4/22/2010 The Literature Review Quotes ‘Writing a faulty literature review is one of many ways to derail a dissertation’ If the literature review is flawed, the remainder Dr Christine Knox Microbiologist Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation Faculty of Science and Technology [email protected] of the dissertation may also be viewed as flawed, because: ‘a researcher cannot perform significant research without first understanding the literature in the field’ (Boote and Beile, 2005) (Randolph, 2009) Quotes ‘Examiners typically started reviewing a dissertation di t ti with ith th the expectation t ti th thatt it would ld pass’ ‘A poorly conceptualised or written literature review often indicated that the rest of the dissertation might have problems’ ‘Examiners ‘E i would ld proceed d to llook k at the h methods of data collection, the analysis and the conclusions more carefully!’ How to write a literature review? Lack of published information on ‘how’ to write it the th review. i Most graduate students receive little or no formal training! It is a labour intensive process Gall, Borg and Gall (1996) estimates that it will take 3 – 6 months of effort! (Boote and Beile, 2005) 1 4/22/2010 What is writing? E.M Forrester “How do I know what I think until I see what I say.” say. Writing is thinking made tangible Thinking g that can be examined Because it is on the page and not in the head, invisible and floating around Writing is thinking that can be stopped and tinkered with It is a way of holding thought still long enough to examine its structures, its possibilities and its flaws. The road to a clearer understanding is travelled on paper. Writing Thinking Saying Seeing g ‘Most written texts do not emerge fully formed; they are crafted, composed and unfold through a process of transforming ideas into language.’ (John Gage, 1986) (Anthony Pare, http://faculty.msvu.ca/SusanDrain/pare%20keynote.pdf ) QUT PhD PhD- Stage 2 QUT PhD PhD- Confirmation 10 – 20 page proposal Preliminary Literature Review The detail required varies between faculties and you should be guided by you supe your supervisor so – a minimum u o of 25 5 sou sources ces iss normally o a y required. equ ed The extent of the literature review should be sufficient to demonstrate that there is a gap in the knowledge base which your project will fill. You should ensure that at least some of the sources discussed are from the most current literature. Part A for Confirmation Panel: The research plan, consistent with The aim is to argue for the significance of the original contribution that you will make. By discussing current relevant literature you should identify the gaps in the literature that you will address, the unanswered questions you will explore. PhD regulations, g for the Confirmation Panel. It will include, but is not limited to, details of: any remaining coursework to be completed including an assessment plan; the nature of participation in scholarly activities of the centre, school, or faculty in which the study is being undertaken; the objectives of the program of research and investigation and its relationship to published research in the same field; the research methods to be followed; the mode of thesis presentation e.g. by publication, monograph or creative works. the title of the thesis; and a timeline for completion of the research program. 2 4/22/2010 QUT PhD PhD-Thesis PhDPhD - Stage 2 How to begin the preliminary literature review? 3. Thesis Requirements Before commencing their thesis, the student should contact their supervisor and the Library to obtain advice on presentation, and, during presentation, should ensure: the thesis makes an original and/or significant contribution to the field of research; the methodology applied in the candidate’s research is effective and appropriate for the thesis topic; the thesis reflects competence in the survey of literature and documentation of statements; the thesis is of the required standard for external examination; the thesis is well written having due consideration to relevant writing conventions and d style t l guidelines; id li that the spelling, grammar, punctuation and choice of language are of a high standard; that the thesis is presented in English; that all citations and the bibliography comply with relevant disciplinary conventions, and that all typing errors are corrected Complete all paperwork Tidy the office/desk Clean the house, mow the lawn! Do the ironing! Write lists of things to do! Flower and Hayes, 1981 Beginning writers Text T production d i and d variations i i Example: introductory sentence to job application Different versions - I have studied at QUT for for… After completing a