<p> For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/ Literature Review: </p><p>Focus on dissertations and assignments which rely on a literature review and analysis of articles.</p><p>Purpose of a literature review</p><p> To describe the current knowledge about your topic or area or select body of research.</p><p> Supports the need for new research in the chosen field by identifying gaps in knowledge and research / argument.</p><p> Explains findings from existing research making links and connections with your proposed research area.</p><p> 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.</p><p>Approach</p><p> Decide what you need to know.</p><p> 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.</p><p> Identify useful databases of information most relevant to your subject area e.g. Pubmed, Web of Science, Pro quest.</p><p> Subject gateways are useful places to start.</p><p> 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.</p><p> Consider diverse professions potentially contributing to your area - ensure your review is broad, lead up to research question, narrowing it down as you progress.</p><p>Example</p><p> Assignment research topic - hand washing and its contribution to the reduction of hospital acquired infection.</p><p> You may wish to search around various fields: infection, epidemiology, human behaviour, psychology, professional training of doctors, nurses, clinical procedures, environmental factors.</p><p> What might be search terms for putting into the database as key search terms?</p><p>Sources of information For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/  Focus on high quality, original research.</p><p> Ideally peer reviewed.</p><p> Credible researchers e.g. affiliated to universities, track records.</p><p> Employ an evaluative process to establish the usefulness of research you are reviewing.</p><p>Ascertaining the usefulness of research in the literature review</p><p>Practical Screen</p><p> Content - what is covered.</p><p> Years searched.</p><p> Language/country.</p><p> Sample.</p><p> Setting.</p><p> Interventions and outcomes studied.  Research design.</p><p>Methodological screen</p><p> Research design - efficacy and appropriateness - qualitative or quantitative or mixed - reasons why design suited or not suited to the research question / field.</p><p> Sampling.</p><p> Data Collection</p><p> Data analysis</p><p> Results</p><p> Explicit tradition of enquiry explained - inductive (grounded theory / interpretive, deductive (positivist)?</p><p> Reliability, validity.</p><p> Claims made for research - free from measurement error or limitations explained e.g. if case study.</p><p> Inclusion and exclusion criteria.</p><p>Consider the research tradition of your field of study For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/  Consider coherence…</p><p> What tradition of research is typically used in your field? Is a particular paradigm in use?</p><p> Research sought: quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods?</p><p> Are your sources of information for the literature review coherent with that view above? </p><p> If not, how can you account for including them?</p><p> Structure - depends on subject, but likely to have sub-headings are you identify sub-themes.</p><p> Logic - general ideas or more particular?</p><p> History - tracing the development of research relevant to the research question.</p><p> Find the logic from all your reading and organise material in a way that makes sense to the reader. </p><p> Thematic * Historical Timeline * Iterative</p><p>Activity: Consider the different traditions of the following researchers and how it might impact on their literature review</p><p> An experimental scientist, conducting controlled trials for establishing the safety of new medicines.  A social worker researching the impact of drug use on parenting.</p><p> A successful entrepreneur establishing the market for a new app for the iphone/ipad</p><p>Writing: Make sure…</p><p> You comment critically on what the research contributes or explain problems with it. Avoid pure description and telling the story.</p><p> You link the many sources to your study.</p><p> 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.</p><p> Try to articulate the gaps in research clearly and how your research aim closes the gap or contributes to some extent.</p><p>Activity</p><p> Establish a research question or topic and produce a mind map to establish key search terms.</p><p> Example research question/ assignment topic: </p><p>Does social networking cause psychological damage and impaired development in young people? For more resources: https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/thebridge/ </p><p> Search for these terms using the literature search through the SHU site.</p><p> Adapt your search accordingly.</p><p> Add to your map as you find new things to investigate.</p><p> Log sources for references.</p><p> Note learning for future use.</p><p>Using tutors and Supervisors</p><p> Your literature review should be closely linked to your research question.</p><p> However, your initial question may need adapting following the literature review.</p><p> Check this out with your tutor - relevance, depth, breadth of question.</p><p> 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</p><p>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.).</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Ridley, D. (2012). The literature review : A step-by-step guide for students (2nd ed., Sage study skills). London: SAGE.</p><p> For tools and analysis of articles and research search: </p><p> http://www.casp-uk.net/#! casp-tools-checklists/c18f8</p>