Main rules of writing a literature review for your future thesis

Summary

The article deals with the problem of writing a literature review for thesis or master's paper. In the context of the revival of academic scientific interest among new generation of specialists motivated by different European programs and projects the question of qualitative preparation of scientific paper or thesis as well as the diploma paper becomes more and more topical

Basing on the early offered researchers' ideas we have made an attempt to offer more laconic and adapted to the needs and mentality of Ukrainian graduates and postgraduates (PhDs) mixture of ideas on how to do a literary review. In this article main aspects of making literary review, in particular, its main stages and principles are cleared up in order to help Master's students or PhD students to make their scientific papers in short term and of a high scientific quality.

Key words: writing a literature review, thesis, literature review.

Анотація

Бесараб О. М. Основні правила написання огляду літератури для майбутньої дисертації

Статтю присвячено проблемі написання обзору літератури для дисертаційного або магістерського дослідження. У контексті відродження інтересу молоді до наукової діяльності, який умотивовано різними європейськими програмами та проектами, питання якісної підготовки наукової роботи є досить актуальним.

У статті пропонується лаконічний адаптований для вітчизняного дослідника огляд базових аспектів і принципів написання огляду літератури як необхідної бази для подальшого наукового дослідження (магістерської роботи або дисертаційного дослідження). Розглянуто основні етапи роботи над зазначеною частиною наукового дослідження.

Ключові слова: написання наукової роботи, дисертація, огляд літератури.

Аннотация

Бесараб Е. Н. Основные правила написания обзора литературы для будущей диссертации

Статья посвящена проблеме написания обзора литературы для диссертационного или магистерского исследования. В контексте возрождения интереса молодежи к научной деятельности, обусловленного различными европейскими программами и проектами, вопрос качественной подготовки научной работы является весьма актуальным.

В статье предлагается лаконичный адаптированный для отечественного исследователя обзор базовых аспектов и принципов написания обзора литературы как необходимой базы для дальнейшего научного исследования (магистерской работы или диссертационного исследования). Рассмотрены основные этапы работы над указанной частью научного исследования.

Ключевые слова: написание научной работы, диссертация, обзор литературы.

Problem statements. In the sphere of science and higher education writing Academic papers has always been a question of prior importance. Nowadays in the context of the revival of academic scientific interest among new generation of specialists motivated by different European programs and projects the question of qualitative preparation of scientific paper or thesis as well as the diploma paper becomes more and more topical.

Current state. The given problem is touched on in some scientific works, mainly in the course of general study of the problem of making an Academic paper by Theuns G. Kotze, P Creme, J.M.H. Lim, Dunleavy, C.B. Norris, J.M. Swales and others [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8]. It's dealt with as one of the components of an Academic article. The most detailed analysis is presented by The- uns G. Kotze. Basing on the early offered researchers' ideas, we will make an attempt to offer more laconic and adapted to the needs and mentality of Ukrainian graduates and postgraduates (PhDs) mixture of ideas on how to do a literary review.

The research objectives. The main purpose of this article is to clear up main aspects of making literary review, in particular, its main stages and principles in order to help Master's students or PhD students to make their scientific papers in short term and of a high scientific quality.

Main part. If you have to write a scientific work (Master's Paper or thesis), you may be required to begin by writing a literature review. A literature review is a search and evaluation of the available literature in your given subject or chosen topic area. It documents the current state of the subject or topic you are writing about.

As it is known a literature review has four main objectives:

- To survey the literature in your chosen area of study;

- To synthesize the information in that literature into a summary;

- To critically analyze the information gathered by identifying gaps in current knowledge; by showing limitations of theories and points of view; and by formulating areas for further research and reviewing areas of controversy;

- To present the literature in an organized way [1].

A literature review shows your readers that you have an in-depth grasp of your subject; and that you understand where your own research fits into and adds to an existing body of agreed knowledge [1].

When researching and making literary review you should take into account the following:

- It is not a descriptive list; not a book by book and article by article summary; not a survey of every single thing written about your topic.

- It must be defined by an essay question, research project or objective. It must tell the reader what information, opinions and ideas have been offered, discussed and agreed in your area of study and outline their strong and weak sides.

According to Theuns Kotze, the literary review represents the theoretical core of the article. It should include 1000-1500 words. Its purpose is to review what has been done by the previous researchers in the certain field of study, to study the current state of the problem (to critically evaluate, re-organise and synthesize the work of others) [2; p. 19].

Theuns Kotze stresses on the fact that the key to a successful literary review lies in researcher's ability to `digest' information from different sources, critically evaluate it and present your conclusions in a concise, logical, and `reader-friendly' manner [2, p. 23].

He schematically pictured the process in the following table:

Academic research is a critical enquiry. Therefore, you have to identify main ideas offered by the researchers, to clear up your own point of view as for their ideas and opinions, to find contradictory aspects and ideas and, in case, they are suitable for your future topic to try to clear up the contradictions or to state your own ideas as for the subjects of your research, to fill in the gaps in their study. After all careful study of the recent literature and identification of controversial aspects will help you to form the basis of your own research.

