Guide-literature-review-research-students.pdf

Reviewing the Literature: A Short Guide for Research Students In brief: Reviews of previous literature in a thesis or research paper are not summaries of every article you have read, but rather an exposition of the existing knowledge and reasoning which led you to believe that what you did was wort...

Reviewing the Literature: A Short Guide for Research Students In brief: Reviews of previous literature in a thesis or research paper are not summaries of every article you have read, but rather an exposition of the existing knowledge and reasoning which led you to believe that what you did was worth doing in the way that you did it, written so as to convince the reader of these things. Writing about the literature is not just part of “what you have to do”, it is a valuable way to learn the literature, to get it “off the page and into your head”. And that is essential if you are to be able to think critically about your field. Contents 1. Purposes guide focus, depth and design............................................................................................ 2 2. Common problems and how they can be addressed......................................................................... 6 3. Getting your review organised with a mind map............................................................................... 8 4. Illustrative example of possible focus questions for the initial parts of a confirmation document................................................................................................................................................................... 9 5. Illustrative example of problem solving research: An outline of the introduction from a research article.................................................................................................................................................... 10 6. Signposting........................................................................................................................................ 11 7. Hedges and boosters / critical review language............................................................................... 14 8. “Evolving” a piece of writing from first thoughts to a polished product.......................................... 16 9. Focusing and organizing your literature review with a mind map: two more examples................. 18 10. Approaches to note-taking............................................................................................................. 20 D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 1 1. Purposes guide focus, depth and design E.g. “Malaria remains one of the world’s greatest One set of purposes is to explain the motivations for public health challenges. … Today, an estimated 40% doing your research. Your aims are to: of the world’s population remains at risk of malaria, with 500 million cases annually, resulting in 1–2 a. convince the reader that the research area is million deaths, mostly of young children, each year. significant / important / interesting … The development of widespread resistance to relatively inexpensive drugs (such as chloroquine), You’re trying to convince the reader to read on and also the difficulty of... have meant that poorer tropical providing context to help them see the “bigger story” of countries have been unable to control malaria..... which your research is a part. From your perspective you The development of an effective and inexpensive are answering the question: Why did I think that doing vaccine is thus a major focus of research.” research in this general area would be interesting and Source: M.F. Good et al. (2005), Annual Review of important (in some sense)? Immunology, 23, 69-99. b. convince the reader that we shouldn’t be (completely) satisfied with the existing E.g. “The smart antenna is one of the promising techniques to literature on the topic and that your overcome problems of multipath propagation and co-channel research will fill some important or interference [in wireless communication networks]. In general, it interesting gap or address some is classified into switched-beam and adaptive arrays *1+. … The advantages of the switched-beam antenna are the simplicity of important limitation or deficiency its tracking algorithm and low cost. However, it is limited in terms To do this you need to critique the prior of combating interference. The adaptive array offers better literature; if there’s no gap or limitation or performance in terms of fighting interference. However, this is at deficiency with the prior research, why is the expense of higher costs associated with the sophisticated signal processing algorithm and complicated hardware there a need to do more in the area? Your implementations. question: What made me think that more research in the particular sub-area that I In this paper, we describe …, which provides an intermediate solution....” chose was warranted? Source: P. Ngamjanyaporn, M. Krairiksh and M. Bialkowski (2005), Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, 45, 411-415. Another set of purposes is to explain why your research took the precise directions it E.g. Knowing that some heart attacks are caused by blood clots pursued. Possible aims here are to: forming in coronary arteries partially blocked by plaque build up, c. explain and justify your research and that aspirin reduces the ability of blood to clot, one might form the hypothesis that perhaps regularly taking small doses of hypotheses / ideas aspirin might reduce the incidence of heart attacks in at-risk What theory and/or prior experimental populations. The reason research is needed is because while the results suggested to you that your idea sounds great in theory, perhaps in practice taking a dose hypotheses were *“are” if you are writing a small enough to avoid problems such as gastro-intestinal or cranial bleeds would not lead to any significant reductions in heart research proposal] likely to be true / ideas attack rates. were likely to be fruitful? This necessitates arguments, because if things are certain, you Inspired by: Physicians’ Health Study (http://phs.bwh.harvard.edu/phs1.htm) don’t have hypotheses, you have facts and there is no need to do any research! d. Explain how the historical context for your research guided what you did But only if that is important for understanding where your research fits into a “bigger picture” or if understanding the past is helpful for understanding the present and giving direction for where your research needs to go. For example, a legal studies thesis might review the evolution of legal thinking and policy in an area in order to see what issues have been considered and addressed which will help identify what still needs to be worked on and so that new proposals take into account the lessons of the past. D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 2 A third set of purposes is to explain why you conducted your research in the way that you did. Possible aims here are to: e. explain and justify your choice of theoretical framework E.g. In research looking at student Theory guides what to look for when collecting data (because theory learning in some area, one might look at things from a behavioural perspective, a can be used to make predictions) and also helps you analyse and social cognitive perspective, or a interpret what you find, so writing critically means moving beyond cognitive perspective (or a combination simply summarising the theory to explaining how it will guide of these). But which perspective would research design and data interpretation and also noting any be the best one for investigating the limitations and how you intend to deal with these (see Sutton & particular questions about student Staw (1995) in the references for this section for some common learning that you