Writing Literature Reviews : A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences

This useful guide educates students in the preparation of literature reviews for term projects, theses, and dissertations. The authors provide numerous examples from published reviews that illustrate the guidelines discussed throughout the book. New to the seventh edition: Each chapter breaks down the larger holistic review of literature exercise into a series of smaller, manageable steps Practical instructions for navigating today's digital libraries Comprehensive discussions about digital tools, including bibliographic and plagiarism detection software Chapter activities that reflect the book's updated content New model literature reviews Online resources designed to help instructors plan and teach their courses (www.routledge.com/9780415315746). Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Preface 16 Audiences 17 Unique Features 17 New to This Edition 18 Ancillaries 18 Notes to the Instructor 19 Special Acknowledgment 19 Acknowledgments 20 Notes 20 Part I: Managing the Literature Search 22 1 Writing Reviews of Academic Literature: An Overview 24 An Introduction to Reviewing Primary Sources 24 Empirical Research Reports 24 Theoretical Articles 27 Literature Review Articles 28 Anecdotal Reports 29 Reports on Professional Practices and Standards 29 The Writing Process 29 Finding Your ‘Writer’s Voice’: Writing for a Specific Purpose 30 Writing a Literature Review as a Term Paper for a Class 30 Writing a Literature Review Chapter for a Thesis or Dissertation 32 Writing a Literature Review for a Research Article 34 The Parts of this Text 34 Managing the Literature Search—Part I 34 Analyzing the Relevant Literature—Part II 35 Writing the First Draft of Your Literature Review—Part III 35 Editing and Preparing the Final Draft of Your Review—Part IV 36 Activities for Chapter 1 36 Notes 37 2 Learn to Navigate the Electronic Resources in Your University’s Library 39 Step 1: Formalize Your Institutional Affiliation with Your University Library 39 Step 2: Set Up Your Online Access Credentials and/or Proxy Server 40 Step 3: Inquire about University Library Research Workshops 40 Step 4: Select a Search Engine that Best Suits Your Needs 41 Step 5: Familiarize Yourself with How Online Databases Function 42 Step 6: Experiment with the “Advanced Search” Feature 44 Step 7: Identify an Array of Subject Keywords to Locate Your Sources 45 Step 8: Learn How You Can Access the Articles You Choose 46 Step 9: Identify Additional Databases that May Be Useful for Your Field of Study 46 Step 10: Repeat the Search Procedures with Other Databases 48 Activities for Chapter 2 48 Note 48 3 Selecting a Topic for Your Review 49 Step 1: Define Your General Topic 49 Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with the Basic Organization of Your Selected Online Database 50 Step 3: Begin Your Search with a General Keyword, then Limit the Output 50 Step 4: Identify Narrower Topic Areas If Your Initial List of Search Results Is Too Long 52 Step 5: Increase the Size of Your Reference List, If Necessary 52 Step 6: Consider Searching for Unpublished Studies 53 Step 7: Start with the Most Current Research, and Work Backward 54 Step 8: Search for Theoretical Articles on Your Topic 54 Step 9: Look for Review Articles 55 Step 10: Identify the Landmark or Classic Studies and Theorists 56 Step 11: Assemble the Collection of Sources You Plan to Include in Your Review 58 Step 12: Write the First Draft of Your Topic Statement 60 Step 13: Redefine Your Topic More Narrowly 61 Step 14: Ask for Feedback from Your Instructor or Advisor 62 Activities for Chapter 3 62 Notes 63 4 Organizing Yourself to Begin the Selection of Relevant Titles 64 Step 1: Scan the Articles to Get an Overview of Each One 64 Step 2: Based on Your Prereading of the Articles, Group Them by Category 65 Step 3: Conduct