Searching and Reviewing the Literature

LITERATURE REVIEW

a document which explores and evaluates the literature on a specific topic or question."

what is known, how well

LITERATURE REVIEW: It aims to determine "\___ \__ \___ on a topic and \___ \___ this knowledge is established," as well as "where future research might best be directed" (University of Melbourne Academic Skills Unit, 2013).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Portney & Watkins (2015) also described \___ \___ as a document that tells what has already been done regarding a particular topic.

literature review as a type of study per se

This second definition of the terminology pertains to the "generic term for published materials that provide examination of recent or current literature" (Grant & Booth, 2009).

Scoping Review

preliminary assessment of potential size and scope of available research literature

Mapping Review

mapping and categorization of existing literature

Systematic Review

systematic search, appraisal, and synthesis of research evidence

It contributes to almost all steps involved in the research process.

IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE REVIEW

foundation

Literature review serves as the \___ of a research project (Portney & Watkins, 2015).

Identify question

1 STEPS IN LITERATURE REVIEW

Search literature

2 STEPS IN LITERATURE REVIEW

Read critically

3 STEPS IN LITERATURE REVIEW

Synthesize

4 STEPS IN LITERATURE REVIEW

Write review

5 STEPS IN LITERATURE REVIEW

Systematic

PRINCIPLES OF LITERATURE SEARCH: Plan your search strategy

Explicit

PRINCIPLES OF LITERATURE SEARCH: Document your actual searching process all throughout

Rigorous

PRINCIPLES OF LITERATURE SEARCH: Adhere to rules you initially set (e.g., criteria for relevant studies, types of studies covered, years of publication covered)

Thorough

PRINCIPLES OF LITERATURE SEARCH: Cover (almost) all relevant studies

TOOLS

These include search engines, bibliographic databases, and reference management software.

Search engines

are "information retrieval systems that search the internet and electronic databases for websites, files, or documents based on keywords or phrases" (Portney & Watkins, 2015).

Google Scholar, PubMed, and OvidSP

Some common search engines used in our field include

Bibliographic databases

on the other hand, "contain lists of citations of published and unpublished references" (Portney & Watkins, 2015).

MEDLINE

most commonly used database in health- related sciences, indexing almost 5,000 journals in biomedical sciences, free

CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)

provides access to citations from all nursing journals as well as primary journals in more than a dozen other health disciplines, including speech language pathology, Through subscription

Cochrane Library

bibliographic database of definitive clinical trials, Through subscription

ProQuest

"access to databases across all major subject areas, including health and medical, education, science and technology, etc."; covers "thousands of full-text scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, working papers, and market reports" (from their

website), Through subscription

LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Information System)

"includes journal articles, conference proceedings, scientific-technical reports, theses, books and book chapters, with abstracts in English, Portuguese, or Spanish"; many of these journals are not indexed in Medline (Portney & Watkins, 2015), Through subscription

WEB OF SCIENCE, WorldCat, Scopus

Other databases

Reference management software

pertains to any software product used for storage and retrieval of bibliographic records (Nashelsky & Early, 1991).

citation or bibliographic management software

Reference management software is also called .

Mendeley, Zotero, and EndNote

Some examples of these software include

Microsoft Excel or Index Cards

Alternative reference management softwares

IDENTIFY SEARCH TERMS

1 STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH

IDENTIFY SEARCH TERMS

STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH: Analyze the research topic, problem, or question and identify key concepts from this.

PICO

STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH: Identify search terms: The \___ framework, which will be further discussed in OPST 198, may be employed.

Patient or Population, Intervention (Exposure), Comparison, and Outcome.

PICO stands for

PLAN/SELECT SEARCH STRATEGY/IES

2 STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH:

PLAN/SELECT SEARCH STRATEGY/IES

STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH: Decide the scope of your review. Consider types of studies to include and years to be covered. Consider comprehensiveness and practicality. You then identify databases you would like to search in, taking into consideration their significance to the topic at hand.

MeSH

Plan/Select Search Strategy/ies: You may use your own keywords or use \___ terms for searching.

MeSH

Medical Subject Headings

Medical Subject Headings

labels assigned to each article in Medline in order to describe what the article is about

combine key words

It is ideal to \__ \__ \__ when implementing search strategies.

AND

Boolean logic and related operators: Retrieves articles that contain ALL the terms, NARROWS down the search

OR

Retrieves articles with ANY of the terms, BROADENS the search

NOT

Eliminates the articles containing the SECOND term, NARROWS the search

( ) Nest

term inside is searched first

" " Fixed string

words inside are not considered individual words

* Truncation symbol/ wildcard

allows different forms of a word to be included \`

IMPLEMENT AND ADJUST STRATEGY/IES

3 STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH:

authors, keywords, and the entire text.

IMPLEMENT AND ADJUST STRATEGY/IES: For keyword search, the usual default setting in most databases applies to titles and abstracts of articles, You may adjust these in the database setting to include

IMPLEMENT AND ADJUST STRATEGY/IES

STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH: is usually prompted by the number of hits obtained from the initial search. If the number is overwhelming, one may consider narrowing the search by using filters to improve literature search specificity. In contrast, one may broaden the search to improve literature search sensitivity.

"Related articles" search

Examples of broadening include: This involves looking at the suggested related articles from the article you are reading, This section is usually located at the bottom part or lower right section of the page.