have? errors in the ways some authors try to do these things). If there is a Inspired by: V. Cahyadi (2007), choice of theoretical perspectives you could take (sometimes “Improving teaching and learning in captured by the phrase, “schools of thought”), then you would also introductory physics”. PhD thesis need to justify your choice. Your questions: What did I need to know submitted to the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. to design my experiments / come up with my experimental or analytical approach / come up with my research questions / interpret my findings? Why did I think the perspective I chose is the best one for investigating my research questions? E.g. Your theoretical framework might also be a hypothesised interaction model such as the one shown opposite. In such a case, your literature review would need to explain why you think various theories and/or prior experimental results suggest* that such a model is likely* to be correct. (*Remember that things cannot be certain or there would not be a need to do some research. In this case, the research questions might be to test the strength of the various links or to further develop understanding of the mechanisms of the interactions, in which case your review would need to identify weaknesses in our understanding that need addressing.) (In the model the arrows indicate the hypothesised direction of influence.) f. convince the reader that your research methods E.g. Research of this type is typically conducted using a cohort or longitudinal design because … are sound and were well thought through (refs.). However, these approaches have What approaches could have been used for your disadvantages such as … (refs.), and these are research? Why did you think the approach you chose particularly significant in the context of the present was the best one given any constraints? Writing study where … To overcome these problems, a case-control approach was used. Such an approach critically here also involves writing with an awareness is not normally used for research of this type of the potential limitations of your approach (see for because it can suffer from limitations such as … and example, http://www.cebm.net/index.aspx?o=1039), … (refs.). However, in the context of the present which means also explaining how you intend to control study, these were not considered to be a major for and/or account for those possible limitations. issue because … D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 3 g. introduce relevant terminology Examples: and provide definitions to clarify (1) In a peace and conflict studies thesis, it might be necessary to discuss how terms are to be used the varying ways different authors have conceptualised or defined what When using new or contested ideas distinguishes a terrorist organisation from a band of freedom fighters, where is no universally agreed upon and to make a case for the definition you will be applying. definition for a term or concept, it is (2) In a study looking at the impact of different levels of alcohol necessary to discuss the options and consumption on some health outcome, it may be necessary to discuss explain why you decided on one the boundaries you have chosen between light, moderate and heavy particular interpretation or definition. drinkers. Your question: For the purposes of this research, what exactly am I going to (3) In a sociological thesis looking at the social function of verandas at take X to mean and why do I think some place during some time period, it may be first necessary to discuss that is the best choice? what is actually going to be considered to be a veranda. Systematic Reviews / Meta-analyses In some fields, especially medically related, it can be very hard to obtain “ideal” sample sizes and experimental designs, and this can lead to many studies on a topic being published with weak or conflicting findings. Consequently, researchers in these fields sometime conduct, and publish, a systematic review or meta-analysis where they systematically search for all papers on a given issue (e.g. treatments for tennis elbow), identify those studies with the best designs according to some criteria, then attempt to draw conclusions about the topic based on an analysis of those best quality papers. For more information, see:  http://www.griffith.edu.au/environment-planning-architecture/griffith-school- environment/research/systematic-quantitative-literature-review  http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/view/0/AboutCochraneSystematicReviews.html Some specific review questions for different types of research Broad research goal Some specific review questions Problem solving − What do we need to know about the causes of the problem to make progress? − What new techniques or approaches might be tried and why might these be better than existing approaches? − What new understandings about the causes of the problem suggest new approaches to take? − What alternative approaches to conceptualising the problem might lead to new and better ways of addressing the problem? Filling a gap in What theories can guide: understanding − where to look for answers? − how to interpret findings? − how to conduct analyses? Possibly: Where is current theory deficient? Evaluating something − What criteria will be used and why? − How will you operationalise the criteria? (E.g. How will you judge “user friendliness” when evaluating a piece of software or some new electronic gadget?) − What benchmarks will be used? (I.e. how will you determine what is good / satisfactory / poor?) Improving something − What are the benefits of improvement / costs of not improving? − What aspects are least satisfactory / most likely to lead to significant improvements if addressed and why? − Why isn’t the thing working as well as we’d like? *Now see “problem solving” above.] Resolving a conflict in − What are the arguments and counter-arguments for and against different points the literature of view? (This may involve reviewing different “schools of thought” about the research question, and a critical review of the theoretical foundations of each school of thought in the context of the research question. The aim is to identify potentially problematic assumptions which may need to be more carefully investigated.) − What is needed to make progress with resolving the controversy? D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 4  Summary of Guiding Questions Key points when reviewing the literature:  Why is this general area of research 1. Reviews of the literature are not summaries, they are significant / important / interesting? arguments (that there is a gap that needs filling; that you have sound reasons for believing your hypotheses are likely to be  In what way(s) is the current state of knowledge lacking / limited / in need of true; that your methods have been well thought through in extending? relation to your research goals;...) plus an exposition of the particular background knowledge needed to make progress with  What are the grounds for believing that the research hypotheses are likely to be the research. true and worth investigating? 2. The purposes listed above are not generally all addressed in a  What theories guided research design / single section called the “Literature Review”, but would be analytical approach and data distributed between the introductory, literature review / interpretation and how did they do so? theory, and methodology chapters or sections (see for example  How has thinking in this area evolved over Section 4). time and how has this informed the 3. Reviews should involve synthesis: how does the literature as a approach you took or investigations you whole answer your focus questions (see Section 4). undertook?  