11/6/2012: APA & LITERATURE REVIEWAdapted from: Betsy DivineAdapted from: Karen KohkanBy: Hope L. Crenshaw

Literature Review• Discuss in groups of three: • 1.What is a literature review?• 2. Why is a literature review important?• 3. If you've ever written a literature review, what was the

topic? How did you organize your literature review?

Objectives• To review APA citation rules.• To understand the purpose and structure of a Literature

Review.• To begin to analyze their own sources in order to find an

appropriate organizational theme for their literature review.

So What Factor? • Literature Review for your research paper due November

11th for peer review. • Final copy is due November 13th. • Places the information in context• Gives a reader an understanding of your research and

how it fits into the larger context.

In-text Citation• (Teng & Chen, 2012) -No alphabetizing.

• Leave as written in the original work. • If you are citing multiple works who present type of information,

alphabetize. • For example:

• Incorrect: (Chen & Gonzalez-Fundora, 2010; Okur & Li, 2012; Choi & Tai, 2011).

• Correct: (Chen & Gonzalez-Fundora, 2010; Choi & Tai, 2011; Okur & Li, 2012).

When to Use Names Inside or Outside of The Parenthesis

• If the name is outside the parenthesis, the emphasis is placed on the person and what they wrote. • Smith (1995) argues that computers will one day revolutionize how

we see the world. • If the name is inside the parenthesis, the emphasis is

placed on the information, not necessarily who said it.• Computers will one day revolutionize how we see the world

(Anderson, 2012; Smith, 1995).

What is a literature review?A literature review (LR) is a general overview of the current research on your topic, a “collection” of what others have said. It is usually a review of the published sources:

• Books• Journal Articles• Newspaper Articles• Etc.

• However, the information obtained from personal communication and video recordings may also be included as a source into your lit review section

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Video literature reviews

Click here to access video

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Literature review is not simply…• a summary of all the articles which you read!!!!In a LR, you should:1. connect all the sources together;2. critically analyze each source;3. find a common topic and connect it to the topic of your

paper

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What is the purpose of LR? => discuss In pairs• is to convey to your reader the current knowledge

and ideas that exist on the background of your thesis topic.

Namely:• provides a historical overview of literature with a

special emphasis on your thesis topic.• will establish the importance of the topic.• will help the reader understand the study through the

review of Literature.• will include the strengths and weaknesses of the

published work

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Use/Purpose ContinuedA literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

1. Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review

2. Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration

3. Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research

4. Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies

5. Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort

6. Point the way forward for further research7. Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations)

in the context of existing literature

The literature review itself, however, does not present new primary scholarship

Types of Literature Reviews:

a. Descriptive literature reviews => only the description of the material available; most common type

b. Critical literature review => assessment of usefulness of literature, comparison and synthesis of the ideas

What type of literature review will you choose for your problem-solution paper? Why? Explain

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Identify the type of literature review

(See Handout)

Task: Read two short samples of literature reviews and identify which of them is descriptive and which is critical.

*Most literature reviews have a combination of both descriptive and critical reviews.

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Quiz #1

• Complete Quiz 1

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Video on Organization

Click here to access Part 2 of the video (we will watch only 4 min) that discusses possible ways to organize a lit review

structure of LR:  Intro

Introduction - states the purpose or scope of the review

In the introduction you should: 1. define or identify the general topic, issue or area of

concern 2. point out overall � trends in what has already been

published 3. (optional) indicate the � organization of the review. (length: about half a page)

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Structure of LR: Body

Body - subsections relate to the selection & significance of the problem. Do not list one study after another, but rather classify, compare & contrast as they relate to your problem statement.

You should:• group research studies and other relevant literature

according to a common theme • summarize each item of the literature appropriately �

according to its significance • � compare and evaluate each item of the literature • � provide topic sentences at the beginning of paragraphs

and summary sentences at the end of sections to help the reader understand what the main issues are.

(length: about 2 pages)

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Structure of LR: Conclusion/Summary

Options Include:• summarize the literature maintaining the focus presented in

the introduction • evaluate the � current "state of the art”, pointing out gaps in

the literature, • inconsistencies and issues that are important for future study • conclude by:�

• giving some insight into the relationship between your topic and a larger area of study or area of professional practice• OR

• explaining the organization of your paper.• OR

• a thesis statement

(length: about half a page)

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You’ll Need Sufficient sourcesContinue collecting your sources for your research paper and think about organizing them into a literature review according to the structure that we have just discussed.

Your final draft should be about 2-3 pages (excluding a title page and references)!

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Step 2: Organizing the LRStep 1: Researching/ Collecting Sources Step 2: Organizing My Literature Review In the video and in class, we saw how lit reviews can follow a variety of different structures that are linked around one theme. Here were some of those example themes:

1. Chronological2. Advancements3. Geographical4. Proponents/Opponents (of specific theories)

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Work on Our ChartsStep 1: Read and thinkOpen up your Annotated Bibliographies and study the content. Do you see any common themes between them that will assist you in organizing your Literature Review?

Step 2: Share/ FeedbackShare your ideas on the theme you will use for your lit review. Provide rational as to why you want to organize it that way. Try to supply feedback to each other regarding their organization.

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LIT REVIEW LANGUAGEGrammar/vocabulary

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Common Starting Phrases for Research Papers:

Recently, there has been a growing interest in… The possibility of….has generated wide interest in… The development of …is a classic problem in… The development of …has lead to the hope that… The…has become a favorite topic for analysis.. Knowledge of… has a great importance for… The study of…has become an important aspect of… A central issue in… is… (The)… has been extensively studied in recent years Many investigators have recently turned to… The relationship between …and… has been investigated by may

researchers Many recent studies have focused on…

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Source Integration• I: Researcher as agent

• Jones (1997) investigated the causes of literacy.• The causes of literacy were investigated by Jones (1997).

• II: Researcher activity not as agent• The causes of illiteracy have been widely investigated (, Ferrara 2000,

Hyon, 2004, Jones, 1997).• There have been several investigations into the causes of illiteracy

(Ferrara 2000, Hyon, 2004, Jones, 1997,).• III: Present—no reference to researcher activity

• The causes of illiteracy are complex (Ferra 2000, Jones, 1997,).• Illiteracy appears to have a complex set of causes (Ferra, 2000, Jones,

1997).

• Can you come up with more?

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Grammar: Establishing A NicheApart from X, little is known about… Other than X, few researches exists on…

Uncountable : Little Countable: fewHowever, little information…Little attention…Little work…Little data…Little research…

However, few studies…Few investigations…Few researchersFew attempts

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Grammar: Establishing a NicheWhat are the differences in meaning in the following sentences?

There is little research on…There is a little research on…

The department has few computers.The department has a few computers.

No studies calculate…None of these studies calculate…

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Establishing a Niche Strategies• Past research has tended to focus on…rather than…• These studies have emphasized…as opposed to…• Although considerable research has been devoted to …,

rather less attention has been paid to…• It remains unclear whether…• It would thus be of interest to learn how…• It would seem, therefore, that further investigations are

needed in order to…

Practice

Quiz Time 2

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