B. App. Sc at QUT I wish to apply for… I wish to apply for the position of…… Expert writers Engage E in i complex l cognitive, linguistic and rhetorical processes as they compose! WHAT? HOW? 3 4/22/2010 Pre – writing: Planning Writing process Brainstorming Free writing Notebook(s) ( ) to record all ideas Pre- writing For each chapter For each paper Map Writing Trees Concept maps Hierarchies Ladders – dot points Examples Revision PCR Approach Typing -SNPs,RAPD PCR -primer design -RFLP, PFGE, -parameters -Sequencing Cloning -sequencing -optimisation -MSLT -expression --multiplex assays -HRM Cresswell’s (2005) -- detection identify key areas/terms locate literature Microbial Real time PCR RT PCR Biotechnology New QUT subject Case studies -LSB528 – Environmental --LSB578 – Virology -LSB568 – EM eg FISH -LSB6xx(LSB547 – Bact path Bioinformatics -Bacterial genomes, genes analyses -Unique genes, Homologues, paralogues critically evaluate and select -Industrial -Applications -Vaccines -Therapeutics Future directions - microarrays -Comparative genomics Create an audit trail (Notebook) Define the focus of the review Search for relevant literature organise g literature Classify y the documents write literature review Create summary database -LSB628 Enviromental Biotechnology Ogawa and Malen’s Method in Randolph (2009) Identify constructs and hypothesised causal linkages Search for contrary findings --TSS, promoters, operons and rival interpretations Christine Knox 2007 4 4/22/2010 Identifying key areas or terms Bacteria in follicular fluid -Previous papers -Findings Findings Topic: “ The detection and identification of bacteria (both culturable and nonculturable) in follicular fluid: the effect on fertility” Approach A h Use post it notes to create a ‘word map’ or ‘word tree’ Identifying key areas or terms Culture methods for detecting bacteria - Used for follicular fluid Horne et al. Reproduction (2008) 135: 739-749 Effect of bacteria on fertility -Natural pregnancies -IVF pregnancies Culture of follicular fluid -Previous papers -Bacteria detected Other methods used to detect bacteria in follicular fluid Identification methods - conventional - more recent technologies (Creswell, 2005) Identifying key areas or terms Bacteria in follicular Topic: “ The detection and identification of bacteria (both culturable and non-culturable) in follicular fluid: the effect on fertility” Approach Critically evaluate and select literature Use post it notes to create a ‘word map’ or ‘word tree’ Shuffle the key areas/ sub points Arrive at a logical sequence for presenting the information fluid - Previous papers - Findings • Search terms • Databases – PUBMED • Download PDF document • Print document • Download reference to Endnote (Creswell, 2005) 5 4/22/2010 Organise literature/ Classify the documents Bacteria in follicular fluid -Previous papers -Findings Findings Culture of follicular fluid -Previous papers -Bacteria detected Culture methods for detecting bacteria - Used for follicular fluid Effect of bacteria on fertility -Natural pregnancies -IVF pregnancies Critically evaluate and select/ Create a summary database Key area – ‘Bacteria in follicular fluid (FF)’ Author/year Study Design Results Conclusions Discussion 1. Cottel / 1996 28 couples 30 IVF cycles FF cultured No effect on IVF outcomes - Antimicrobials remove bacteria from in vitro culture of eggs and sperm Other methods used to detect bacteria in follicular fluid Each pile for one topic/ paragraph Identification methods - conventional - more recent technologies Organise literature Summarise multiple papers per search term Group the papers – critically evaluate Those studies that have similar findings Organise literature Summarise multiple papers per search term Identify constructs and causal links! Group the papers – critically evaluate Studies with different findings – Why? Evaluate – why? Several studies, investigating almost 6,000 women have demonstrated that U. urealyticum colonisation of the lower genital tract is not significantly associated with preterm preterm low birth weight g or preterm p premature p rupture p birth, p of membranes (Harrison, 1986; Polk et al. 1989; McGregor et al. 1990a, 1990b; Carey et al. 1991; Knox et al. 1997). 