Why was the particular methodological 4. Whenever you include any discussion of prior literature in your approach used in the research believed to writing, you should have a clear purpose for doing so and you be the most appropriate for the study should make that purpose clear to the reader. (Note that, “I’m given any constraints? What potential providing some background”  a purpose, “I am providing the weaknesses does this approach have, and background which I need to establish / demonstrate / convince how will these be controlled for? the reader that...” = a purpose. Another way of looking at it is  What are the different ways the concepts that you only put in your literature review that material which / terminology used in the research used in directly helped you in some way with doing your research. See the literature; how will they be taken to also Section 6.) be defined in this research and why were those choices of definition made? 5. Purpose guides depth: if your purpose is merely to convince the reader that existing approaches have significant limitations, then simply pointing out the limitations is enough, you don’t need to go into complete detail into how those approaches work (unless of course doing so helps you justify your new approach or identify the cause of the limitation which aids the development of possible solutions). Further Reading:  D. Ridley (2008), The Literature Review: A step-by-step guide for students (Los Angeles: Sage).  R. I. Sutton & B. M. Staw (1995), What theory is not, Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 371-384. - This article discusses some common mistakes writers make in the ways they try to incorporate theory into their papers. Despite the title, the article also gives a clear explanation as to what theory is and how it is expected to be used in a research paper.  L.M. Johanson (2007), Sitting in your reader’s chair: Attending to your academic sensemakers, Journal of Management Inquiry, 16(3), 290-294. - Explains how good research writing anticipates and answers the target readers’ questions about the work. D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 5 2. Common problems and how they can be addressed Problem Possible Solutions Organising around individual papers  Use a mind map to help you organise your material under general rather than around themes/ issues / questions (see Section 3 for examples). See also themes/issues/questions (i.e. list like Section 4 for an example of focus questions. writing lacking synthesis).  Take notes under focus questions rather than from each article separately (this is like first sorting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle into piles of related pieces to simplify the job of putting the pieces together). For an example, see: https://sites.google.com/site/twblacklinemasters/using-a-matrix- to-organise-your-notes-for-faster-writing Lacking a clear organisational Again, use a mind map or list of focus questions to help your structure organisation, and use descriptive headings and sub-headings, and appropriate linking and signposting in your writing to help the reader navigate their way around (see Section 6). Not discriminating between relevant  See your job as answering reader questions (see Section 4 for an and irrelevant materials. example) rather than just collating background information.  Understand the purpose of each part of what you are writing (see Section 1). You should be able to justify each component of what you write with a “because”. If the reader (you too!) doesn’t need to or want to know something, don’t tell them! Not being critical Remember, your goal is not to merely summarise existing literature, but to make a case that there is a significant gap in or limitation with the existing literature that needs to be addressed; that there are good reasons for believing your hypotheses are likely to be correct; etc. (See also argument map below.) Exclusion of landmark studies Landmark studies should be mentioned in the introductions / lit reviews in good papers in your field, so use these as a guide. Emphasis on outdated material Make sure you are keeping up with the latest literature, and use the literature it refers to also. Adopting a parochial perspective Make sure you read widely, not just papers from your research group or from one geographic location. Argument map To make sure you are actually making arguments and not simply regurgitating the literature, it may help to map out your arguments in the form of a sequence of claims / propositions + supporting evidence and reasoning. An example of this is as follows. For a research proposal for a Study of How Basic Science Teachers Help Medical Students Learn (Adapted from: J. A. Maxwell (2005), Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach, Example 7.1.) 1. We need to better understand how basic science teachers in medical school help students learn (because) Establish a. There has been an explosion in the amount of information that needs to significance: What be transmitted, with no increase in the time available to teach this. (and) is the broad b. Medical student’s performance on the basic science parts of licensing motivation for exams has declined. doing research in this area? c. … D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 6  2. [We need to better understand how basic science teachers in medical school help students learn (because)] We know little about how basic science Establish original Note that the teachers help students learn in medical school. (because) contribution: Why first two a. Studies of science teachers in other settings don’t necessarily apply to is the existing supporting premises are medical schools. [Why not?] literature themselves deficient? b. Most research on basic science teaching has been quantitative, and claims and so would doesn’t elucidate how such teaching helps students learn. [Why not?] (Also provides a themselves need c. No one has asked medical students what teachers do that helps them motivation and to be supported with evidence to learn [and] other research indicates that students can identify what direction for the and reasoning. It teachers do that helps them learn. research.) is quite common to build d. Thus, a qualitative study of … can make an important contribution *to arguments upon what?]. arguments. 3. For these reasons, I propose to study four exemplary basic science teachers to understand: Aims flow out of a. What they do that helps students to learn. preceding arguments. b. How and why this is effective. c. … 4. The setting and teachers selected are appropriate for this study. (because) a. The medical school to be studied is typical, and … Methods not just Addresses the issue of external validity: will the described, but also b. … results apply in other contexts? related to aims 5. The methods I plan to use (participant observation and …, student and and justified. teacher interviews, …) will provide the data I need to answer the research questions. (because) a. … 6. … Potential problems 7. The findings will be validated by: anticipated and addressed. a. Triangulating methods; [Obviously the full proposal would explain what the different methods are and why they can be expected to provide complementary data.] b. … c. … d. Comparing findings with existing theory. e. … Note that the structure of your paragraphs will not necessarily be exactly the same as that of your map. For a start, each paragraph will need a topic sentence which introduces the topic of the paragraph, and perhaps a group of paragraphs, and will sometimes link back to ideas expressed in preceding paragraphs. Two common structures for the rest of the paragraph are: (i) evidence and reasoning leading to a conclusion (the claim or proposition); and (ii) a claim or proposition in relation to the topic sentence which is then supported with evidence and reasoning. D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 7  3. Getting your review organised with a mind