Searching the Literature - Term paper / research paper writing service

"This business of searching and reviewing the literature. What literature is that? What am I supposed to find? Exactly what's a 'literature review'?"

The expression--the literature--typically refers to published writings in books, journals, and conference proceedings that relate to the field of investigation within which a student's project lies. Such literature also includes unpublished theses and dissertations. However, there is no universal agreement among professors about (a) what should be contained in the student's review of the literature, (b) what functions such a review should assume in the overall project, or (c) where the review should be located in the finished document. Therefore, you may find it helpful to be acquainted with alternative positions that advisors may hold in relation to such issues.The first section of this chapter sketches some of the more common viewpoints professors adopt. By understanding those viewpoints, you should be better prepared to discuss the literature review with your advisors and to argue your case if their ideas about the search fail to coincide with your own. The second section of the chapter describes ways that a literature search can be conducted efficiently. The final section describes a pair of avoidable errors of judgment-"lamentably dumb mistakes"--that students occasionally commit.

FUNCTIONS OF LITERATURE REVIEWS

The most popular patterning of chapters in theses and dissertations goes something like this:

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Review of the Literature Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Results/Findings Chapter 5: Analysis and Interpretation of the Findings Chapter 6: Summary, Conclusions, Applications, and Recommendations for Further Study

Such a pattern implies that the entire collection of information from the professional literature belongs in Chapter 2. However, whether it's wise to locate all references to the literature within a separate chapter is a matter of debate. Two questions worth answering are (1) What function is material from the literature expected to perform in your project? (2) Where in the final version of your thesis or dissertation can such material most reasonably be located?A typical answer to the first question is that faculty advisors want your project not only to display your ability to answer the particular question on which your research will focus, but also to demonstrate how skillfully you (a) situated your chosen topic within a relevant body of knowledge, (b) found in the literature a significant quantity of other studies that bear on your topic, (c) evaluated the quality of those studies (their strengths and limitations), (d) identified the linkages between your project and previous studies, and (e) showed what contribution your project can make to the field in which your work is located. Although these five functions can often be conveniently housed within the same chapter, there are also various other functions that the literature review can serve. Hence, it is useful to consider what those functions are and where material bearing on them can suitably be placed. Here are ten such functions. A survey of the literature can