a More Focused Literature Search if Gaps Appear 67 Step 4: Organize Yourself before Reading the Articles 68 Step 5: Create a Spreadsheet or Table to Compile Your Notes 68 Step 6: Remain Flexible as You Compile Your Notes 70 Step 7: Take Extra Care When Copying an Author’s Exact Words 70 Activities for Chapter 4 70 Notes 71 Part II: Analyzing the Relevant Literature 72 5 Conduct a Deep Analysis of the Articles 74 Guideline 1: Look for Explicit Definitions of Key Terms in the Literature 74 Guideline 2: Look for Key Statistics to Use near the Beginning of Your Literature Review 76 Guideline 3: Pay Special Attention to Review Articles on Your Topic 77 Guideline 4: Make Note of Short but Important Quotations that Could Be Used Very Sparingly in Your Review 78 Guideline 5: Look for Methodological Strengths 79 Guideline 6: Look for Methodological Weaknesses 79 Guideline 7: Distinguish between Assertion and Evidence 80 Guideline 8: Identify the Major Trends or Patterns in the Results of Previous Studies 81 Guideline 9: Identify Gaps in the Literature 82 Guideline 10: Identify Relationships among Studies 82 Guideline 11: Note How Closely Each Article Relates to Your Topic 82 Guideline 12: Evaluate Your Reference List for Currency and for Coverage 83 Activities for Chapter 5 84 Notes 84 6 Analyzing Quantitative Research Literature 86 Guideline 1: Note Whether the Research Is Quantitative or Qualitative 86 Guideline 2: Note Whether a Study Is Experimental or Nonexperimental 88 Guideline 3: In an Experiment, Note Whether the Participants Were Assigned at Random to Treatment Conditions 88 Guideline 4: Note Attempts to Examine Cause-and-Effect Issues in Nonexperimental Studies 89 Guideline 5: Consider the Test-Retest Reliability of the Measure 90 Guideline 6: Consider the Internal Consistency Reliability of the Measure 90 Guideline 7: Consider the Validity of the Measure 91 Guideline 8: Consider Whether a Measure Is Valid For a Particular Research Purpose 93 Guideline 9: Note Differences in How a Variable Is Measured Across Studies 94 Guideline 10: Note How the Participants Were Sampled 95 Guideline 11: Make Notes on the Demographics of the Participants 95 Guideline 12: Note How Large a Difference Is—Not Just Whether It Is Statistically Significant 96 Guideline 13: Presume That All Quantitative Studies Are Flawed 97 Concluding Comment 97 Activities for Chapter 6 97 Notes 98 7 Analyzing Qualitative Research Literature 100 Guideline 1: Note Whether the Research Was Conducted By an Individual or By a Research Team 100 Guideline 2: When There Is a Research Team, Note Whether Analysis of the Data Was Initially Conducted Independently 101 Guideline 3: Note Whether Outside Experts Were Consulted 101 Guideline 4: Note Whether the Participants Were Consulted on the Interpretation of the Data 102 Guideline 5: Note Whether the Researchers Used a Purposive Sample or a Sample of Convenience 103 Guideline 6: Note Whether the Demographics of the Participants Are Described 104 Guideline 7: Consider Whether the Method of Qualitative Analysis Is Described in Sufficient Detail 105 Guideline 8: Note Whether Quantities Are Provided When Qualitative Researchers Discuss Quantitative Matters 106 Concluding Comment 107 Activities for Chapter 7 107 Notes 107 8 Organizing Your Notes by Grouping the Results of Your Analysis 109 Guideline 1: Consider Building a Table of Definitions 109 Guideline 2: Consider Building a Table of Research Methods 110 Guideline 3: Consider Including a Summary of Research Results in the Methods Table 110 Guideline 4: When There Is Much Literature on a Topic, Establish Criteria for Determining Which Literature to Summarize in a Table 112 Guideline 5: When There Is Much Literature on a Topic, Consider Building Two or More Tables to Summarize It 113 Guideline 6: Present Tables in a Literature Review Only for Complex Material 113 Guideline 7: Discuss