map Organising all the pieces of a literature review is very challenging, so it helps to determine an overall plan using a mind map. a. Start by putting your topic or central issue in the middle of your page in landscape format. b. Branch off this the major themes / issues / questions your literature review will need to address in whatever order they occur to you. Use the purposes given in Section 1 as a guide. – Note that one sub-theme which always needs to be addressed is: “Why is this an issue / interesting / important?” – Thinking in terms of key questions, as opposed to topics, is often helpful. c. Next put in the key points/ examples/ theories which will need to be addressed under each sub- theme. d. Look for follow-on sub-themes / questions (e.g. a follow-on to a sub-theme on “problems” would be “current solution approaches”) and look for links between sub-themes. e. Use your map to determine a logical order for your writing. See section 9 for more examples. Example: Developed from, Helen M. Paterson (2004), “Co-Witnesses and the Effects of Discussion on Eyewitness Memory.” PhD Thesis submitted to UNSW. Numbers added after the map had been completed to indicate a possible logical order for progressing through the questions / content. Questions 1-5 made up the Introduction, while questions 6, and 7 and 8, were covered in separate “literature review” chapters and so could be expanded into their own mind maps.  Bound to happen in some instances  Could this be due to  Potential cause of misinformation effect but methodological problems? can also be argued to be potentially useful  Not already well investigated  Prior studies have got conflicting results What methods have been used, what  are their strengths and weaknesses, Why interested in effects and how can they be improved? of co-witness discussion? Co-Witnesses and the Effects of Discussion on Eyewitness Memory Given a high weight  Perceptual errors Why are there in courts of law  Memory fades over time  concerns about  Why is that  Memory (often?) reconstructive so easily eyewitness memory? Found to be unreliable the case? corrupted by misinformation in a not insignificant … number of cases  Normative social influence  What theories  Informational influence  What are the ways (might) explain eyewitnesses might  Biased guessing  From misleading questions asked why this might receive misinformation?  Modification of the memory by police, lawyers and friends occur?  From the media  What do these theories  From other eyewitnesses  How could we tell which posit? theory(-ies) explains what  Supporting evidence? is going on in co-witness  Weaknesses?  What is known about the effects on eyewitness discussions?  memory of each of these different ways of being exposed to misinformation and are there … … any gaps or deficiencies in our understanding? … To find commercial software and freeware for creating maps of various kinds, see for example: D. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept-_and_mind-mapping_software R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 8 4. Illustrative example of possible focus questions for the initial parts of a confirmation document....... because questions provide a better focus on what and how to write than do topics. And good non- fiction writing answers the readers’ questions! Aim: The aim of this research is to test whether approach X can control pest Y more effectively than current approaches and at the same time reduce problems such as A, B and C. Significance & Rationale: [Fairly briefly!] General reasons for Why is controlling this pest important to Australian agriculture? why doing research – What crops does it attack? into approaches for controlling this pest is – What sort of damage does it do? important. – How much damage does it do / can it potentially do? How is this pest currently being controlled and why shouldn't we be Pointing out the limitation with existing satisfied with these approaches? approaches provides a What alternative approaches might lead to better outcomes? (And better justification for in what sense?) investigating an alternative approach. Why do you believe that these alternative approaches might be better? Literature Review: [Everything included must have a clear purpose!] The pest What do we need to know about the pest in order to develop effective The reader doesn’t want control mechanisms? to read things that aren’t clearly linked to Current approaches (perhaps) progressing the “story”. A more detailed analysis of the problems of current approaches – but only if that helps you to determine a better way forward / identify more clearly what problems need to be addressed! Proposed approach What previous research / theory makes you think your proposed approach can address (at least in part) the problems identified above and the pest in question? What do we need to know to implement this alternative approach in this case? How much of this is already known? What then do we still need to find out? What then do you intend to do and how will this help? D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 9  5. Illustrative example of problem solving research: An outline of the introduction from a research article Based on: Knight, J., Phinn, S.R. and Dale, P. (1999) “Development of an Operational Approach for Mapping Mosquito Breeding Sites from Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar,” NASA PACRIM Workshop, Maui High- Performance Computing Centre, Kihei, August 26-27. Flowcharts of ideas like the one below are useful for studying the structure of good examples and for checking the structure of your own writing. Note the logical flow of ideas leading through to the conclusion that there are good reasons for doing the research that was done. Importance of research area: Identification of Why is it where an original important to be contribution can able to accurately be made: map the Why aren’t existing distribution of approaches to pools and mapping channels? completely satisfactory? Identification of Use of prior work to limitations provides identify how research questions: problems might be how can we solved: overcome the What technique can limitations? potentially overcome the What problem identified problems with the new with existing technique needs mapping to be overcome techniques? to make it viable? What theory indicates how we might be able to overcome the current problem with the new technique? (Theory guides direction of research.) Outlining your argument as done below for the above example is another approach which can help you to make sure you are making complete and cohesive arguments in your writing. 1. Because mosquitoes are such a serious health hazard, it is important to keep their populations down. Note how a key idea 2. One way of keeping populations down is to flush their breeding pools, but to do at the end of one this, the distribution of breeding pools and water channels need to be accurately statement recurs at mapped. the beginning of the next statement. 3. Current mapping techniques, such as aerial photography and thermal imaging Linking statements data, are limited because they cannot penetrate cloud cover or canopies. like this helps with 4. SAR can potentially overcome these limitations because it can penetrate cloud “flow” and helps cover and canopy and has been used to map flooded forests. the reader make the connections 5. More research needs to be done however, because existing SAR applications needed for have insufficient resolution, but this problem might be able to overcome by understanding. adjusting wavelength and polarisation... 