The literature review is a compulsory part of research and, increasingly, may form the whole of a student research project. This highly accessible book guides students through the production of either a traditional or a systematic literature review, clearly explaining the difference between the two types of review, the advantages and disadvantages of both, and the skills needed. It gives practical advice on reading and organising relevant literature and critically assessing the reviewed field.
Contents include:
using libraries and the internet
note making
presentation
critical analysis
referencing, plagiarism and copyright.
This book will be relevant to students from any discipline. It includes contributions from two lecturers who have many years experience of teaching research methods and the supervision of postgraduate research dissertations and a librarian, each offering expert advice on either the creation and assessment of literature reviews or the process of searching for information. The book also highlights the increasing importance for many disciplines of the systematic review methodology and discusses some of the specific challenges which it brings.
Jill K. Jesson has worked with multi-disciplinary research teams within the Aston School of Pharmacy, Aston Business School and with M-E-L Research, an independent public services research consultancy. She has now left Aston University and is working as a Consultant.
Lydia Matheson is an Information Specialist working for Library & Information Services at Aston University.
Fiona M. Lacey is an academic pharmacist, a member of the pharmacy practice teaching group in the School of Pharmacy, and Associate Dean in the School of Life and Health Sciences at Aston.
Introduction
Who is this book for?
How is this book different?
The rationale and history behind the contributions from a researcher and from an information specialist
Features of the book
Layout of the book
PART ONE: GETTING INFORMATION
Preliminaries
What is a literature review?
Terminology used in this book
Different styles of review
Two styles or approaches
A critical approach
Knowledge and literature
Why and when will you need to review the literature?
The research question and the literature review
What is appropriate literature?
Choosing which style of review: a traditional narrative review or a systematic review
Project management
Searching for Information
Introduction
Develop online searches by identifying key words and creating a search record
The range of information sources available for complex searches.
What do you need from a resource to make it appropriate for locating journal articles for your review?
Reading Skills
Introduction
Be analytical in your reading
Where to start
Reading techniques - scan, skim and understand
Reading different types of material
Grey literature: non academic sources and policy reports
Recording and note making
From Making Notes to Writing
Introduction
Note-making
From notes to writing
Writing - critical writing and types of argument
Making a value judgment and bias
PART TWO: USING INFORMATION
The Traditional Review
Overview of the debate
Types of review: critical, conceptual state of the art, expert and scoping
Draw up an analytical framework - how to sort the material
Moving to analysis and synthesis
The presentation of your review
Summarizing the gap - dare to have an opinion.
Writing up Your Review
Overview
A short summary
A self-standing review
Abstract, executive summary and annotated bibliography
Writing the review
Key words or phrases to help you move from stage 1 to stage 2
The 'so what' question, originality and making a value judgment
The Systematic Review
Overview
Definitions
Development of the review protocol
Formulating the review question
Documenting your progress
Locating studies and sources of information
Selecting studies: inclusion and exclusion criteria
Appraisal - assessing the quality of research
Data extraction
Synthesis, drawing conclusions, what the review shows
Evolving formats of systematic review
Meta- Analysis
Overview
What is meta-analysis?
Can I use meta-analysis to summarise the results of my systematic review?
Undertaking your meta-analysis
Displaying the results of a meta-analysis
Is your meta-analysis free from bias?
Performing a sensitivity analysis
Referencing and Plagiarism
Introduction
Why is referencing important?
What do you need to reference?
How many references should I provide?
When and how to reference
Referencing systems
Where to find citation information you need
Plagiarism
Copyright
Conclusion
Summary
Appendices
Appendix 1: Further reading
Appendix 2: Critical review checklist
Appendix 3: Systematic review online resources
Appendix 4: Resources for meta-analysis
Glossary
