Selecting Relevant Literature - Practical Research 2

Practical Research 2 Lesson 9 Selecting Relevant Literature...

Practical Research 2 Lesson 9 Selecting Relevant Literature LITERATURE REVIEW A literature review is a compilation of studies related to a specific area of research. It evaluates, classifies and summarizes all the relevant previous studies conducted on a specific topic. It is vital that your literature review is centralized. Thus, you should choose studies that are focused on your topic rather than collecting a broader scope of studies which are already not relevant to your research. Moreover, literature review is an essential component of research. It forms a "picture" for the reader, providing a support and full comprehension of the developments in the field. This picture tells the reader that you have acknowledged, considered and adapted previous related significant works in the field into your research. Types of Sources for a Literature Review: In doing a literature review, researchers must be acquainted with the three (3) basic types of sources which are the primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Primary sources are firsthand documents that provide direct evidence on your topic. The Library of Congress refers to them as the "raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience." Secondary sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. They often try to describe or explain primary sources. A tertiary source presents summaries or condensed versions of materials, usually with references back to the primary and/or secondary sources. As a researcher, you can find information about the research studies in numerous formats such as books, scholarly journal articles, dissertations, government documents, and periodicals. Scholarly Search Engines for your Literature Review: Google Scholar – Google Scholar was created as a tool to congregate scholarly literature on the web. From one place, students have the ability to hunt for peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Books – Google Books allows web users to browse an index of thousands of books, from popular titles to old, to find pages that include your search terms. Once you find the book you are looking for, you can look through pages, find online reviews and learn where you can get a hard copy. Microsoft Academic – Operated by the company that brings you Word, PowerPoint and Excel, Microsoft Academic is a reliable, comprehensive research tool. The search engine pulls content from over 120 million publications, including scientific papers, conferences and journals. You can search directly by topic, or you can search by an extensive list of fields of study. For example, if you’re interested in computer science, you can filter through topics such as artificial intelligence, computer security, data science, programming languages and more. WorldWideScience – WorldWideScience, which refers to itself as “The Global Science Gateway,” is operated by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information—a branch of the Office of Science within the U.S. Department of Energy. The site utilizes databases from over 70 countries. When users type a query, it hits databases from all over the world and will display both English and translated results from related journals and academic resources. Science.gov – Science.gov is operated and maintained by the Office of Science and Technical Information, the same department that collaborates on WorldWideScience.org. This search engine pulls from over 60 databases, over 2,200 websites and 200 million pages of journals, documents and scientific data. Search results can be filtered by author, date, topic and format (text or multimedia). Wolfram Alpha – A self-described “computational knowledge engine,” Wolfram Alpha does not so much provide search results as it does search answers. Simply type in a topic or question you may be interested in, such as, “What is the function of the pancreas?” and the answer will show up without making you scroll through pages of results. This is especially handy for those in need of math help. Educational Resources Information Center – Populated by the U.S. Department of Education, the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a great tool for academic research with more than 1.3 million bibliographic records of articles and online m aterials. ERIC provides access to an extensive body of education-related literature including journal articles, books, research syntheses, conference papers, technical reports, policy papers and more. With more than eight million searches each month, it’s no wonder why this search engine is a great web source for education. Virtual Learning Resources Center – The Virtual Learning Resources Center (VLRC) is an online index hosting thousands of scholarly websites, all of which are selected by teachers and librarians from around the globe. The site provides students and teachers with current, valid information for school and university academic projects using an index gathered from research portals, univers ities and library internet subject guides recommended by teachers and librarians. ResearchGate – ResearchGate is a unique social networking site for scientists and researchers. Over 11 million researchers submit their work, which totals more than 100 million publications, on the site for anyone to access. You can search by publication, data and author, or you can even ask the researchers questions. Though it’s not a search engine that pulls from external sources, ResearchGate’s own collection of publications provides a hearty selection for any inquisitive scholar.  