6.... and exploring that possibility was the aim of this research. See also: J. A. Maxwell (2005), Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach, Example 7.1. D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 10 6. Signposting In the physical world, signposts tell travellers what can be found in a certain direction and so help prevent them from getting lost. In writing, signposts tell the reader where the exposition is heading so they don’t feel lost. It is important to realise though, that signposts guide both the writer as well as the reader: writers who don’t put signposts in their writing generally don’t themselves have a clear idea of where they are trying to take the reader, what their purpose is for a section of writing, and so tend to get both their readers and themselves lost and write descriptively rather than analytically. Example 1: Signposts in a thesis investigating new ways of making artificial bones for victims of traumatic injuries or those with genetic abnormalities Purpose (d): Explaining and justifying your theoretical framework Note how these sections are For a material to be acceptable for use as an artificial bone it must satisfy not just summaries of prior a number of criteria, such as being easy to grow / manufacture, not work, but serve a purpose in achieving the goal of the generating a rejection response from the body’s immune system, and research, which is to determine having satisfactory structural properties. In order to assess whether the a material for artificial bone proposed materials investigated in Chapter 3 have acceptable structural construction which has the right properties, this section reviews the structural properties, such as density, structural characteristics, or at least better characteristics than compressional and tensile strength and flexural rigidity, of healthy bones previous efforts. in different parts of the body. Bones from different parts of the body are considered because certain materials may be acceptable as a hand bone (d) Review of background knowledge needed to conduct for example, but not as a leg bone.... (b) Weaknesses in prior research both motivate the Purpose (b): Identifying weaknesses or limitations in prior work which you need for further research and aim to address may guide the direction of that future research. A number of different materials have already been trialled as artificial bones (refs.). These materials are reviewed in this section in order to determine what weaknesses need to be overcome if a better material is to be found.... Example 2: Adapted from Chapter 2 of Helen M. Paterson (2004), “Co-Witnesses and the Effects of Discussion on Eyewitness Memory.” PhD Thesis submitted to UNSW. Purpose (d): Explaining and justifying the theoretical framework of the research While the misinformation effect is a well-established phenomenon, “what remains in dispute is the nature of a satisfactory theoretical explanation” (ref.). One critical weakness of many studies investigating the effects of memory conformity is a lack of clarity regarding whether conformity is due to memory distortion or other factors. Traditionally, the effects of postevent misinformation on memory have been investigated within a cognitive framework. However, when investigating the effects of co-witness discussion on memory, social factors also become relevant. Therefore, in order to understand why memory conformity occurs, we must draw from both cognitive research on memory and social research on conformity. D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 11 Four different explanations have been offered for the memory conformity Note how the theory to be effect: (1) normative social influence, (2) informational influence, (3) reviewed has a clear purpose: biased guessing, and (4) modification of the memory. These explanations it is to explain to the reader where the predictions to be are not necessarily mutually exclusive, however the research described in tested in the experiments this thesis attempts to identify the mechanism most likely responsible for came from. memory conformity following co-witness discussion by comparing Why? Because readers want to predictions made by the alternative explanations. To establish the learn not only results from predictions made by the alternative mechanisms in the context of co- research, but also to gain witness discussions held under different circumstances, the theory and understanding, which requires empirical evidence relevant to each of these explanations is first reviewed theoretical explanations. in this section, with the relevant predictions being made in the next.... Example 3: Introduction from: M.F. Good et al. (2005), “Development & Regulation of Cell-Mediated Immune Responses to the Blood Stages of Malaria: Implications for Vaccine Research,” Annual Review of Immunology, 23, 69-99. Note: Purposes (a) and (c): Establishing the significance of the 1. As Introductions have a standard research area and identifying the background which suggests a purpose – to state the overall certain direction is an important one to explore purpose for the paper as a whole Malaria remains one of the world’s greatest public health and to provide the background which provided the motivation for challenges. … Today, an estimated 40% of the world’s pursuing the research – there is no population remains at risk of malaria, with 500 million cases need for an “introduction to the annually, resulting in 1–2 million deaths, mostly of young introduction”. I.e. unlike in examples children, each year. … The development of widespread 1 and 2 above, there is no need to explicitly state something like: “The resistance to relatively inexpensive drugs (such as chloroquine), purpose of this Introduction is to the difficulty of controlling highly efficient mosquito vectors outline the background which (such as A. gambiae), and poor economic growth of many provided the motivation for doing countries (whose current GDP per capita is sometimes 20–50 this research.” times lower than the wealthiest countries) have meant that 2. Note the use of words like “because” poorer tropical countries have been unable to control malaria. and “thus” in the Introduction. These indicate that an argument is.... The development of an effective and inexpensive vaccine is being made. Having the Introduction thus a major focus of research. This represents a significant in the form of an argument is scientific challenge, however, because the organism has a another reason why the purpose complex life cycle and has developed many immunological does not need to be explicitly stated as the purpose is obvious from the defence strategies (ref.). argument presented. Because the organism spends a significant proportion of its life cycle history within red blood cells (RBCs) and thus is not contained within a specific tissue site, immune mechanisms directed against the parasite can readily affect many host organs (discussed below). It is thus critical to understand not only how immune mechanisms can kill the parasite, but how they affect host tissues and how they are regulated. This review focuses on cellular immune responses to the blood stage of the parasite’s life cycle, their ability to kill the parasite and to contribute to host pathology, and factors that modulate this balance. Strategies for applying this knowledge to vaccine development are then addressed [Observe how the purpose for doing the review has been made explicit]. D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 12 Example 4: S. Mu and D. R. Gnyawali (2003), “Developing Synergistic Knowledge in Student Groups,” The Journal of Higher Education, 74 (6), 689-711. Conceptual Framework Figure 1 presents the conceptual framework developed Notes: The research presented in this and examined in this paper. As the figure shows, the paper set up experiments to test the development of synergistic knowledge is influenced by task hypothesised model of interactions shown in Fig. 1. By presenting the conflict, psychological safety, and social interaction.... We conceptual model up front, the reader develop below