Literature Review 1000 words
Nayef_222
6PIRS022WLiteratureReview1-LiteratureSearchandOrganisation2022-23.pptx
University of Westminster
Politics, International Relations, Development Studies
Workshop 2: Literature Review 1
Literature Search and Organisation
(and formulating your research question and topic)
6PIRS022W: Dissertation – Module Leader: Dr Bridget Cotter
Workshop Plan
Research Questions and Titles
What is a Literature Review?
Kerry Gilfillan from Learning Development
Smart searching: Finding Credible Sources
Organising your reading
PIR Research Journeys: Sam and Jac on the Rendition Project
Research question
Ask yourself:
Do I have a research question?
Is my question interesting?
What potential contribution does it make to the field?
Is my question answerable
Is it precise and narrow enough to be covered within word limit and the required time?
Is the study feasible, ie. are there data, research techniques/methods, literature available?
If necessary, produce alternative questions and discuss them with your supervisor!
Mind Map your Topic
What are your initial ideas about what you will need to discuss in the dissertation?
Start by mind-mapping relevant theories, arguments, debates
Keep working on your Title
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A working title helps you focus….
Keep adapting it as you research
Run it past your supervisor as you go
Don’t worry about getting it perfect
You can always change it later.
Keep working on your Question
A good question helps you focus….
It should be SMART (like a “SMART goal”)
Use the same advice as for titles below!!
Assignments & Assessment
A) 1,000 word literature review: worth 10%
Deadline: 13.00, Monday 21 November 2022
B) 10,000 word dissertation: worth 90%
deadline: 13.00, Tuesday 2 May 2023
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On the following slide: list these research proposals from ‘1’ to ‘8’: ‘1’ is most like a research question; 8 the least
List these research questions from ‘1’ to ‘8’
The US interventions after 9/11
How Significant is women’s role in terrorist organisations? – A case study of ISIS
Is war inevitable, or will the ‘responsibility to protect’ maintain peace?
From Excluded to Tolerated and Beyond: Women’s long journey to gender equality in modern American politics
How effective are government measures for increasing women’s substantive representation in the UK Parliament?
Conservative Party policy and Covid
Is the liberal democratic order best suited to shape environmental policy or is environmental authoritarianism the future?
Researching Islamophobia in The United States and Europe post 9/11
List these research questions from ‘1’ to ‘8’
1. How effective are government measures for increasing women’s substantive representation in the UK Parliament?
2. How significant is women’s role in Islamic terrorist organisations? – A case study of ISIS
3. Is the liberal democratic order best suited to shape environmental policy or is environmental authoritarianism the future?
4. Is war inevitable, or will the ‘responsibility to protect’ maintain peace?
5. From Excluded to Tolerated and Beyond: Women’s long journey to gender equality in modern American politics
6. Conservative Party policy and Covid
7. Researching Islamophobia in The US and Europe since 9/11
8. The US interventions after 9/11
Perfecting a Research Question
Topic idea: social media and protest
Question: What is the relationship between social media and protest groups.
There are many links between them, so which type do you want to focus on? Are you looking for cause and effect? Which direct of this relationship is interesting to you? What are the existing research studies mainly on?
Revised Question: What is the role of social media in protest groups?
Now my question indicates the direction of the relationship – the impact of X on Y. Still quite broad. Social media plays a lot of roles in groups.
More Specific question: What is the role of social media in the emergence of contemporary protest movements?
I have read and now know there is a social movement literature, so I have changed my terminology. And I have decided to focus on how social movements grow and gain political influence.
Perfecting a Research Question
Our question has a direction but it is still quite a big job to answer it!
What is the role of social media in the emergence of contemporary protest movements?
How could this question be made specific enough to answer?
Best method: Case study
What is the role of social media in the emergence of contemporary protest movements? Case study of the Black Lives Matter movement
This allows me to get into the specifics of how the use of social media has aided a social movement in getting its message heard, in growing its membership and influence, in raising global awareness of its issue.
After studying the case, I can then answer the question: what does this case tell us about the broader issue of the role of social media in the emergence of contemporary protest movements.
What is a literature review?
Process: a stage in your research that helps you…
Search, find, make note of what is out there
read, think, and understand your topic
develop your project and your bibliography
Product: written piece of work
An essay-length piece
Proof of the process (above)
to submit to Turnitin for your CW1
Includes a bibliography and references
Method: it is what we do when we write a library-based dissertation
The process of reading, summarising, synthesising, criticising literature on your topic…. In other words: literature-based research.
(sometimes) a Section in Dissertation: ONLY if doing primary research
If producing your own empirical date. But NOT needed if your work is mainly library based (which most of you are doing)
What is the “Literature” in a Literature Review?
The word literature (in 'literature review') broadly refers to the scholarly or scientific writing on a topic
Sources for the literature review should be research-based and peer-reviewed.
A book is a piece of “literature”.
“A literature” is a body of work by different authors; a collection of sources on a topic.
You might need to use more than one “literature” in your dissertation.
Peer review is key!
Academic Research
Found in academic publications
Peer Reviewed Sources
Academic Books
Journal articles
Research Reports
Book Chapters
Conference papers
Theses
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Other Research-based studies
Professionally produced research for a non-academic institutions, including papers and reports from
Think Tanks
Charities
NGOs
Advocacy Groups
Government websites
International organisations
National and local Government departments
Use their online resources and archives, write to them (if full paper is not available on website), network / make contacts, email questions, request possible meetings.
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NOW BUILD YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY!
Annotated Bibliographies
Project management
Dissertation as a marathon, rather than a sprint
