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  • jamie16917 9:57 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to sift through the online available sources? 

    Hello
    I am a PHd student in the field of comparative literature. My Thesis includes a comparative study of the personal diaries of a prominent Urdu Historian and poet Altaf Hussain Hali with the two collection (divan) of his poems, in order to reconstruct the political and literary debate of the time, which seems shed light on an alternative perception of reality that was being perceived and experienced. I am not fluent in the language in which Hali wrote, therefore most of my reading has been in translation, there seems to be a number of translations available of the same. These many translations have put me in a dilemma because each of it tends to posit a slightly different or altogether different stance. What could be the best way to select or reject the translated texts, particularly when they deal with history?

     

    • Alisa Craig 10:28 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Name:Alisa Craig Email: Craigcoolqueen@gmail.com
      Hi, your research sounds very interesting, and this a common problem that any scholar dealing with a translated texts has to face. I suggest you could focus on the translation intent of every translator which would give you a fair understanding of the stance and intention of the translator thereby explaining the omission or additions you must have encountered, and you could also chronologically align the publishing dates that would also allow you to come to an understanding of the changes that have occurred over time. This way you could make an informed decision.

    • Aaron Wilson 10:30 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Name:Aaron Wilson Email: Wislon.aaron2014@gmail.com

      Hello, This is a valid anxiety, since translation is a nuanced phenomenon it tends to differ from the other translations sometimes. I suggest you could consider a number of them even if they differ from each other, and then you can elaborately refute or laud these translations and try to build a discourse out of it, that will allow you a better scope of comparison and analysis. Then you could try and work your way out of this confusion.

  • wilson349 9:23 am on December 20, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to select secondary resources to include in Literature Review? 

    Hi All!
    I’m currently pursuing a research project on Diet and Nutrition, particularly on how different food types increase or decrease the likelihood of heart disease. The purpose of the study is to further existing research in the field and eventually help nutritionists in designing diet charts for patients of heart disease. I have begun writing a literature review for my proposal but can’t seem to narrow down the secondary resources I should include in the review, the large number of resources available on the internet is confusing me. I have gone through a lot of journals on the subject but am having a tough time selecting research articles. How does one figure out which resources are reliable and will go well with my topic? Can anyone provide some tips to help me with the selection process?

     

    • joseph664 6:48 am on December 21, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hi Wilson349!
      I went through a similar crises while writing the literature review for my research proposal, the process can seem overwhelming at times. I suggest that you narrow down your search for resources to only credible ones i.e. that which are available in peer-reviewed online journals. Do not include papers from websites of unaccredited journals, there are a large number of such papers available online, avoiding them will help you limit the number of websites you need to look at.

    • Laura Betcher 2:50 pm on December 21, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hi
      Even though I do not share your academic background a general suggestion to go about the selection process would be to pick articles from databases centered to your subject and not from miscellaneous all-subject databases. You should also make your literature review as comprehensive as possible, search for relevant research works on government/private health websites and in existing dissertations written by scholars in your field. Only when you have exhausted all possible research sources from your field can you write a thorough literature review. It is very important that the selected articles should be from recent studies in the field, not from older researches. And apart from writing about existing research developments in the field, a literature Review should present a critical understanding about present research, including a research gap which your research seeks to fulfill.

    • jamie16917 9:00 pm on December 21, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hello!
      I’ve completed my PhD in the field of nutrition, my research work was based on recommendations to limit the amount of vitamin dosages in food supplements.According to me,you should only access resources from highly ranked and reputed journals such as the Annual Review of nutrition, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, International Journal of Obesity and others. And if you know of renowned researchers or scientists working in your area of interest, search for papers published by them.

  • Laura Betcher 7:00 am on October 9, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    What to do when my research findings do not match up with the literature review? 

    My thesis is due next month, and I have been stuck here with my thesis! The findings of my research are totally different what I expected them to be. My literature review and the objectives of the study were aimed to study something else, but now I realize that it wasn’t what I expected. My research has gone awry! If I promised to study ABC, my data analysis gave me the answer xyz of another question which I didn’t even think about. How can it be completely opposite! I guess the questionnaire is to be blamed for this for I didn’t check its reliability before-hand. What shall I do now? If I change the objectives and literature review of my thesis, won’t my proposal would be questioned which submitted to the committee? I have no idea what to do. In such a short time, I could not re-analyze my data!! No idea guys, please advise!

