Psychology

Evaluating a Literature Review or Course Paper

Directions: Evaluate the completed final paper you wrote for your school's Track 1 companion course (School of Business and Technology and the Harold Abel School of Social and Behavioral Sciences only) or for a recent course you have taken (School of Education and School of Public Service Leadership only). Evaluate this paper by answering each of the questions, using the information you obtained from presentation The Literature Review or Course Paper.

When you are through evaluating your paper, follow the directions to self-assess your skill in organizing a literature review/course paper. This exercise is not graded, but it will help you to identify the current strength of your academic writing. Most of us think our writing is very good (except, oddly, professional writers). Usually, it is not, and nearly always can be improved regardless of how good it may be. Poor writing is a leading cause of problems with the comprehensive examination and the dissertation. Be honest with yourself, if you wish to improve your skills.

1. Does your paper have a clear Introduction? If "Yes," answer a through d. If "No" or "Unsure," skip to question 2.

YES / NO / UNSURE

1. Does the introduction state the topic of the paper and its key challenge?

YES / NO / UNSURE

2. Does it indicate how the literature review to follow will address that key challenge?

YES / NO / UNSURE

3. Does it give the main points of your literature review and how they are organized?

YES / NO / UNSURE

4. Is it no more than one page in length?

YES / NO / UNSURE

2. Does the Main Body of your literature review:

1. State the theoretical framework or orientation taken in the paper?

YES / NO / UNSURE

2. Review literature directly relevant to the key concepts of your key challenge?

YES / NO / UNSURE

3. "Funnel" from the background or broad perspective down to the research on the key challenge?

YES / NO / UNSURE

4. Critique the literature reviewed?

YES / NO / UNSURE

5. Synthesize the literature reviewed?

YES / NO / UNSURE

6. Draw conclusion(s) about how to resolve the key challenge?

YES / NO / UNSURE

3. Does the paper contain a Conclusion or Summary? If "Yes," answer a through e. If "No" or "Unsure," skip to the next section and follow its directions.

YES / NO / UNSURE

1. Does the Conclusion restate the topic and the key challenge of the paper?

YES / NO / UNSURE

2. Does it briefly restate your conclusions?

YES / NO / UNSURE

3. Does it discuss implications and/or applications of your conclusions and findings in the literature?

YES / NO / UNSURE

4. Does it mention further study and exploration you have decided you need to undertake to deepen your knowledge?

YES / NO / UNSURE

5. Does it consist of one or two paragraphs, no more than a page?

YES / NO / UNSURE

Self-Assessment Exercise

To self-assess your skill at correctly organizing a literature review / course paper, count the number of "Yes" answers you gave (maximum = 17). Use the following chart to assess your skill at organizing your literature review (course paper). Then fill in the second table.

Chart 1. Relative Weights of Scores

Obviously, this is very roughly weighted — mere percentages do not take into account the relative importance of individual sections of a paper. However, when it comes to the organization of papers, the continuum from 100% to below 60% allows a rough-and-ready self-assessment that you can use to identify weaker areas for improvement. If you look back at the pattern of your answers, you can add some sophistication to your self-assessment by identifying the sections where there are more "No" answers — areas that you need to improve. Now use the Table 2 below to plan your strategy for needed improvements.

Table 2. Your Strategy for Improving Your Literature Review Organization Skills

Type your information in the empty boxes—they will expand to accommodate your text. Be specific in how you will work to improve your organizational skills.

Make sure that you e-mail yourself a copy of your assessment results. You will need this in order to post it to the Assignment area in the courseroom.

Credits

Subject Matter Expert:

Jana Whiddon, PhD, LMHC, ACS

Interactive Design:

Drew Pauley

Instructional Design:

Jae Johnson

Project Management:

Alan Campbell