Each Table Included in a Literature Review 113 Guideline 8: Give Each Table a Number and Descriptive Title 114 Guideline 9: Insert Continued When Tables Split Across Pages 114 Activities for Chapter 8 114 Notes 115 Part III: Writing the First Draft of Your Literature Review 116 9 Synthesizing Trends and Patterns: Preparing to Write 118 Guideline 1: Consider Your Purpose and Voice before Beginning to Write 118 Guideline 2: Consider How to Reassemble Your Notes 119 Guideline 3: Create a Topic Outline That Traces Your Argument 120 Guideline 4: Reorganize Your Notes According to the Path of Your Argument 121 Guideline 5: Within Each Topic Heading, Note Differences among Studies 122 Guideline 6: Within Each Topic Heading, Look for Obvious Gaps or Areas Needing Additional Research 123 Guideline 7: Plan to Briefly Describe Relevant Theories 123 Guideline 8: Plan to Discuss How Individual Studies Relate to and Advance Theory 124 Guideline 9: Plan to Summarize Periodically and Again near the End of the Review 124 Guideline 10: Plan to Present Conclusions and Implications 125 Guideline 11: Plan to Suggest Specific Directions for Future Research near the End of the Review 126 Guideline 12: Flesh out Your Outline with Details from Your Analysis 127 Activities for Chapter 9 128 Notes 129 10 Guidelines for Writing a First Draft 130 Guideline 1: Begin by Identifying the Broad Problem Area, but Avoid Global Statements 130 Guideline 2: Early in the Review, Indicate Why the Topic Being Reviewed Is Important 131 Guideline 3: Distinguish Between Research Findings and Other Sources of Information 132 Guideline 4: Indicate Why Certain Studies Are Important 133 Guideline 5: If You Are Commenting On the Timeliness of a Topic, Be Specific In Describing the Time Frame 134 Guideline 6: If Citing a Classic or Landmark Study, Identify It as Such 135 Guideline 7: If a Landmark Study Was Replicated, Mention That and Indicate the Results of the Replication 136 Guideline 8: Discuss Other Literature Reviews on Your Topic 137 Guideline 9: Refer the Reader to Other Reviews on Issues That You Will Not Be Discussing in Detail 137 Guideline 10: Justify Comments Such As “No Studies Were Found” 138 Guideline 11: Avoid Long Lists of Nonspecific References 139 Guideline 12: If the Results of Previous Studies Are Inconsistent or Widely Varying, Cite Them Separately 140 Guideline 13: Speculate on the Reasons for Inconsistent Findings in Previous Research 141 Guideline 14: Cite All Relevant References in the Review Section of a Thesis, Dissertation, or Journal Article 142 Guideline 15: Emphasize the Need for Your Study in the Literature Review Section or Chapter 142 Activities for Chapter 10 143 Notes 143 11 Guidelines for Developing a Coherent Essay 145 Guideline 1: If Your Review Is Long, Provide an Overview near the Beginning of the Review 145 Guideline 2: Near the Beginning of a Review, State Explicitly What Will and Will Not Be Covered 146 Guideline 3: Specify Your Point of View Early in the Review 146 Guideline 4: Aim for a Clear and Cohesive Essay and Avoid Annotations 147 Guideline 5: Use Subheadings, Especially in Long Reviews 148 Guideline 6: Use Transitions to Help Trace Your Argument 149 Guideline 7: If Your Topic Spans Two or More Disciplines, Consider Reviewing Studies from Each Discipline Separately 149 Guideline 8: Write a Conclusion for the End of the Review 150 Guideline 9: Check the Flow of Your Argument for Coherence 151 Activities for Chapter 11 151 Notes 152 Part IV: Editing and Preparing the Final Draft of Your Review 154 12 Guidelines for Editing Your Essay and Incorporating Feedback 156 Guideline 1: The Reader Is Always Right 157 Guideline 2: Expect Your Instructor to Comment on the Content 157 Guideline 3: Concentrate First on Comments about Your Ideas 157 Guideline 4: Reconcile Contradictory Feedback by Seeking Clarification 158 Guideline 5: Reconcile