T. Kotze marks that it is necessary to overcome three specific challenges to compile a proper literary review:

- To find appropriate literature on a specific topic;

- To manage the information;

- To present a logical, synthesised and reader-friendly review of the current knowledge relating to a specific topic [2].

The structure of a literature review includes the following parts: an introduction, main body, and a conclusion.

The introduction aims at defining the topic to study and providing a necessary context for reviewing the literature, at setting the research topic, the subject of the study. Besides, it should explain the organizational structure of the review and outline the aspects included and omitted.

The main body is supposed to structure the literature in accordance with the themes identified; to identify the object of the research, i.e. to identify the ties between the topic and the wider area of the research; starting from the analyses of more general view of literature to focus on the very subject of the given research.

The conclusion is intended to summarise the most significant aspects of the existing body of literature; to evaluate the current state of the problem study in the literature examined; to identify the spheres and aspects for future research.

While studying a large scope of scientific literature, it is necessary to make detailed notes paying special attention to the ideas more or less associated with the topic you are investigating.

To describe a process of writing a Literature Review it is appropriate to name its main stages of the process. They are: finding a topic; gathering the literature; finding relevant excerpts.

Firstly (under the guidance of your potential scientific supervisor) you have to define future topic of your research work, the subject and the object of your study.

Then gather the literature, i.e. “to conduct a comprehensive bibliographic search” of books and articles connected to your research area. You have to read the abstracts and chose those articles and books that suits to your subject and object. Then you are advised to look through the content of the chosen books and articles on the relevance of their content.

You have to find excerpts relevant to the research topic. Browse through the contents of each book and article to find some ideas, opinions, conclusions, and findings about the problems you are investigating; scientific terms related to your subject; ideas outlining prospective aspects to study (relevant to your research); some aspects gaps in the literature; some disputable questions to study.

Then you should note the relevant excerpt. While doing this it is necessary to write down the name of the author of the studied and noted source as well as the other obligatory output data of the source for future reference (the author of the source, the title, the place and year of publication, pages number or page with a quotation used). When you refer to electronic resource you should note the site of access. Each article and book which ideas you are going to use should be mentioned.

Afterwards it is recommended to sort out the excerpts in accordance with the aspects analyzed and to place them separately in order not to mix. After such analyses some new (additional) aspects can be revealed. You can skip them if they are not suitable for your current research, but bear in mind their existence for some other research works (thesis for conferences, scientific articles etc.).

The next thing you need to do is to create your theoretical draft or conceptual plan. Review the material on each aspect pointing out main ideas. Then decide whether these ideas correlate to each other or are disputable, contradictory. Write the results of your comparisons.

Next choose any section of your conceptual schema to begin with. You can begin anywhere, because you already know the order. Figure out a mini-conceptual schema based on that theme by grouping together the excerpts with the same idea. Write up your literature review basing on the excerpts that you have made before, including the citations with adequate output data. Repeat these actions for each part of your literature review.

When your literary review is ready, revise it as for the content, clarity of thoughts and consistency of their expression and edit as for writing mistakes.

A literature review aims to demonstrate the writer's knowledge of the important professional literature on the chosen subject. So it is important to be sure in coverage of all material significant for your topic. Don't forget about the so-called academic integrity required in scientific works. To avoid plagiarism you bear in mind the necessity to include the outline data for your citations and references.

Here are some guidelines for the text of your review. It should be written in a clear and concise academic style avoiding using spoken language; it should not be descriptive in nature. It should have no grammatical or spelling errors and logically arranged sentences. Sometimes you may use subtitles to organize the review.

In the conclusion it is necessary to mark that while making a Literary Review researcher should consider the main purposes of the work. The researcher should provide a summary of her/his own findings from the literature review, to make her/his own conclusions about current state of the problem/topic study, of aspects analysed and omitted, to make suggestions for future research in accordance with the unexplored aspects and to determine his own topic, subject and object of the research.

scientific literature dissertation

References

1. What is a literature review?

2. Theuns G. Kotze. Guidelines on writing a first quantitative academic article. University of Pretoria, 2007. 2nd ed. 87 p.

3. Creme P, Lea M.R. Writing at University: A Guide for Students. 2nd ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2003.

4. Dunleavy, P Authoring a Ph.D.: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation. London: Macmillan, 2003.

5. Lim J.M.H. Method Sections of Management Research Articles: A Pedagogical Motivated Qualitative Study. English for Specific Purposes. The American University. Published by Elsevier Ltd., 2006. P 282-309.

6. Norris C.B. Academic Writing in English. Language Services. University of Helsinki, 2016. 85 p.

7. Swales J.M., Feak C.B. Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills. Ann Arbor (Mich.): The University of Michigan Press, 2004. 432 p.

8. How to Write an Academic Paper in English (Roadmap as a Guide for PhD Students) / E.P. Honcharenko, L.I. Baisara, O.M. Besarab, N.S. Styrnik, A.V. Kryvosheia. Англістика та американістика: збірник наукових праць. Вип. 15. Дніпро: Ліра. 2018. С. 51-59.

9. Fabio Franchino. Writing academic papers and dissertation. University of Milan, 2009.

Размещено на Allbest.ru