Infotopia – Infotopia describes itself as a “Google-alternative safe search engine.” The academic search engine pulls from results that have been curated by librarians, teachers and other educational workers. A unique search feature allows users to select a category, which ranges from art to health to science and technology, and then see a list of internal and external resources pertaining to the topic. So if you don’t find what you’re looking for within the pages of Infotopia, you will probably find it in one of its many suggested sites. PubMed Central – This site is perfect for those studying anything related to healthcare or science. PubMed Central is operated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a division of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The database contains more than 3 million full-text journal articles. It’s similar to PubMed Health, which is specifically for health-related research and studies, and includes citations and abstracts to more than 26 million articles. Qualities of Good RRL Materials: As you look for literature to incorporate in your review, you have to eye the most valuable and pertinent information to your study. Hence, you do not list everything you find especially resources that are not collected by an academic library. The following are the five basic criteria for evaluating information from any sources: CRITERIA QUESTIONS TO ASK Is the information reliable? Is the information error-free? Accuracy Is the information based on proven facts? Can the information be verified against other reliable sources? Who is the author? Authority Does he or she have the qualifications to speak or write on that topic? Is the author affiliated with a reputable university or organization in this subject field? What is the intended purpose of the information? Objectivity Is the information facts or opinions? Is the information biased? When was the information published? Currency Is the information current or outdated? Does currency matter in this topic? Does the information covered meet your information needs? Coverage Does it provide basic or in-depth coverage? Tips in Writing a Review of Related Literature: 1. Decide on what reference style to use. Choose a reference style that is appropriate for your purpose. Apply this consistently in the whole literature review and in the whole research paper. 2. Establish your priority. Establish your priority in reviewing related literature by including a plan for sorting out or classifying materials based on the kind and quality of information that they provide and for deciding in what order would these mat erials be reviewed. 3. Limit the scope of your literature review. Include only those materials which are relevant to your research problem. There are several ways on how to delimit the scope of your literature review. A standard literature review section may be organized in a way that will highlight the following: a. Literature related to the independent variable b. Literature related to the dependent variable c. Literature relating the independent and dependent variables. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Written Work #1 Read at least 5 research articles related to your research topic. After reading, provide the information needed below and present it in tabular form: Research Research Sampling Instrument Others Author/s Title Major findings objectives design procedure used *Add additional rows as needed Note: Output should be encoded following the recommended format.  Practical Research 2 Lesson 9 Selecting Relevant Literature LITERATURE REVIEW A literature review is a compilation of studies related to a specific area of research. It evaluates, classifies and summarizes all the relevant previous studies conducted on a specific topic. It is vital that your literature review is centralized. Thus, you should choose studies that are focused on your topic rather than collecting a broader scope of studies which are already not relevant to your research. Moreover, literature review is an essential component of research. It forms a "picture" for the reader, providing a support and full comprehension of the developments in the field. This picture tells the reader that you have acknowledged, considered and adapted previous related significant works in the field into your research. Types of Sources for a Literature Review: In doing a literature review, researchers must be acquainted with the three (3) basic types of sources which are the primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Primary sources are firsthand documents that provide direct evidence on your topic. The Library of Congress refers to them as the "raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience." Secondary sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. They often try to describe or explain primary sources. A tertiary source presents summaries or condensed versions of materials, usually with references back to the primary and/or secondary sources. As a researcher, you can find information about the research studies in numerous formats such as books, scholarly journal articles, dissertations, government documents, and periodicals. Scholarly Search Engines for your Literature Review: Google Scholar – Google Scholar was created as a tool to congregate scholarly literature on the web. From one place, students have the ability to hunt for peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Books – Google Books allows web users to browse an index of thousands of books, from popular titles to old, to find pages that include your search terms. Once you find the book you are looking for, you can look through pages, find online reviews and learn where you can get a hard copy. Microsoft Academic – Operated by the company that brings you Word, PowerPoint and Excel, Microsoft Academic is a reliable, comprehensive research tool. The search engine pulls content from over 120 million publications, including scientific papers, conferences and journals. You can search directly by topic, or you can search by an extensive list of fields of study. For example, if you’re interested in computer science, you can filter through topics such as artificial intelligence, computer security, data science, programming languages and more. WorldWideScience – WorldWideScience, which refers to itself as “The Global Science Gateway,” is operated by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information—a branch of the Office of Science within