arguments related to each element of the can see the purpose of the subsequent conceptual model. We use the literature from social discussions: they are to provide the cognition, group processes, and organizational learning theoretical and empirical justification for the proposed framework. The figure (refs.) for the theoretical basis needed to develop our also helps the reader see how all the conceptual framework of synergistic knowledge pieces will fit together which will aid the development. Since synergistic knowledge development is comprehensibility of the discussion. a key construct of this study, we begin our discussion with it. Task conflict Team psychological safety Synergistic Knowledge Perceived group Development (SKD) performance Social interaction FIG. 1. A Conceptual Model of Synergistic Knowledge Development (SKD)... Task conflict Task conflict is defined as awareness of differences in Note how the underlined words signal viewpoints and opinions pertaining to group tasks (refs.). to the reader that the authors are not It is depersonalised cognitive conflict, involving just reporting the results of previous research, but are using that research disagreement over the meanings and implications of key to support an argument for the need facts, or over the proper courses of action towards to investigate an important reaching a common goal (refs.). Since divergence of educational question. perspectives implies task conflict, heterogeneity inherent in multimajor student groups could be a key source of task conflict (refs.). [This is because] Students working in multimajor settings are bound to have diverse viewpoints regarding the tasks because educational background importantly influences perceptions (refs.). [Additionally, while] Cognitive diversity is important to reduce premature consensus and groupthink (refs.) on complex tasks [and] Students may benefit from working in groups that are diverse in learning styles and abilities (refs.)[,]... high cognitive differences in the ways the tasks are viewed and prioritized and the ways the problems are solved may lead to confrontation and low integration of individual knowledge. Such differences could pull the group away from its purpose (ref.). So, the question is, in what ways does task conflict impact SKD in student groups? D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 13 Example 5: Introduction to Chapter 2 of V. Cahyadi (2007), “Improving teaching and learning in introductory physics”. PhD thesis submitted to the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Purpose (d): Justification of choice of theoretical framework This chapter elaborates some principles from educational research on how learning takes place. Three prominent views of learning are discussed in recent literature (Eggen & Kauchak, 2004; McInerney & McInerney, 2006; Ormrod, 2003; Woolfolk, 2005): behavioural, social cognitive and cognitive views of learning. Behaviourists emphasize... (Skinner, 1953). The social cognitive views focus on... (Bandura, 1986). These two perspectives, however, do not discuss the learners’ mental processes as they try to make sense of their experiences. According to the cognitive perspective of learning, the change in learners’ behaviour could be explained by the change in mental associations arising from experiences.... It is important to acknowledge the fundamental principles of learning to understand the learners’ performance and to improve instruction. Many instructors, including those at tertiary level, often rely only on their past experiences to diagnose learning problems or to modify their instruction approaches. However, experience alone is not adequate if the instructors want to improve their students’ performance. Instructors should also seriously consider educational principles. These principles explain, for instance, why “teaching by telling” is sometimes not very effective, why misconceptions are often resistant to change, why engaging students in discussion will help them learn better, why motivation influences achievement, and why real life elements in instruction promote knowledge construction. Section 2.3 on constructivism and Section 2.4 on motivation provide detailed explanation of these concepts. The philosophy discussed in the following sections is revisited in the next chapter and serves as a foundation to comprehend issues in physics education research. [Italics not in original.] 7. Hedges and boosters / critical review language When writing about previous studies and your own thinking, it is important to clearly distinguish between: that which is certainly true: - e.g. Influenza is caused by a virus. that which is only probably true [how probable?]: - e.g. Schizophrenia seems to result from an interaction between genetic factors and environmental stressors [i.e. there’s quite a bit of evidence to support this conclusion, but the evidence is not completely conclusive]. that which is only possibly true: - e.g. A student group may perform badly on an assignment because of interpersonal conflict between group members. [There are many reasons a group may perform badly and this is just one possibility.] Hedges Used to indicate various levels of a lack of complete certainty. Also used to be diplomatic when critiquing the work of others.  E.g. Suggest / may; seem; believe / could; appear to; might; hypothesise; assume / likely; speculate; possible; might Boosters Indicators of conviction.  E.g. Show that / always; demonstrate / substantially; clearly show / will; fact that; obviously / will D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 14 Examples (from K. Hyland (2000), Language Awareness, 9(4), 179-197) Certainly true Tyacke and Mendelsohn’s (1986) diary study showed that lower-level students always depended far more on their teacher and on grammar rules than higher-level students. Politzer (1983) demonstrated that females used social learning strategies substantially more often than males. The findings clearly show that in typical language learning situations women will use more learning strategies than men. It is a fact that highly motivated learners can learn languages more rapidly and effectively. Probably true  Research suggests that higher-level students may use more effective foreign language learning strategies than students with lower ability.  According to several researchers, it seems that language students use different strategies as they progress.  Gender appears to exert a strong influence on strategy choice.  Many researchers assume that the learner’s level of motivation is likely to influence the choice of strategies. Possibly true (conjectures based on relevant knowledge or theory)  Lever believes that their differences in strategies could be due to the way that these individuals gained their language skills rather than age.  These gender differences might be explained by differences in communication preferences.  We hypothesize however that after strategy training, men and women will both show strategy strengths.  We speculate that the problem was low motivation for language learning.  Politzer and McGroarty (1985) report the possible importance of language learning goals.  