Lourdes VillarrealMarch 24, 2010

2:00-3:30ACB 214

Literature Review Workshop

OverviewIntroductionWhat is a Literature Review?What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?Strategies for Writing Literature ReviewsSES Website ResourcesHands-on Activity: Literature Review

SampleQuestions & Concluding Remarks

IntroductionLourdes Villarreal

Workshop AttendeesQuestions to AttendeesA. What do you already know? B. What do you want to know?C. What do you notice? (from sample lit review)

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is the critical examination of the research that has been done in a particular field or on a particular subject.

What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

The purpose of a literature review is to test your abilities as a researcher. In other words, the scholar (you) will

A. Become well versed in the research conducted in the field and or your subject

B. Be able to recognize the work of others

Purpose ContinuedBe selective of the sources used

Be able to hone your reading, writing, and critical thinking skills

Purpose Continued Be able to contribute to the scholarly

body of work that already exists.

Be able to contribute to the betterment of society.

Be able to differentiate how a literature review is written for a seminar paper, a published article, or a dissertation.

Purpose Continued

Be humbled by the realization that there is much more to know and to discover!

The ChallengesWhere to Begin

A. Narrow vs Broad (pros and cons)

B. Within a Theoretical Perspective

How to Organize the ReviewMultiple Theoretical Perspectives

Historical Analysis (how the subject has been written about in the literature; for example how a subject was being written about in the 50s may be very different than how it is written about in the 60s)

Themes (historical development could be a theme, variables, findings)

Methodology (research design: quantitative vs. qualitative)

Writing the ReviewWriting short, concise summaries of the

findings

Imbedding your critique or including at the end (you definitely do not want to just summarize the findings of the studies)

Synthesizing your literature review (summary)

Writing the Review Continued

Taking notes and keeping track (comparing/contrasting the findings)

Noting the differences between a literature review that is seminar paper or a qualifying exam compared to a literature review that you will find in a research article or that you would write for a dissertation.

Knowing when to Stop.

The Strategies

Have a clear understanding of what your professor expects (have you been give guidelines to follow?). The guidelines are the rubric for evaluating your work.

Example of Professor’s GuidelinesExample from Professor’s Smith’s Edu 462

(taken many years ago; numbering and color emphasis mine).

1.The review should include the identification of central works, 2. the overall contribution of this issue …, 3. strengths and weaknesses of the literature in the area, and 4. practical implications to be drawn. Note: The focus should be on reviewing the literature as opposed to simply a paper on the topic.

The StrategiesContinued Get to know the librarian (the education

expert)

From the Honnold Mudd Library Homepage, under contact a librarian

http://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/kimberlyfranklin

The Strategies Continued

Find out what resources are available in the library:From Contact us, under Directory of Specialists, choose “Education” and then “Articles”. You will find a section entitled “Literature Reviews”

http://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/content.php?pid=54808&sid=401373

The Strategies ContinuedLook for patterns in the literature reviews

(note how they are written)

Utilize the CGU Writing Center

Hands-on ActivityDistribute sample of literature review

Discuss

Questions & Final Remarks