the U.S. Department of Energy. The site utilizes databases from over 70 countries. When users type a query, it hits databases from all over the world and will display both English and translated results from related journals and academic resources. Science.gov – Science.gov is operated and maintained by the Office of Science and Technical Information, the same department that collaborates on WorldWideScience.org. This search engine pulls from over 60 databases, over 2,200 websites and 200 million pages of journals, documents and scientific data. Search results can be filtered by author, date, topic and format (text or multimedia). Wolfram Alpha – A self-described “computational knowledge engine,” Wolfram Alpha does not so much provide search results as it does search answers. Simply type in a topic or question you may be interested in, such as, “What is the function of the pancreas?” and the answer will show up without making you scroll through pages of results. This is especially handy for those in need of math help. Educational Resources Information Center – Populated by the U.S. Department of Education, the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a great tool for academic research with more than 1.3 million bibliographic records of articles and online m aterials. ERIC provides access to an extensive body of education-related literature including journal articles, books, research syntheses, conference papers, technical reports, policy papers and more. With more than eight million searches each month, it’s no wonder why this search engine is a great web source for education. Virtual Learning Resources Center – The Virtual Learning Resources Center (VLRC) is an online index hosting thousands of scholarly websites, all of which are selected by teachers and librarians from around the globe. The site provides students and teachers with current, valid information for school and university academic projects using an index gathered from research portals, univers ities and library internet subject guides recommended by teachers and librarians. ResearchGate – ResearchGate is a unique social networking site for scientists and researchers. Over 11 million researchers submit their work, which totals more than 100 million publications, on the site for anyone to access. You can search by publication, data and author, or you can even ask the researchers questions. Though it’s not a search engine that pulls from external sources, ResearchGate’s own collection of publications provides a hearty selection for any inquisitive scholar.  Infotopia – Infotopia describes itself as a “Google-alternative safe search engine.” The academic search engine pulls from results that have been curated by librarians, teachers and other educational workers. A unique search feature allows users to select a category, which ranges from art to health to science and technology, and then see a list of internal and external resources pertaining to the topic. So if you don’t find what you’re looking for within the pages of Infotopia, you will probably find it in one of its many suggested sites. PubMed Central – This site is perfect for those studying anything related to healthcare or science. PubMed Central is operated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a division of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The database contains more than 3 million full-text journal articles. It’s similar to PubMed Health, which is specifically for health-related research and studies, and includes citations and abstracts to more than 26 million articles. Qualities of Good RRL Materials: As you look for literature to incorporate in your review, you have to eye the most valuable and pertinent information to your study. Hence, you do not list everything you find especially resources that are not collected by an academic library. The following are the five basic criteria for evaluating information from any sources: CRITERIA QUESTIONS TO ASK Is the information reliable? Is the information error-free? Accuracy Is the information based on proven facts? Can the information be verified against other reliable sources? Who is the author? Authority Does he or she have the qualifications to speak or write on that topic? Is the author affiliated with a reputable university or organization in this subject field? What is the intended purpose of the information? Objectivity Is the information facts or opinions? Is the information biased? When was the information published? Currency Is the information current or outdated? Does currency matter in this topic? Does the information covered meet your information needs? Coverage Does it provide basic or in-depth coverage? Tips in Writing a Review of Related Literature: 4. Decide on what reference style to use. Choose a reference style that is appropriate for your purpose. Apply this consistently in the whole literature review and in the whole research paper. 5. Establish your priority. Establish your priority in reviewing related literature by including a plan for sorting out or classifying materials based on the kind and quality of information that they provide and for deciding in what order would these mat erials be reviewed. 6. Limit the scope of your literature review. Include only those materials which are relevant to your research problem. There are several ways on how to delimit the scope of your literature review. A standard literature review section may be organized in a way that will highlight the following: d. Literature related to the independent variable e. Literature related to the dependent variable f. Literature relating the independent and dependent variables. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Written Work #1 Read at least 5 research articles related to your research topic. After reading, provide the information needed below and present it in tabular form: Research Research Sampling Instrument Others Author/s Title Major findings objectives design procedure used *Add additional rows as needed Note: Output should be encoded following the recommended format.