Gender differences in strategy use might be explained by differences in communicative preferences. Key signal / signposting words used in critical writing To show you are about to: Use words like: Draw a conclusion / make an inference: Therefore, consequently, thus, hence... Justify / explain: Because, since, … Provide a contrasting or opposing view / critique: Although, however, while, in contrast, … Provide illustrative or supporting evidence: For example, such as, … Make an additional supporting point or provide additional In addition, moreover, furthermore, … supporting evidence: Argue that another case is the same as the one you just Similarly, equally, likewise… discussed: For more examples of critical review phrasing, see the Manchester Academic Phrasebank (http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/). This resource is a bank of standard academic phrases used in different contexts. Everybody uses such phrases, so it’s not plagiarism for you to “copy” these for your own writing. For example, when “introducing the critical stance of particular writers: Jones (2003) has challenged some of Smith's conclusions, arguing that.... The authors challenge the widely-held view that.... Jones (2003) has also questioned why.... However, Jones (2003) points out that....” D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 15 8. “Evolving” a piece of writing from first thoughts to a polished product While it is certainly true that some people have better linguistic abilities than others, even “good” writers need to work hard at “evolving” complex pieces of technical writing from rough first ideas into polished and sophisticated finished products. This section attempts to illustrate how this process might work for a paragraph of writing. Research question: How can managers foster the development of effective work teams / groups? Sub-topic focus question: What is the importance of team social cohesion/integration for team performance, and how can managers influence this factor in positive ways? Draft 1 Self critiques Another factor which has been found to have an important influence on Doesn’t flow well. team performance is the level of team social integration. Team social integration has been defined as “the extent to which the team is cohesive and team members enjoy team experiences, have positive social interactions within the group, and are satisfied with coworkers” (Harrison et al., 2002). So what? Doesn’t address second part of question Team performance seems to be best when team social integration is neither regarding implications for too low (Harrison et al., 2002; Uzzi & Spiro, 2005) nor too high (Uzzi & Spiro, effective management of 2005; Sethi et al., 2002). groups. Draft 2 Another factor which has been found to have an important influence on Still doesn’t flow well. team performance is the level of team social integration. Team social integration has been defined as “the extent to which the team is cohesive and team members enjoy team experiences, have positive social interactions within the group, and are satisfied with coworkers” (Harrison Doesn’t explain why or give et al., 2002). Team performance seems to be best when team social an indication as to what integration is neither too low (Harrison et al., 2002; Uzzi & Spiro, 2005) nor sorts of teams these results too high (Uzzi & Spiro, 2005; Sethi et al., 2002). Research by Harrison et al. apply to as that has an effect on generalizability. (2002) indicates that one way managers can increase the level of social cohesion in a team is by fostering frequent collaboration, while Uzzi & Spiro’s (2005) findings suggest that when team members get too comfortable with each other, team social integration can be reduced a little by introducing new members into the team. Draft 3 Incorporating the definition into the Another factor which has been found to have an important influence on team explanation as to why performance is the level of team social integration. Since team social integration increasing team involves “the extent to which the team is cohesive and team members enjoy team integration could be experiences, have positive social interactions within the group, and are satisfied expected to lead to better group with coworkers” (Harrison et al., 2002), it is not surprising that research would performance helps the have found that team performance tends to improve with increasing levels of writing flow better and is team social integration (Harrison et al., 2002; Uzzi & Spiro, 2005). However, this more sophisticated. trend is not indefinite, as it has been found that if social integration gets too high, that too can have a negative impact on team performance (Uzzi & Spiro, 2005; Sethi et al., 2002) because as social ties get stronger, team members start to Now not just stating findings, but explaining worry more about maintaining interpersonal ties instead of having the robust them as well – D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland “because”. 16  debates needed for innovation (Sethi et al., 2002). There thus seems to be an optimal level of social integration. Research by Harrison et al. (2002) indicates that one way managers can increase the level of social cohesion in a team is by fostering frequent collaboration, while Uzzi & Spiro’s (2005) findings suggest that when team members get too comfortable with each other, team social integration can be returned to a more optimal level by introducing new members into the team. Draft 4 Comments: 1. A topic sentence which links back to the overall Another important factor which managers can goal of managers fostering team development. influence which can have a significant impact on how 2. An explanation of what “social integration” is. well a team performs is the level of team social 3. Note that the definition is given as part of an integration1. Since3 social integration refers to “the argument rather than just simply as: “Team extent to which the team is cohesive and team social integration is defined as …” which is more members enjoy team experiences, have positive social sophisticated and aids with flow. interactions within the group, and are satisfied with 4. Pointing out that low levels of social integration coworkers”2 (Harrison et al., 2002), it is understandable was linked to lower performance, or conversely that Harrison et al. (2002), in a study of university that increased social integration was linked with increased team performance. student teams5, and Uzzi and Spiro (2005), in a study of 5. Explaining what sorts of teams the research was Broadway musical teams5, would find that teams with done with. This has implications on how low levels of social integration were not the highest generalizable the results might be. performing teams4. Many factors influence the level of 6. Explaining that frequent collaboration is one team social integration, including the possibility that way team social integration could be improved. demographic differences in team members can trigger Note the explicit statement that this is negative stereotypes7, but Harrison et al. (2002) found something managers could foster. that frequent collaboration can reduce these negative 7. Indicating that it is not just one thing that effects, thus providing a means by which managers can affects team social integration. improve the level of social integration in their teams.6 8. Explaining that while some level of social integration is helpful, too much is However, managers should also be aware that if a counterproductive. team gets too comfortable with each other, then team 9. Explaining how the problem of too much social innovativeness can be reduced (Sethi et al., 2002; Uzzi integration might be addressed. & Spiro, 2005) as team members may start to worry more about maintaining interpersonal ties instead of It might also be possible to address points 4-9 having the robust debates needed for innovation8 together rather than separately. E.g. “Research has (Sethi et al., 2002). Uzzi and Spiro’s (2005) findings shown that a certain amount of team social suggest though, that managers might be able to integration is important for higher levels of address this potential problem by periodically changing performance (refs.), but excessive amounts tend to some of the membership of the team9. be counterproductive (refs.).” While the above-mentioned body of research clearly points to the desirability of having some intermediate level of team social integration for team performance, all this research has only looked Note the importance