The Literature Review The Writing Development Centre Contact

The Literature Review The Writing Development Centre Contact: wdc@ncl. ac. uk @ncl_wdc Writing Development Centre Explore the possibilities

Today’s session Writing as product Writing as process

The Literature Review: what are we aiming for? Read the Literature Review extract. Does it meet your own expectations of what a Literature Review should do and how it should be written? Why/why not?

Key aspects of the Literature Review • Your focus/agenda • What is the aim of your Literature Review? • Mapping existing knowledge • Key themes, patterns, issues • Debates and controversies • Key theories/definitions • Evaluating existing knowledge • Your viewpoint/stance • How does the literature relate to your project • Gaps

Foregrounding your authorial voice • Paragraph structure – where to put your point • Tense: present tense = current, past tense = no longer current • Reporting verbs: neutral vs ‘loaded’ • Signpost words: however, therefore, in contrast, moreover, indeed etc • Placing of reference: integral vs non-integral • Use of quotation • Hedging: ‘it could be argued’

Product to process: critical reading List the questions it is useful to ask of sources. Use the abstract as an example if you wish.

Three Domains of Critical Reading Validity: On its own terms Context: discipline/profession, authors, currency, bias What are they doing? Research Question/Aims/Hypothesis How did they do it? Methods, Models and Materials How do they know? Argument, evidence, logic and reasoning What do they say? Findings and conclusions Synthesis: In relation to others Relevance: Usefulness to you

Gaining and Maintaining an Overview Strategies: • Note-taking strategies: note not just the content but your reaction to it, links with other texts, and your potential use for it • Map the literature: mindmaps, digital tagging, categorise • Writing prompts: (Rowena Murray) • The main debates in my field are: • The main schools of thought are: • The main problems are: • What’s already known about this is: • The way thinking has changed is: • The areas that need more research are:

Planning and structuring your review • Establish your own agenda • What will your Literature Review do? What moves does it need to make? • There may be more than one function/purpose

Structural principles Chronologic al Schools of thought Sides of a debate Methods, theories, approaches Developme nt of a field Themes THE GAP Aspects of a whole Theory to practice Macro to micro Different contexts General to specific

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