Annotated Bibliography And Literature Review
rachealbizz1
Criticalreadingandwritingsession5OCT192.pptxComplexity in literature / developing an argument
Aims
To further consider the importance of developing an argument using literature
Examine the importance of questioning
Further examine evaluation
Explore some of the practicalities of the research
Complexity in literature and developing an argument
Academic writing aims to covey a viewpoint or argument
Influenced by the stance of the writer and later that of the reader
This creates a complexity which other academics need to unpick
This means that questioning the articles becomes critical
Central question
This is the question which underlies the whole piece or a substantial theme
The question will offer guidance to the broad area which will be discussed
It is important that this is clear
Review questions
Theoretical questions
Whose theory or model is important
Justification of the methodology
The review questions for the purpose of the literature review
These help you find focus as you read
Evaluating the usefulness of what you read
1: Reliability of the literature:
Evaluate its arguments and conclusions / compare the two to show the link
Measuring how convincing the literature is
Justification of the claim or claims, E.G. Assess the evidence base for reliability and validity
2: Contributing to an argument:
Focusing upon clarity / Being balanced/
Supporting the argument through materials
e.g. The researcher effect
Brink (1993) analyses the research effect and claims any research must be evaluated with this in mind
This includes participants behaving differently with different researchers
Researchers should be aware of changing the reality in research
Research group can discuss change and accommodate in evaluation
Discuss in small groups: Provide an example from a setting you are familiar with and how a researcher might effect the environment
Developing an argument
Looking at different perspectives and view points
Reading widely: Within and across disciples / including opinion pieces
Be measured and evidence based
Terms of comparison: But, however, in contrast / in comparison / conversely
Acknowledge: From the viewpoint of….
Carrying out a literature search
Key sources to inform specialists:
General bibliographies / specialist subject bibliographies / publications
Catalogues: Libraries and specialist institutions
Abstraction and Indexing journals: Use of the short summary
The search should be strategic
Conducting an effective literature search on the internet
Be clear about how you plan and aims
The search should be strategic and must attend goals outlined
A time frame considering the amount of time for each section / relevant part of the databases, terms for the search and inclusion criteria
To describe what will be
literature will be considered
‘Boolean logic’
Refers to the logical relationship between the search terms
These are expressed using ‘operators’ or ‘logical operators’
The three main operators are:
OR, AND and NOT
Break the question down into concepts, think of alternative terms and apply Boolean operators.
Search Tip :
Search all the terms for one concept using OR then search all the terms for the next concept, continue for all the concepts in the search
At this point you may have some very large numbers but when you join the concepts together with AND the number of references should drop significantly
Terms are needed
The terms are the basis of the search
They set the perimeters
The terms used can be achieved through looking at the research question / aims / objectives
Variables
| Resource | Website address | Freely available on internet? | Number of journals indexed | Audience aimed at | UK focus |
| British Nursing Index (BNI) | Available with a password/username via Athens (Last accessed). | No | 220+ | Nursing and professions allied to medicine | Yes |
| CINAHL Includes some full text depending on library licence | www.cinahl.com/ (Last accessed:?) Only available via Athens…. | No | 1,200+ | Nursing and professions allied to medicine | No |
| The Cochrane Library Includes some full text depending on library licence | www.update-software.com/ cochrane/abstract.htm (Last accessed: ??) | Yes (abstracts only) | N/A | Reviews. Useful for information on research not yet published in mainstream | Yes |
| www.google.com or www.google.co.uk (a UK-focused search engine) (Last accessed:?) | Yes | N/A | All subject areas. It is especially useful to find specific NHS documents if online | Yes (if using google. co.uk) |
Five Critical Synopsis Questions
1: Why am I reading this?
2: What are the authors trying to achieve in writing this?
3:What are the authors claiming that is relevant to my work
4: How convincing are the claims, and why?
5: In conclusion, what use can I make of this?
https://Study.sagepub.com/wallaceandwray3e
In Summary
The research conducted needs to be structured so the writing will make sense
The literature review will reflect the outcomes of a well through out strategy
This is a combination of practical approach and analytical questioning