     

  • matilda774 11:05 am on July 24, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to write literature review chapter for thesis? 

    I have been searching and collecting references and resources for literature review chapter for past four weeks. My research is all about the stereotyping threats among the people belonging to age group of 20-35 years based in US. I visited the Michigan libraries to find reliable literature but because the topic is less explored, it lacks the adequate information. So, I have around 41 research papers only to study but I do not understand how I should write the review, shall I write the review author-wise or by the date of publication. My chair wants that I provide the research methodologies used by each of the authors I cite so I’m thinking to draft review of literature in tabular form which would keep each methodology or its relevancy sorted out. However, I don’t know if it would be a good idea or not. Help please!

     

    • Yusuf 6:53 am on August 25, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      I guess you should write literature review theoretically as well as in tabular form. Creating only a synthesized table alone would be much confusing because then there is no scope for explaining or criticizing the existing literature if needed. So, for that purpose only, I think you should write the review as per the publication dates as then you can actually describe the evolution of the knowledge or concepts discovered. Here is a good
      resource http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/get-assistance/writing/specific-types-papers/writing-literature-review. This is a detailed guide using which you can conveniently draft review chapter.

    • Samantha 2:57 am on August 27, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      In my opinion, opt for both tabular as well as theoretical format. It is essential to take note of that your review ought not be just a portrayal of what others have published In the form of summaries, however should appear as a basic exchange, indicating knowledge of varying speculations and methodologies. It should be an amalgamation and analysis of the applicable published work, connected consistently to your own particular purpose and justification.

    • Zishan 11:59 am on August 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      According to me you should go for the tabular format. You can include different columns to highlight the pros and cons of the studies done. Reasoning being, it will save time of the reviewer and will give the better understanding about the work done in the past and the current area of study.

    • Ellis 6:02 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      In my suggestion, to make a literature review informative, analytical, it is necessary to identify the areas of controversy and help formulate questions that need further research. The most common method used is in the theoretical format. This goes for both primary research projects and secondary data analysis research projects. A good review is described by the author’s ability to assess and critically analyze the significant work in the field.

  • Laura Betcher 12:12 pm on July 18, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to synthesize research articles? 

    Hi. It has been three weeks now that I’m still trying to write the literature review chapter of my thesis. My research is about the unfavourable impact that technology has on employees at the workplace. And for this, I obtained 61 research articles and papers from libraries and DOA which are really useful. So, the problem is that I reviewed all of them, finalized 20 research papers and prepared detailed notes. But I cannot synthesize the 20 sources which then are troubling me in writing LR. Are there some tools or any easy peasy way to get done with it?

     

    • jamie16917 1:17 am on July 19, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      So are you trying to synthesize all of the 20 articles? I don’t think you will be able to synthesize and you are not supposed to do that. Don’t you think it will be too much for the reader to grasp your intent? Instead, out of those 20, you take out 10-12 research papers which you can actually cite and synthesize them all. Now for writing part, you can explore synthesis matrices. Here is a good template of research synthesis matrix. Referring to this create your synthesis matrix and then bring out the main concepts or ideas of those research papers along with the mentioning the sources. https://danieltedman.com/demo/literature-review/resources/docs/synthesis-matrix.pdf

    • Thomas 8:20 am on July 23, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      What I understand of the problem you are facing is perhaps you are unable to plunge into the articles for understanding the central idea & the developmental structure or organization of the articles. So, first read and review each of those articles and write the main theme of each of them in a synthesis chart or table; whatever you feel like! When you can visualize these, you will automatically see the connecting or the contrasting ideas of multiple sources. And then you can easily write all of these in a coherent manner. You can either begin synthesizing those ideas either source by source or theme by theme. In such way, you can write your focused literature review carefully.

    • tom2331 7:19 am on July 27, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPKEuWkdcF4 although, the idea is not practically elaborated, still, it will clear of many of your doubts. A month back, I had a similar problem with writing literature review chapter when I found this video. It’s good.

