissertations and assignments which rely on a literature review and analysis of articles.

Purpose of a literature review

 To describe the current knowledge about your topic or area or select body of research.

 Supports the need for new research in the chosen field by identifying gaps in knowledge and research / argument.

 Explains findings from existing research making links and connections with your proposed research area.

 Establishes the potential significance and potential usefulness of your proposed research area to your field or profession - develops a rationale and argues why your research could be of value.

Approach

 Decide what you need to know.

 Decide on best sources of information.  Be aware research is emergent and you may need to adapt - you may not know what you need to know fully.

 Identify useful databases of information most relevant to your subject area e.g. Pubmed, Web of Science, Pro quest.

 Subject gateways are useful places to start.

 Consider booking a session with a specialist information officer based in the libraries to help you get started with your search. They can show you how to access dissertations and how to find more obscure information.

 Consider diverse professions potentially contributing to your area - ensure your review is broad, lead up to research question, narrowing it down as you progress.

Example

 Assignment research topic - hand washing and its contribution to the reduction of hospital acquired infection.

 You may wish to search around various fields: infection, epidemiology, human behaviour, psychology, professional training of doctors, nurses, clinical procedures, environmental factors.

 What might be search terms for putting into the database as key search terms?

Sources of information For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/  Focus on high quality, original research.

 Ideally peer reviewed.

 Credible researchers e.g. affiliated to universities, track records.

 Employ an evaluative process to establish the usefulness of research you are reviewing.

Ascertaining the usefulness of research in the literature review

Practical Screen

 Content - what is covered.

 Years searched.

 Language/country.

 Sample.

 Setting.

 Interventions and outcomes studied.  Research design.

Methodological screen

 Research design - efficacy and appropriateness - qualitative or quantitative or mixed - reasons why design suited or not suited to the research question / field.

 Sampling.

 Data Collection

 Data analysis

 Results

 Explicit tradition of enquiry explained - inductive (grounded theory / interpretive, deductive (positivist)?

 Reliability, validity.

 Claims made for research - free from measurement error or limitations explained e.g. if case study.

 Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Consider the research tradition of your field of study For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/  Consider coherence…

 What tradition of research is typically used in your field? Is a particular paradigm in use?

 Research sought: quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods?

 Are your sources of information for the literature review coherent with that view above?

 If not, how can you account for including them?

 Structure - depends on subject, but likely to have sub-headings are you identify sub-themes.

 Logic - general ideas or more particular?

 History - tracing the development of research relevant to the research question.

 Find the logic from all your reading and organise material in a way that makes sense to the reader.

 Thematic * Historical Timeline * Iterative

Activity: Consider the different traditions of the following researchers and how it might impact on their literature review

 An experimental scientist, conducting controlled trials for establishing the safety of new medicines.  A social worker researching the impact of drug use on parenting.

 A successful entrepreneur establishing the market for a new app for the iphone/ipad

Writing: Make sure…

 You comment critically on what the research contributes or explain problems with it. Avoid pure description and telling the story.

 You link the many sources to your study.

 You distil the key messages and spell out the implications for your research design. Avoid poor links; be sure to explain what the previous research suggests about your area of research.

 Try to articulate the gaps in research clearly and how your research aim closes the gap or contributes to some extent.

Activity

 Establish a research question or topic and produce a mind map to establish key search terms.

 Example research question/ assignment topic:

Does social networking cause psychological damage and impaired development in young people? For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/

 Search for these terms using the literature search through the SHU site.

 Adapt your search accordingly.

 Add to your map as you find new things to investigate.

 Log sources for references.

 Note learning for future use.

Using tutors and Supervisors

 Your literature review should be closely linked to your research question.

 However, your initial question may need adapting following the literature review.

 Check this out with your tutor - relevance, depth, breadth of question.

 Use your supervisor's allocated time. They are there to guide and help you to ensure you are on the right track, and are considering a valid area of study which will give you a good chance of producing a useful piece of work. Resources - see library gateway

Fink, A. (2014). Conducting research literature reviews : From the Internet to paper (Fourth ed.). Garrard, J. (2014). Health sciences literature review made easy : The matrix method (Fourth ed.).

Hart, C. (1998). Doing a literature review : Releasing the social science research imagination. Sage. Louise, D. (2013). A. Booth, D. Papaioannou, A. Sutton. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review, Sage, London. ISBN: 978-0-85702-134-2. Nurse Education in Practice, Nurse Education in Practice.

Oliver, P., MyiLibrary, EBook Library, & Dawsonera. (2012). Succeeding with your literature review : A handbook for students (Open UP study skills). Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Open University Press.

Ridley, D. (2012). The literature review : A step-by-step guide for students (2nd ed., Sage study skills). London: SAGE.

 For tools and analysis of articles and research search:

http://www.casp-uk.net/#! casp-tools-checklists/c18f8