1 study, different results Why! Identify constructs and causal links! Evaluate Similar methods Similar cohorts, controls, study design Strong scientific reason or hypothesis supporting these findings 6 studies, same results 50% of cycles microorganisms isolated -27% needle washes - 40 or 32% FF -2 culture media at 20hrs Different techniques q – where some better or inferior Which results are more trustworthy and why? Is there a dilemma that needs to be resolved? Is there a knowledge gap that needs to be investigated? Is there a justification for your PhD project? Conversely McDonald et al. (1992) in a study of 786 women did demonstrate a significant association between G. vaginalis and U. urealyticum colonisation in the second trimester of pregnancy and preterm birth and preterm premature rupture of membranes. It is very difficult to design a study to investigate the aetiological cause of adverse pregnancy outcome because of the polymicrobial nature of the normal flora of the lower genital tract and other maternal risk factors which can precipitate preterm delivery. Similarly it is difficult to compare studies because of differences in demographics and experimental design. However it is now accepted that lower genital tract colonisation with U. urealyticum is not predictive of adverse pregnancy outcome (Gibbs et al. 1992; Cassell et al. 1993). 6 4/22/2010 Planning still! Organise literature - Aim Per Search Term/ Per Paragraph Once the data has been: Describe the literature – broad strokes – what h b has been d done 10 authors found that ……. By contrast others disagreed…….. Find a position Assembled Grouped Evaluated Revisit the structure Trees Concept maps Hierarchies Hi hi Ladders – dot points Review / Shuffle Add to the structure Explain it to your audience Identify gaps What can be investigated to add to this area of research? Writing Writing You have all of the information For a key area/ search term/ paragraph Start writing! Write at a time that suits you best Early in the morning – no interruptions Late at night – when the children are in bed! Ignore ‘word editor’ – write quickly! Get your ideas on paper or on the screen Difficulties in writing a sentence/expressing an idea Preface the statement with ‘I want to tell you that…… In my PhD project I will be …. Write – then remove the preface. Think, say then write Writing must make sense Read the sentence out loud- does it make sense‘Is this how you would say it?’ ‘Describe it to your mother or to your child’ – use simple language Writing problems are often signs of conceptual problems E.g. Using complex language – derived from papers Use simple language – understand what you are writing 7 4/22/2010 Writing Consider the readers ‘Find a position and explain it to the audience’ Who is the audience? Expectations Standards Committees Discipline Other readers Writing Having problems – seek help! ‘Genuflect to a known expert p audience’. Use active verbs – argue, propose, describe, demonstrate, hypothesise Use the correct tense Previous studies – past tense Research plan – future tense Revising Beware of plagiarism! Consult resources Papers – Randolph 2009 QUT resources Online – http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ Attend seminars, writing workshops Join writing groups – peer review Attend journal clubs Review articles articles, evaluate content content, writing style style, Review exemplars Look at texts or paper within a similar discipline – which papers express ideas well? Why? How can you learn from this style? Reward! Read aloud! Consider readers Reflect What were your goals? Have these changed during the course of the review? Review structure Look for grammatical errors Correct sentence construction? Again – Read aloud, does a/the sentence make sense? 8 4/22/2010 The Literature Review -an evolving document Revising Work with your supervisor Stage 1 Stage 2 Confirmation Thesis C Content 1 – 2 pages 10 – 20 pages V i Varies Li Literature relevant to your thesis Topics Brief outline Broad review of literature Discussion of new topics Be selectiverevisit papers Discussion Brief Important to evaluate prior research Evaluate these Critical – prior work Your work!! Gaps Brief Importantjustify project Importantjustify this additional research Critical – those relevant to thesis Relevance to your results Only if you have prior data Too early! Reasons for adding Leads into your results Writing is an opportunity to display knowledge. Writing can explore, can problem solve, can ‘make’ knowledge. Students need to develop writing skills over time. Supervisors role To develop writing skills To T help h l with ith planning, l i organising, i i d drafting fti and d revising To help students write and think within a discipline Writing Assessment Criterion referenced assessment - CRA ‘Hard intellectual work’ Boote and Beile, 2005 Review of 30 Education literature reviews Each results on a scale of 1-3 Mean results Tough job Emotional Academics are professional writers Writing varies across disciplines No quick fixes – life long learning task You may be writing to a person with less expertise. You will become the ‘expert in the field’ 9