Comments about Style with Your Style Manual 158 Guideline 6: Allow Sufficient Time for the Feedback and Redrafting Process 158 Guideline 7: Compare Your Draft with Your Topic Outline 159 Guideline 8: Check the Structure of Your Review for Parallelism 159 Guideline 9: Avoid Overusing Direct Quotations, Especially Long Ones 159 Guideline 10: Avoid Using Synonyms for Recurring Words 160 Guideline 11: Spell Out All Acronyms When You First Use Them, and Avoid Using Too Many 161 Guideline 12: Avoid the Use of Contractions—They Are Inappropriate In Formal Academic Writing 161 Guideline 13: When Used, Coined Terms Should Be Set Off by Quotations 162 Guideline 14: Avoid Slang Expressions Colloquialisms, and Idioms 162 Guideline 15: Use Latin Abbreviations in Parenthetic Material—Elsewhere, Use English Translations 163 Guideline 16: Check Your Draft for Common Writing Conventions 163 Guideline 17: Write a Concise and Descriptive Title for the Review 164 Guideline 18: Strive for a User-friendly Draft 165 Guideline 19: Make Sure That You Have Enclosed in Quotation Marks and/or Cited All Words and Ideas That Are Not Your Own 167 Guideline 20: Use Great Care to Avoid Plagiarism 169 Guideline 21: Get Help If You Need It 172 Activities for Chapter 12 172 Notes 173 13 Preparing a Reference List 174 Guideline 1: Consider Using Bibliographic Software to Help Manage the Details of Your References 174 Guideline 2: Place the Reference List at the End of the Review under the Main Heading “References” 175 Guideline 3: A Reference List Should Refer Only to Sources Cited in the Literature Review 175 Guideline 4: List References Alphabetically by Author’s Surname 175 Guideline 5: Double-Space All Entries 175 Guideline 6: Use Hanging Indents for the Second and Subsequent Lines of References 175 Guideline 7: Learn How to Create Hanging Indents Using a Word Processing Program 176 Guideline 8: Italicize the Titles of Journals and Their Volume Numbers 176 Guideline 9: Pay Particular Attention to Capitalization 177 Guideline 10: Pay Particular Attention to Punctuation 178 Guideline 11: Do Not Add Extraneous Material Such As Abbreviations for Page Numbers 178 Guideline 12: Journal Articles Accessed Through Online Database Repositories Should Be Cited as if They Were Accessed in Their Print Form 178 Guideline 13: Provide the Date and URL in References for Material Published Online 179 Guideline 14: Format References to Books in Accordance with a Style Manual 180 Guideline 15: If Using Online Bibliographic Tools, Make Sure That Generated Citations Are Listed in Correct Format 180 Guideline 16: Double-Check the Reference List against the Citations in the Body of the Review 181 Concluding Comment 181 Activities for Chapter 13 181 Notes 181 Appendix A Comprehensive Self-editing Checklist for Refining the Final Draft 182 Appendix B Sample Literature Reviews 188 Index 304 "This useful guide educates students in the preparation of literature reviews for term projects, theses, and dissertations. The authors provide numerous examples from published reviews that illustrate the guidelines discussed throughout the book. New to the seventh edition: each chapter breaks down the larger holistic review of literature exercise into a series of smaller, manageable steps; practical instructions for navigating today's digital libraries; comprehensive discussions about digital tools, including bibliographic and plagiarism detection software; chapter activities that reflect the book's updated content; new model literature reviews; and online resources designed to help instructors plan and teach their courses"--Page 4 of cover « This useful guide educates students in the preparation of literature reviews for term projects, theses, and dissertations. The authors provide numerous examples from published reviews that illustrate the guidelines discussed throughout the book. »-- Résumé de l'éditeur