of at new or existing teams, and in particular, the difficulties that might surround making changes to an regularly linking existing team that has become “too social cohesive” has not been explored. In particular, if a things said in a manager decides that a long-standing team needs some “shaking up”, what criteria could be used to literature review guide which existing team members should stay and which should go? And how does one manage back to the goals the likely resentments of those removed and those who remain towards the changes? Furthermore, or purposes of while Uzzi and Spiro’s (2005) work with Broadway musical teams has shown that when a team needs the research so to and voluntarily takes in new members that this can be very beneficial for team performance, it that relevance / purpose is doesn’t answer questions about how a group might respond to a new team member that has been always clear. “forced on them” by management. Will this new team member have difficulty achieving acceptance by the team? It is these questions which will form the focus of this thesis. … D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 17 9. Focusing and organizing your literature review with a mind map: two more examples A finding-your-research-question mind map One approach to identifying possible research questions for your thesis is * to make an initial pass through the literature in an area you are interested in, organise this thematically in a mind map, and look for gaps or places you have ideas about how to make an original contribution. For the example opposite, places where a contribution could be made have been flagged with an *. Note that links to sources are also needed, but these have been left off the map for simplicity. * TM Map created with Inspiration software. D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 18  onstru n the a 3. Iden fy ques ons which ow from each of (2) and the 4. Look for follow-on ques ons and ener nd a o o us ues ons 1. Develop a clear and research ques on as a whole. Generic ques ons to links. complete statement explore include: 5. ues ons and map can be devel or a terature e ew of your research a. Mo va ons for research: (i) signi cance of area; (ii) oped in any order. Once map is com A map for when you have de ned your research ques on. ques on. gap / de ciency in exis ng knowledge plete, can add numbers indica ng a 2. Underline each key b. Sources of new ideas / hypotheses logical order in which to write up the A literature review is an exposi on of the exis ng knowledge term / concept / c. Theory to guide where to look for answers. map. phrase. (Note that the placement of numbers on which led you to believe that what you did was worth this map is indica ve only, not necessarily an order which will work in all circum doing in the way that you did it, wri en so as to the read These are methodological issues which may require their stances.) er of these things. own lit review and mind map to address. How determine if be er? Are there possible barriers to imple Ideas on how to overcome? How test? men ng these “be er” solu ons? Do any of these need tes ng? How inform method In what ways are these How might these ological approaches? poten ally be er? be lled? Why are these im What are the gaps in portant to address? our understanding?  Where might we look  What theories help for “be er” answers / What gaps in knowledge / under What do we us understand the solu ons? How can we ll standing are holding up progress? in these gaps?  know about the issue of ? causes of ? “Be er” in what sense?  How address? What new tech Reason A  ow an the ssue o be be er addressed  Why shouldn t we be sa s ed Why is the issue of nologies / tech Reason B with current approaches / with niques could be signi cant / important? what’s been done already? tried? Who is it important to? Reason C  How is it currently being ad dressed? / has it been addressed? What are the costs of not doing any What methods have been used to inves gate and current ap thing / bene ts of addressing de cien proaches to addressing? C cies? A B Empirical / Jus ca on of Z How might these theore cal hypotheses Advantages / Disadvantages / weak be addressed? jus ca on? Mo va ons? The map from here would proceed contribu ons? nesses / de ciencies? very much like it does in this sect ion What issues How address? s ll need to be addressed? D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 19  Critical Reading Matrix: An approach for more rigorously assessing each article. Again organise around research questions. See also: https://sites.google.com/site/twblacklinemasters/using-a- 10. Approaches to note-taking matrix-to-organise-your-notes-for-faster-writing Article Key findings / arguments Supporting Evidence / Sample Strengths / Limitations Significance / implications characteristics / Methods Research Question: How does team social cohesion / integration impact team performance? Harrison et al. (2002)  team social integration was a strong  Tracked 144 university student  Useful study if considering new teams.  Social cohesion important but Academy of predictor of team performance teams in the business faculty  Only studied team performance over teams need to collaborate over 9-14 week projects. Median the short time frame of a semester frequently to develop. Management  social integration developed through team size was 4. project, new issues may arise for Journal, Vol. 45, No. frequent collaboration longstanding teams. 5, 1029-1045  Results for student teams may not carry over to workplace teams *because …+ Sethi et al. (2002)  Found that too much social cohesion  Studied new product  Only surveyed the managers of the  One of few studies which don’t Harvard Business among team members can reduce development teams consisting of teams “after-the-event” so all the just look at newly formed teams innovativeness because team members from diverse functional potential problems of report bias and so one of few studies which Review, August members worry more about areas such as marketing, might apply and managers’ views identifies the limitations of social 2002, 16-17 maintaining relationships instead of manufacturing, product might differ from team members’ cohesion when it gets too high. having the robust debates needed for development, sales, purchasing, views. innovation finance.  Teams had from 2 – 11 functional areas represented. Uzzi and Spiro (2005)  New teams and teams with no new  Studied a large number of  Clear measure of team success: how  Supports findings of other American Journal of members had less box office success Broadway Musical teams. well musical performed at box office. research that some social than teams with a mixture of “old  All teams with a mixture of old and cohesion is important but that Sociology, Volume hands” and “new blood”. new members arose naturally, so too much is counter-productive. 111 Number 2 doesn’t answer question of how a  Suggests some turnover of team (September 2005): well-established team will respond if members is needed to keep 447–504 “forced” by management to change teams performing at their best. some personnel. Systematic reviews might use many more columns and use an Excel file as the database. size of result (e.g. what was the gain in learning achieved by students after teaching For example, extra columns might break down aspects of the methods in greater detail to intervention X?); etc. allow analyses of those. For example, there might be columns for: (a) type of study (i.e. For more information, see for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l44piVnIJPU. case study, quasi-experimental, randomised control trial etc.); (b) sample size; (c) whether result was positive, negative or neutral (e.g. did treatment X cure problem Y?); (d) effect D. R. Rowland, The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland 20