Writing a literature review

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The Writing Development Centre
Writing a Literature
Review

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Slides will be available online
Slides will be made available after the session at:
http://www.slideshare.net/WDCNewcastle

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Session outline
 Clarifying the purpose of a Literature Review
 Tips for getting started, making the most of your reading
and keeping track of your reading
 Strategies for reading and writing critically
 Suggestions for further resources

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What is a Literature Review?
Literature Reviews answer the following questions:
 What has already been done in this area?
 Who are the key players? What are the key
works/texts/developments?
 What is the current state of knowledge? (What are the
main trends, patterns, themes, approaches?
 What are the problems, issues and controversies in your
topic area?
 Have you spotted any gaps, any missed opportunities?
 What further research is needed? Why is it needed?

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Individual Literature Reviews
As an assignment in its own right the Literature Review:
 Surveys and evaluates existing research
 Provides an overview (by highlighting the trends, themes,
patterns, approaches, problems, controversies and gaps)
 Gives an indication ‘where we are up to’

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Dissertation/Thesis Literature
Reviews
As part of a research project (thesis or dissertation), the
Literature Review helps to establish and define your ‘identity’
as a researcher by:
 Situating your work within a larger disciplinary context
 Demonstrating how you will build upon or deviate from
existing publications/findings
 Highlighting what your contribution will be: how will your
work extend and develop existing knowledge?

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The Literature Review: what to avoid
Effective literature reviews are critical and analytical rather
than descriptive: they evaluate rather than report.
Remember that a Literature Review is not:
 a descriptive list of all the work published in your field
 a chronological account of existing research

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Where to start?!
Before reading texts in depth, it is important to have at least a
rough idea:
 What your dissertation is about/what ‘angle’ will you
approach your independent literature review from?
 What you are going to do
 What question you will answer
 What problem will you address
This will give you a ‘framework’ for your reading

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Where to start?!
You can track down sources by:
 Discussing your reading with your supervisor
 Making use of the reference lists in books and journal
articles

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Where to start?!
 Use your tailored subject guide to find key resources:
http://libguides.ncl.ac.uk/
 Book your one-to-one consultancy with a member of the
Library liaison team for in-depth help with your dissertation,
thesis or project search:
http://forms.ncl.ac.uk/view.php?id=6263

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Being critical
In terms of the Literature Review, ‘being critical’ means:
 Evaluating, rather than just describing, existing research
 Being able to identify patterns, themes, trends and gaps
 Showing how existing research relates to your own project
(thesis or dissertation)
 Being able to develop research that addresses existing
issues/gaps (thesis or dissertation)

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Reading critically
 Avoid reading purely for information
 Questions are the ultimate critical tool and help focus your
reading

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Critical Questions
Working in pairs (or threes), discuss:
 The critical questions you could ask of sources
Also consider:
 Which questions are the most important?
 Which one would you ask first?

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Critical questions: suggestions
 Do I need to read this?
 Is this a credible source?
 What is the purpose of the text?
 What are its main claims?
 How are they argued?
 Are there gaps, leaps or inconsistencies in the argument?

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Critical questions: suggestions
 How is the evidence (facts, examples, research findings) used and
interpreted?
 Are there any hidden assumptions or agendas?
 Are the conclusions consistent with the evidence presented?
 What use am I going to make of this? How does it relate to my
research project?

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Critical questions: further
information
Leeds University has devised a very useful Critical Reading
checklist:
http://library.leeds.ac.uk/tutorials/thefinalchapter/documents/p
rintable/Critical_reading_checklist.pdf

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Organising and synthesising your
material
 Always note the full bibliographic details of the sources you
use
 Keep a working bibliography (this is a huge time saver!)
 Use your notes to draw out the key points from your
reading and to help you spot themes and patterns: how are
sources connected?

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Reading strategies: keeping track
Author/
date
Research
questions/
hypotheses
Theoretical
framework
adopted
Method Results Conclusions Relevance
to my
research
questions
Comments
Crow, C
(2012)
Gray, E
(2014)

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Reference Management: Endnote
For further information and support go to:
http://libguides.ncl.ac.uk/endnote

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Planning the Literature Review:
structure
 Every Literature Review is different depending on the type
of project you’re working on and the nature of your topic.
Seek guidance from your supervisor regarding the most
appropriate way to approach and structure your review
 Funnel structure: beginning with general references to the
literature in your topic area before dealing (in greater
depth) with the literature more directly related to your
project
 Chronological approach: early work-later developments-
most recent responses (can become overly descriptive)
 Patchwork structure: label each patchwork piece according
to the different areas of your review

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Being critical: authorial voice
Your ‘voice’ should be foregrounded in the Literature
Review. This can be achieved by:
 Taking control of the text: using citations to build an
argument and frame your own research project
 Making your own position clear in relation to the literature
that you discuss

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What to avoid: writer’s voice ‘absent’
Swales (1990: 58) defines genre as ‘a class of
communicative events, the members of which share some
set of communicative purposes’. Berkenkotter and Huckin
(1995) list some of the generic forms through which
academics communicate, such as lab reports, conference
papers and journal articles. They emphasise the importance
of being familiar with these genres to progress professionally.
Johns (1997: 21) explains how we build up our genre
knowledge by ‘repeated contextualised experiences with
texts.’ For Miller (1984) genres are a means of performing
social actions. She explains that genres develop as a result
of our typified actions which occur in recurring and similar
situations.

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Foregrounding authorial voice
 Skim the extract on your handouts
 What techniques does the writer use to foreground their
own voice, and thus ensure that their work is critical?

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Writing critically enough? Watch out for these
tell-tale signs
 Unsupported statements, assumptions or generalisations:
“The majority of British teenagers own Smartphones”;
“Many critics have argued against this.”
 Not providing reasons, explanations and/or examples:
“This view is outdated and is no longer applicable.”

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Writing critically enough? Watch out for these tell-
tale signs
 Beginning and/or ending sentences and paragraphs with
quotations
 Quotation ‘dumping’: quotations in sentences all of their
own
 Quoting when you could easily paraphrase
 Using very long quotations. It often looks as if you are just
trying to fill up the space! If you do need to use a long
quotation, you usually have to justify this by analysing it in
detail.

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Writing the Literature Review:
reporting verbs
• Argue
• Claim
• Demonstrate
• Miscalculate
• Omit
• Show
• Suggest
Vary your
critical
vocabulary and
be precise:
different
reporting
verbs indicate
different levels
of agreement.

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Further resources
Not too sure where or how to start? Feeling overwhelmed by
too many search results? Not sure how to identify useful or
relevant sources? Want to know how to manage all those
references? Head to the Dissertation Station:
http://libguides.ncl.ac.uk/disshelp

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Further resources
Academic Phrasebank:
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk
Leeds University Library Skills Page:
http://library.leeds.ac.uk/tutorials/thefinalchapter/

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Further resources
Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: SAGE
Ridley, D. (2012) The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step
Guide for Students. London: SAGE
Swales, J.M. and C.B. Feak (2000) English in Today’s
Research World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press

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Develop your academic skills
 Take effective notes
 Think critically
 Interpret essay questions
 Understand assessment
criteria
 Read efficiently
 Argue convincingly
 Plan assignments
 Manage your time
 Express ideas confidently
• Revise effectively
• Critically review literature
• Structure essays
• Use drafting & editing
techniques
• Make the most of lectures
& seminars
• Manage your dissertation
or PhD thesis
• Avoid plagiarism
• Improve your exam
technique

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Writing a literature review

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