Discussion Thread: Literature Review Types and Primary Steps
Serenity3203
Chapter4forHtdylr.pptx
PowerPoint 4 Scoping
Chapter 4 from
How to do your literature review
This is PowerPoint 4 for Chapter 4 …
We will look at
Scoping
Finding core sources
Mindmapping
Storyboarding
Revising your prima facie question
Keeping an audit
All of this is discussed in much more detail in Chapter 4 of How to Do Your Literature Review
Scoping helps you to refine and focus your search
Scoping happens near the beginning of your search for literature
It lets you get a ‘lay of the land’ with a few (10 or so – the actual number isn’t critical) core readings
You can then think about refining your original question
You might do this by mindmapping, and perhaps drawing a storyboard.
Scoping
Scoping
Ask a prima facie question
Find core sources
Draw a mindmap
Refine your question
Expand your search
Find 10 core sources
Use tutor recommendations or ‘finds’ from an initial database or search engine search
Look amongst this material for themes, disagreements, dilemmas.
Use those 10 core sources to locate other relevant material. You might now decide to exclude some of your first 10, having found more relevant or interesting material.
Think about and begin to organise the material that you have identified, drawing a preliminary mindmap
Getting to a mindmap
The mindmap can be as detailed or as simple as you like.
Its purpose is to map out the terrain as it is forming itself around the core references.
What’s in a mindmap? …
Although there is no set format, it will usually contain:
the question or issue at the heart of the research, and around this will be
nodes that spring from the question. These may (or may not) be connected with
arrows or connecting lines.
Beyond this, a mindmap may contain
buds sprouting from the nodes, with new, connected ideas to pursue. You may, if you wish, add
key references as reminders or pointers for snowballing
and, if it helps, colour-code connected parts.
Mindmaps …
Question
Node
Node
Node
Node
Node
Bud
Bud
Bud
Bud
Bud
How does a storyboard differ from a mindmap?
The storyboard moves beyond ideas to chart a narrative – a story.
Could you build your storyboard around a chronological framework, drawing a timeline of the historical development of the topic?
Could the structure reflect the themes or concepts in the topic?
Could it be methodological (e.g., grouping sources based on research methods used)?
Or, could it combine elements of all the above?
Remember
Mindmaps and storyboards are your servants – they are not end-products.
They are to help you think and focus.
So, there’s no point fussing over details, presentation, or whether you’ve done them right.
Revising your prima facie question
Having too broad an initial question means too broad a search for literature, with less time for in-depth, focused analysis.
After mindmapping and storyboarding, you may want to revise your first, your prima facie, question.
You may want to refine your question and focus it on something particularly relevant to your own situation.
Keep an audit
Keep a record of any changes you make to your initial ideas in the process of scoping.
This record is called an audit.
Auditing the changes you made in scoping brings to light for the reader the details of how you have gone about scoping.
Keep an audit
Your eventual write-up will include a chapter containing your discussion of your processes of scoping and searching.
In this chapter, you should outline how you audited and what the audit shows.
Summary
After thinking about the topic for your literature review, you’ll need to scope the area. This means beginning with a few key references and ideas, and thinking about where these ideas may take you.
As you begin to scope – reading background literature and talking to your tutor – try to see connections, trends and patterns. Try to understand the territory of the subject as you first see it.
On the basis of your early reading and discussions, identify a few core references.
Using those core references, brainstorm about your start-up question or issue with a mindmap that identifies key areas that you might pursue.
Your mindmap may mature into a storyboard, in which you can ‘populate’ different sections with references to key sources.
If necessary, revise your prima facie, start-up question. Record changes that you have made.
Activity
Take a topic from your own area of interest and brainstorm a question around it.
Put the question in the centre of the mindmap and spend some time thinking about nodes which might surround it.
Once you have established some issues for the nodes, find a key reference to attach to each of the nodes.
Question
Node
Node
Node
Node
Node
Bud
Bud
Bud
Bud
Bud
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