1. The Literature Review Guidelines for Success Adapted from a presentation by Eleanor Smith of North Carolina State University and from the book Writing Literature Reviews by Jose L. Galvan LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

2. What is a Literature Review? A literature review Surveys scholarly sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory Provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work Offers an overview of significant literature published on a topic (from http://writingalitreview.pbwiki.com/What-a-Literature-Review-IS-and-IS-NOT) LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

3. Digging Into the Literature = Major works B C A LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

4. Digging Into the Literature Major works = Studies that rely on the major works = B C A D LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

5. Digging Into the Literature Major works = Studies that build on Ideas in major works = = B New major work C A D LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

6. Digging Into the Literature Major works = Studies that build on Ideas in major works = = B New major work C A D LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

7. Guideline 1: Identify the problem but avoid global statements Nursing education is important to both the health care system in the United States and to health world-wide. Without a high quality education nurses will be unprepared for the next millennium. OR LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

8. Guideline 1: Identify the problem but avoid global statements The infusion of critical thinking skills in nursing education has been a worldwide quest of nurse educators to ensure quality improvement and quality assurance in practice. There is a great need for facilitation of critical thinking in the preparation and assessment of nurse learners to care for patients with complex culturally diverse health care needs and their families.1 1Excerpt from MM Chibeli, Facilitating critical thinking within the nursing process framework: a literature review, Health SA Gesondheid, Volume 12, Issue 4, December 2007, pgs. 69-89 LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

9. Guideline 2: Indicate why particular studies are important It represented a critical turning point in the development of research in that field It launched a new research methodology Example: According to the most comprehensive study to date (Jones, 2005), based on comparative analysis of programs in 10 states… LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

10. Guideline 3: Be specific when discussing time frames Avoid using phrases like “In recent years there has been an increased interest in…” LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

11. Guideline 3: Be specific when discussing time frames Example: Health promotion programs for employees have been studied extensively. However, most published studies have examined the effects of health promotion programs in large corporations, with fewer studies of smaller companies (Pelletier, 2005). Executives realize the importance of reducing health care costs to improve their financial outlook and often recognize the positive effects health promotion programs can have on absenteeism, employee turnover, and general job satisfaction (Goetzel, Ozminkowski, Asciutto, Chouinard, & Barrett, 2001). 2 2 L. Johnson and S.A. Denham, " Structuring successful interventions in employee health programs." AAOHN Journal Volume 56, Issue 6, pgs. 231-40 LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

12. Guideline 4: If citing a ground-breaking study identify it as such Example: “The first content analysis (emphasis added) of gender biases in magazine advertisements was published by Courteny and Lockerretz (1971). Those authors found that magazine advertisements reflected four general stereotypes…” 3 3D. Neptune and S. Plous, “Racial and gender biases in magazine advertising.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21. pgs. 627-44. LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

13. Guideline 5: Discuss other literature reviews on your topic If you find another literature review on your topic, ask yourself these questions: How is the other review different? What benefits will readers gain by reading it? LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

14. Guideline 6: Justify assertions such as “no studies were found” “Gaps” in the research do occur, but also tell the reader the following: where you searched, i.e. what databases you looked at What parameters like dates you used in your searches Tell the reader that you found a gap based on your specific research strategy LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

15. Guideline 7: Avoid lengthy lists of general references Compare these two versions: Numerous writers have indicated that children in single-parent households are at greater risk for academic underachievement than children form two-parent households (Smith, 1991, Jones, 1987, Roberts, 1997, Berry, 2000, Strauss, 2001, Johnson, 2003, Edwards, 2005, Robinson, 2006). LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

16. Guideline 7: Avoid lengthy lists of general references Compare these two versions: Numerous writers have suggested that children in single-parent households are at greater risk for academic underachievement than children form two-parent households (see, for example, Smith, 1991, and Jones, 1987). Three recent studies have provided strong empirical support for this contention (Johnson, 2003, Edwards, 2005, Robinson, 2006). Of these, the study by Edwards is the strongest because it used a country-wide sample… LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

17. Guideline 8: Cite results that are contradictory separately Sometimes studies on the same topic produce contradictory results. Compare the two examples and think about which one is a better way to cite conflicting results: Previous studies have found anywhere from 40% (Ross, 1999, Smith, 2002 ) to 70% (Jones, 2004, Bradshaw, 2006 )of college students have reported downloading copyright-protected material from the web. LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

18. Guideline 8: Cite results that are contradictory separately Previous studies have found anywhere from 40% to 70% of college students have reported downloading copyright-protected material from the web (Ross, 1999, Smith, 2002, Jones, 2004, Bradshaw, 2006). LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx

19. Resources Check the library’s wiki on writing a literature review at www.writingalitreview.pbwiki.com You can find this presentation there and the wiki is updated frequently, so check back often for the most current information LD U:ibraryiterature Reviewriting a Literature Review.pptx