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Writing a literature review

Presented by Nattawoot Koowattanatianchai

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References

• Cotterall, S. (2001). Writing a literature review. Postgraduate seminar 2001. Student Learning Support Services and PGSA: Victoria University.

• Hamilton, A. (1990). Writing dissertations. London: RIBA Publications Ltd.

• Madsen, D. (1992). Successful dissertations and theses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

• Rountree, K. and Laing, P. (1996). Writing by degrees: A guide to writing theses and research papers. NZ: Addison Wesley Longman

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Backdrop article Title

Incentivising investment through accelerated depreciation: wartime use, economic stimulus and encouraging green technologies. (A forthcoming article in Accounting History)

AuthorsNattawoot KoowattanatianchaiKasetsart Business School, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, ThailandEmail: fbusnwk@ku.ac.thTel: +66-87-539-3525; Fax: +66-2-579-0946

Michael B. Charles* and Ian EddieSchool ofBusiness & Tourism, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, AustraliaEmail: michael.charles@scu.edu.au and ian.eddie@scu.edu.au

*Corresponding author

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Finding articles in the literature

• Start with google and google scholar.

• Important resources are: • Our library database at

•http://lib.ku.ac.th/web/index.php/th#databases• ISI Web of Science database at

•http://www.webofknowledge.com• Scopus database at

•https://www.scopus.com/home.uri• Business Source Complete database at

•http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&group=main&profile=ehost&defaultdb=bth

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Finding articles in the literature

• Widening or narrowing your search based on what you are getting.

• Try thinking of different key words if you are not getting any results.

• After finding a really relevant article, you can look forward and back from that article.

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Looking back and forward

Looking back• Read the literature review section of the article. See what/who is

referenced and look at some of their articles.

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Looking forward• There are citation indexes that record those who have cited an article.

You should read their work to expand your article collection. Use these databases to find citations:• Google scholar • ISI• Scopus

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Making sense of it all

• Once the literature search is complete, locate 6-8 recent and relevant articles. Read them very carefully and try making sense of them.

• I suggest• Pay particular attention to the introduction and conclusion

sections.• The literature review in all academic articles will already have

sorted different groups of articles for you. Extract your ideas and structure your story using mind maps or other techniques.

• Discuss what you have found with your peers. • This is an iterative process.

• Moe than likely, you need to go back and forward between searching, researching, and ordering

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Writing it up

• Your literature review needs to make readers clearly understand your ideas. Your literature review should be a “car service manual” rather than a “mystery novel”. To achieve this, you should: • Structure your essay well;• Use plain language and avoid too many scientific terms;• Make sure that your colleagues understand your essay. Don’t need

to think too much about general readers, although they should be able to get the general theme of your essay; and

• Reference correctly.

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Benefits of the literature review to the researcher

• It identifies the tentative research problem in the context of relevant fields.

• It gathers information on the topic of interest. • It identifies gaps in the knowledge.• It refines the research.• It suggests appropriate methods and designs for the research.• It suggests ways of avoiding difficulties and deficiencies in conducting

the research. • It helps interpreting the results later.

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A successful literature review should:

• Present a concise summary of relevant research; • Outline how your research will contribute to existing knowledge; • Make a commentary on the relevant literature;• Explain your plan on expanding existing knowledge; • Discuss the similarities and differences between your work and the

work of others; and• Locate your research problem within a theoretical framework and

review the underlying theory.

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Managing the reading

• Begin with the most recent, qualified and relevant literature to your topic;

• Read with purpose - only read those that could contribute to your thesis;

• Order the priority of the articles to read;• Note taking important ideas; and• Don’t be lazy - maintain the discipline of reading and taking notes rather

than photocopying to read later.

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Managing huge information

• Structure your article files and references;

• Keep careful records of source ideas, papers, quotes, etc.; and•

• Use bibliographical software, e.g. Endnote, to help keeping records.

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Managing the writing

• Read literature reviews related to your research topic - ask your supervisors to recommend good ones;

• Outline your ideas - themes, questions, propositions, logical steps in an argument;

• Draw a diagram or mind map the relationship between ideas;• Write summaries of individual sections before you start might help; • Be disciplined and write regularly;• Discuss, share, and clarify your ideas with your colleagues before,

during, and after writing the ideas down; and• Get regular feedback on what you write - from a naïve reader, from a

peer in the same subject, and from your supervisor.

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Writing it up

• Start from tertiary sources (textbooks), to secondary sources (reviews of research), and finally to primary research (journal articles documenting original research) - i.e., work from general to specific;

• Organise the literature around findings, ideas, or themes rather than studies or authors;

• Present a logical argument in the literature review and then lead the readers to your research question or problem;

• Describe, summarise, clarify, evaluate & critique, and synthesise & integrate – focus on evaluating/critiquing and synthesizing/integrating; and

• Always present evidence to support your points.

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Questions

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Contact me

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Email: fbusnwk@ku.ac.th

Homepage:http://fin.bus.ku.ac.th/nattawoot.htm

Phone:02-9428777 Ext. 1218

Mobile: 087- 5393525

Office: 9th floor, KBS Building 4