  • molly736 9:33 am on January 3, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    Tips on writing literature review 

    I am doing part-time PhD from past few months and have been managing my job and research quite well, but I have had some aborted attempts to write the literature review. Recently, I have gone through a bad patch of work. I have tried many different ways to write the literature review, such as mind mapping, just writing, etc. but nothing has come to my rescue and things have turned frustrating now. Can anyone give me few tips on how to write the same? It will be of great help.

     

    • Humbert 9:04 am on January 3, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Discuss on any other literature review given on the topic. Explain how your research will help in filling the gaps in that subject. At the end of the review, write a conclusion.

    • melisa72 12:01 pm on January 3, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      I can completely relate to you. In the beginning, I was going through the same phase but my supervisor helped me go through this. He suggested thinking of it as a kitchen sieve. Start with the broadest topic and continually narrow it until you reach your final point.

    • sherry 12:04 pm on January 3, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      I would also recommend Hart’s book. My supervisor advised it to me and I am thankful to him. It helped me a lot. It made my mind clear about how to proceed with the review.

    • Robbie 6:02 am on January 4, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      I would advise you to pick 10-15 articles to use as the core of the review. Take help of these articles and analyse how they have been written.

    • London 3:03 am on January 5, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      I will recommend you to read Hart’s book on literature review. It is a long book but the amount of knowledge it provides on how to write a literature review is well worth the time. It gives a lot of advice on how to go with the process.

    • Karl 10:05 am on January 5, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Start by identifying the problem statement of your thesis. Explain why this area of study is important. Give your reasons for selecting the research and how it differs from the already done research. Also, Your conclusion can provide support for an allegation made in the introduction, or simply critique the study to encourage more work in the area.

  • sherry599 2:11 am on December 8, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    Not enough study material available for literature review 

    Pals, please advise me readings or any fruitful suggestion for literature review. I’m not finding enough criticism and material available to review and then compare and contrast with my own. What should I do now? I’m tired of going round and round in the libraries and bookstores. And I don’t find study material on internet reliable. I’m a PhD student of English literature and need to work on the renaissance era. Badly need help.

     

    • Robin 12:31 pm on December 9, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      It’s not true. You can find scholarly articles and journals on J.Stor and Academia.edu. They only contain trusted and high level of research papers. And there are number of academic essays, books, and literary criticism available on renaissance. It’s just that you must ‘research’ to get the right information. Narrow your topic down but must look for related genre and theories.

    • Dr S Loretti 12:33 pm on December 9, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Resist under-researched work please lest you should be ready to face rejection. Consult supervisor and professors of the concerned field and don’t be afraid to run after books, and journals. It is a PhD and this is why it is called ‘difficult’. Search for old journals, they contain vast information.

    • sherry599 12:37 pm on December 11, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Thanks to both for advice. 🙂

  • Dr S Loretti 7:51 am on January 31, 2015 Permalink | Reply  

    Taking notes for a better literature review 

    As you prepare to write a literature review for your thesis, you will read enormous amount of text. To make sure that you include in your literature review everything useful that you’ve read, it is important that you take notes. Notes will serve as a guide map to your confused and irritated brain!

    • keep a record of the keywords that lead you to useful articles.
    • keep highlighting or marking text that you believe to be probably useful.
    • Use spider diagrams or flow charts to join the dots! This particularly helpful when you need to draw a fresh inference in your research. Diagrams can also be used to study connections.
    • prepare a sheet where you enlist issues to be addressed in your research and against each issue mention whatever useful you read about it. Remember to mention authors and how they look at the issue. some authors may suggest and you may agree. Other times, you may disagree with what an author suggests. Whatever be the case, record it accordingly.
    • you can use a database like Microsoft one note or Evernote; or maybe a PDF markup manager. Reference managers like Zotero, Mendeley and Endnote will also help you organize all your reviewed papers in a systematic manner.
    • Academic phrase bank is a web source that helps you in phrasing your review better.
     

    • smita 12:06 pm on March 28, 2015 Permalink | Reply

      How to check the validation of review of literature? There is a plethora of information available. It becomes tedious to know which source is reliable for my research.

    • David 5:42 am on March 30, 2015 Permalink | Reply

      How to filter content to write concise literature review for my dissertation?

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