Ancestral search

Examples of broadening include: This involves tracking down the references of an article you are reading.

Citation search

Examples of broadening include: This involves looking at references or articles that cited the article you are reading.

Gray literature

Examples of broadening include: This involves looking at research that is either unpublished or has been published in non-commercial form.

RETRIEVE AND ORGANIZE LITERATURE

4 STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH:

RETRIEVE AND ORGANIZE LITERATURE

STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH: For articles that you could not access, you can always directly email the first author of these articles, As long as you ask in a respectful and professional manner, the worst thing that could happen is that they say no.

ResearchGate and Academia.edu

RETRIEVE AND ORGANIZE LITERATURE: Consider setting up accounts using \_______ to communicate with them. Otherwise, your @up emails may suffice.

RETRIEVE AND ORGANIZE LITERATURE

STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH: An important skill that one must develop is the ability to discriminate between relevant and irrelevant articles from your search.

title and abstract screening

RETRIEVE AND ORGANIZE LITERATURE: This can be applied in two levels:

RETRIEVE AND ORGANIZE LITERATURE

STEPS IN CONDUCTING A FULL LITERATURE SEARCH: Try to look for patterns (themes, similarities, and differences) as you search (e.g., focus of research, methods used). The scope of the search depends on the researcher's familiarity and how much research has been done in the area, Consider using a reference management software. Otherwise, you may do the alternative, Lastly, document that search that you did.

same articles.

One indicator that you are nearing the end of your search is if you keep on finding the

IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF SOURCE

1 CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

Primary sources

contain first-hand information on a specific topic - the material is the author's own account of something that he or she has participated in

Secondary sources

contain information originating from another source.

Primary Sources

Dissertation, court records, interview transcripts, letters, diaries, etc.

Secondary Sources

Textbook, biography, encyclopedias, essay, etc.

GET SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDY TO KNOW WHETHER TO INITIALLY TRUST THE CONTENT OR NOT.

2 CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

GET SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This involves looking into the author's background, how recent the material is, and whether the journal where the article was published is peer-reviewed.

SKIM THE ABSTRACT, HEADINGS, AND CONCLUSION; READ ONLY WHAT YOU THINK YOU NEED.

3 CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE AND DURING READING

4 CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

TAKE NOTES EVERY TIME YOU ENCOUNTER USEFUL INFORMATION (MORE ON THIS IN THE NEXT SUBSECTIONS

5 CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

CRITICALLY APPRAISE RELEVANT STUDIES (MORE ON THIS IS IN THE COMING MODULE AND OPST 198)

6 CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

CRITICALLY APPRAISE RELEVANT STUDIES

Is there a logical relationship between: The review of literature provided and the study's objectives, The objectives and the method(s)? The method(s) and the findings and conclusions? The objectives and the conclusions?

Charting Method

NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES: Construct a list of points/topics/subjects you want to write about and create a column for each one. As you read, note down notes and references in the appropriate column.

Sentence Method

NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES: As you read, write down new ideas and bits of information as a sentence. Number each sentence.

Cornell Method

NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES: In one column write your summary of the authors' conclusions and evidence, and in the other column write down your own assessment, critique and other comments.

Mapping Method

NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES: "Write down key concepts and terms, with related ideas radiating out from these."

Journal Article

Brief and concise, 1-2 pages, Assumes reader has some knowledge, Only cite and reference materials pertinent to the issue, Emphasize pertinent findings, relevant issues, and major conclusions of cited studies

Master's thesis or dissertation

Comprehensive, 20-40 pages, Exhaustive review, Present chronological progressions of knowledge on the subject,

funnel

One way of representing the structure of literature review is through the "__" model.

FUNNEL MODEL

You first introduce the problem and set the context. Then, proceed with analysis of past researches. This includes highlighting the development of major concepts (agreements, modifications, tensions) before narrowing the focus to studies closest to your own.

inverted funnel

In writing research proposals or manuscripts, this funnel continues to become an \___ \___ (more on this in OPST 197), wherein the gap, objectives, and significance of the study will be included.

Topic/Problem/Rationale

STRATEGIES FOR WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW: What made you think of doing the study? What makes this problem worth solving? Must be straight to the point.

Known

STRATEGIES FOR WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW: What has already been done to solve the problem? In relation to this, what sort of questions have already been answered.

Gap

STRATEGIES FOR WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW: What sort of questions have yet to be answered? What questions may not have been adequately answered by previous studies?

Present a clear line of argument

STRATEGIES FOR WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW: Your arguments are clearly related to the evidence you provide. Opinions, assumptions, and inferences are backed by facts and theory. Sections are clearly connected

Referencing

opportunity to give other researchers credit for the contributions of their work to your own work. to provide evidence and support claims in your scholarly work.

In-text citation

a form of referencing found within the body of one's scholarly work. It usually consists of the family name of the author/s and its year of publication.

Reference list

sometimes called bibliography, is a form of referencing that lists down information for all the sources used in a scholarly work. This is usually found at the end of the output.

books, journal articles, TV, news clippings, radio, interviews, etc.

Potential sources:

APA

used primarily in the (social and behavioral) sciences and in fields related to education

MLA

used in humanities subjects such as languages, literary studies, and media studies