1.	Suggest ideas for research problems. Well before the time you actually start work on your project, you can be on the lookout for potential research topics. While reading a textbook, listening to a lecture, or browsing through a journal, your intuitive reaction to items may signal potential topics. Such reactions can be recognized in your spontaneous response to what you encounter: "That may not be true in all cases" or "Surely that's an oversimplification of a complex situation" or "Now that's an idea worth following detail" or "You can't draw such a broad conclusion from such a limited sampling of people" or "There must be a better way to test that theory." On these occasions, you may find it worth the bother to jot down your reaction and to suggest, even in a vague way, the kind of study that could derive from your response. Adopting this habit enables you to compile a list of research possibilities from which you can select your thesis or dissertation problem.
2.	Identify strengths and weaknesses of others' theories and empirical studies. Authors of books, articles, and book reviews in your discipline frequently offer assessments of work in that field. Those analyses can prove useful for your own work by alerting you to weaknesses to avoid and suggesting good ideas to incorporate in your own study. By pausing in your reading to note these features and to identify the publication in which they appear (author, year, title, volume, number, publisher, page number), you gradually accumulate references that may prove useful for your project.
3.	Identify theories that can be applied or tested. The word theory, as we use it throughout this book, is a proposal about (a) what variables are important for understanding some phenomenon and (b) how those variables interact to make the phenomenon turn out as it does. Thus, a political theory may be designed to explain why people vote the way they do in elections. A sociological theory may show how and why people within a family may rise or fall on a socialstatus scale from one generation to the next. An economic theory may explain stock market cycles of advance and decline. An anthropological theory may offer reasons for the appearance of particular religious practices within representative cultures. A psychological theory may identify factors affecting compulsive behavior. An educational theory may propose how teachers' personality characteristics interact with pupils' characteristics to affect pupils' academic performance. Thus, in the professional literature, you may find theories which your thesis or dissertation will test empirically, extend, revise, or replace. During your reading, as ideas about theories come to mind, you may find it worthwhile to record your thoughts and note the passage or chapter that stimulated those thoughts, along with the bibliographic location of the passage (author, year, title, volume, number, publisher, page number).
4.	Suggest methodological approaches. The word methodology is used here to mean the steps you will follow in answering your research question, including the kinds of information you collect, how you collect it, and how you classify and interpret the results. The professional literature is a valuable source of methodological possibilities, including the advantages and limitations of clifferent approaches. Such information not only can guide your choice of a research design but also can aid you in devising a defense of that choice. Therefore, as you browse through the literature, you can profitably take notes about (a) the components of a given method, (b) the kinds of research problems for which that method has been used, and (c) the method's strengths and weaknesses.
5.	Explain data-gathering techniques and instruments. Each research design includes ways of collecting information, such as, analyzing the contents of documents, conducting an opinion survey, observing people's behavior, administering tests, or carrying out an experiment. Journal articles or single chapters of an edited book, because they are restricted in length, may mention the datacollecting methods and instruments but not describe them in detail. You will find this practice satisfactory if the instrument that a writer mentions (such as a test or questionnaire) is a standardized, published document whose specific nature you can discover by obtaining a copy and reading its instruction manual. But authors' tests, questionnaires, or interview protocols are often ones they created on their own and may not be reproduced in the account of their research. In these cases, if it is important that you learn the specific nature of a data-gathering technique, you may need to hunt for the study's original, detailed description (perhaps in a book or dissertation) or else write directly to the author to request a copy of the account.
6.	Provide typologies and taxonomies for classifying data. A quantity of collected information--such as historical accounts, survey responses, and test scores--is typically an incomprehensible mess until it's been classified and summarized. The professional literature contains alternative ways this can be done. Taking notes about different approaches, along with each one's advantages and limitations, prepares you for writing the portion of your thesis or dissertation in which you (a) discuss alternative classification schemes, (b) tell which scheme you adopted, and (c) defend the suitability of that scheme by comparing its features with the strengths and weaknesses of other options.
7.	Suggest statistical and graphic treatments. Numbers, tables, diagrams, and pictures are among the devices useful for classifying and summarizing data. Therefore, as you peruse the literature, you may benefit from contemplating the kinds of data you intend to collect and from taking notes about authors' statistical techniques, kinds of tables, and graphic displays that you might wish to include in your own study.
8.	Illustrate ways of interpreting research results. The word interpreting in the present context refers to explaining to readers what your classified information means. This is the "so what?" phase of research. The professional literature can help prepare you for the interpretation task by illustrating the diverse conclusions authors have drawn from their data. It's useful for you to note which modes of interpretation in the literature you find most convincing, and why. Conversely, you can also determine which interpretations you consider weak, and why. This exercise can aid you in establishing criteria to guide the conclusions you draw from your own data.
9.	Show ways of presenting the completed research project. Throughout the literature, the quality of presentations is remarkably varied. Some authors write well, some moderately well, and others very badly, indeed. The term bad writing as used here refers to research reports that are difficult to understand by the audience for which they are intended. Flaws of presentation can be of various kinds--(a) poor organization, so readers are amazed at what comes next in the report, (b) key words not defined precisely, (c) esoteric terms used when simpler, familiar terms would suffice, (d) convoluted sentences, (e) few, if any, life-like examples to clarify abstract concepts, and more. As you read authors' accounts, you may wish to note which features of their presentation contribute to ease of understanding and which serve as barriers to meaning. This can alert you to ways you can enhance the quality of your own writing.
10.	Suggest outlets for publishing the completed product. You will reach a broader audience with your project if the results can be disseminated in some form other than that of an unpublished thesis or dissertation. That form may be an abstract, a succinct journal article, a microfiche or microfilm version of the entire work, a chapter in someone else's book, or an entire book itself. During your review of the literature, you may locate potential outlets for the type of research your project involves. Recording the addresses of those outlets and noting the form that each type assumes can prepare you for contacting sources of publication once your project is finished.

In summary, the professional literature has many potential functions for promoting the quality and speed of your work. Recognizing these functions at the outset of your project, then taking proper notes during the search, helps ensure that you invest your time economically.

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