Dr Alex Klein April 2016 Research question žWhere does it come from? —An observation —A puzzle —A demand žFrontier shifting/paradigm changing research question žResearch questions taking “small steps” toward uncovering ‘big answer to big question’ ž Research question ž‘Research frontier’: existing knowledge we want to expand žResearch question defined relative to ‘research frontier’ žThe importance of research question as measured by its distance to ‘research frontier’ žHow to identify ‘research frontier’? —Critical literature review —Identify gaps in knowledge —Identify clash between empirics and theory ž What is it about? 1.Literature review – a ‘definition’ 2.What is its purpose? 3.Where/how do you start? 4.How do you actually DO IT? 5.What are the readers’ expectations? 6.What are your expectations? 7. Literature review ž žLiterature review is a critical account of what has been published on a topic by academics in a specific field or across academic fields ž Purpose of literature review (I) žIt conveys information to the reader who is —familiar with research topic or —partially unfamiliar with research topic žIt critically assesses existing literature – evaluates its strengths and weaknesses žIt is NOT a descriptive list of papers and/or their summaries. ž ž Purpose of literature review (II) ØIt is a signalling device for you to demonstrate skills in two areas: ž Information seeking ž ability to scan the lit. efficiently, and to identify useful articles and books ž Critical appraisal ž ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies ž Purpose of literature review (III) žIt is also a devise to identify research frontier by —Finding gaps – questions not asked before —Finding mistakes in methodology —Finding mistakes in data —Finding logical loopholes —Finding inconsistencies in the arguments —Identifying intellectual spillovers 9 Sources for literature review žIdentify key primary sources (e.g. govt. documents, newspaper articles) and secondary sources (e.g. books, journal articles) relevant to your topic early on ž žUse relevant search terms on library databases (to identify your sources (see Library tutorials for more on this) ž žUse resources that are not in the library e.g. Inter-library loans, Ntional Library, blogs. ž žRemember, there is no target for the number of references you include, but you need to show the marker you have covered the literature that is relevant to your project. ž ž ž ž ž ž by Dr Paul Reilly, LSE Where do I start? (I) žOld fashion – go to the library žUsual: —scholar.google.com —references in the papers/books —journals —conference proceedings —books Where do I start? (II) žWhat is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that my literature review helps to define? žWhat type of literature review am I conducting? žAm I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research? qualitative research? ž žhttp://www.utoronto.ca/writing/litrev.html ž Where do I start? (III) žWhat is the scope of my literature review? What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government documents, popular media)? žWhat time period am I interested in? What geographical area? What social setting? What materials? ž How do I do it: critical reading oReading critically means being engaged with the text: A.Preview: What information does the abstract provide? B.How it is organized? C.What are the different sections in an empirical study? D.What’s the purpose of the introduction? žFrom Lourdes Villarreal ž ž How do I do it: critical reading oRead Actively: annotate, highlight oDevelop a note-taking system (note cards; charts; Excel sheets) oTake notes as you read or after you read oKnow when to stop reading and begin writing your review ž žFrom Lourdes Villarreal ž ž Authors Acemoglu et al AER (2002) O’Rourke et al IER (1997) Bernanke et al QJE (1996) Krugman JPE (1991) R Q Purpose Sample Method Findings Other How do I do it: critical reading oRead as many literature reviews as you can and look for patterns oNote the expressions and terminology used oLook for other terms used to mean “literature review,” like past or previous research žFrom Lourdes Villarreal ž Critical Thinking Skills žA critical examination involves summarization as well as analysis and evaluation. žSummary: Restating key ideas: ž What is the issue or problem? ž What is the research question and purpose? ž Who did what (methodology)? What was the sample? What were the major findings? ž — 17 Lourdes Villarreal Critical Thinking Skills žAnalysis: Examining the parts of the whole: ž How can the data be classified/sorted/categorized? ž What are the trends? Similarities/differences in results, variables examined? žEvaluation: Making judgments: ž What does it all mean? ž What is missing? ž What was not considered? ž Limitations? ž Contributions? ž Lourdes Villarreal Summary, Analysis, & Evaluation oSummary and Analysis (sorting and comparing) ž X, Y, and Z scholars found that … oSummary and Analysis (sorting and comparing) ž Most studies on developmental education are quantitative. oCritique (evaluation of what you found): ž More qualitative studies are needed to understand students’ perspectives. — 19 Lourdes Villarreal Slide 20 Useful questions (I) For each article/book, ask yourself: ØHas the author formulated a problem/issue? ØIs it clearly defined? Is its significance clearly established? ØCould the problem have been approached more effectively from another perspective? Slide 21 Useful questions (II) For each article/book, ask yourself: ØWhat is authors’ research orientation (e.g. interpretive, criticism …) ØWhat is authors’ theoretical framework (psychological, developmental …) ØWhat is the relationship between theoretical and research perspectives? ØHas the author done lit. review? Are the contrary perspective papers included? Slide 22 Useful questions (III) For each article/book, ask yourself: ØHow accurate and valid are the measurements? Is the analysis accurate and relevant? Are the conclusions justified? ØHow does the author structure the argument? ØIn what way does this article/book contribute to our understanding of the problem? Critical Writing (I) ža clear and confident refusal to accept the conclusions of other writers without evaluating the arguments and evidence that they provide ža balanced presentation of reasons why the conclusions of other writers may be accepted or may need to be treated with caution ž Critical Writing (II) ža clear presentation of your own evidence and argument, leading to your conclusion ža recognition of the limitations in your own evidence, argument, and conclusion. Finding your academic voice involves žhealthy scepticism … but not cynicism; žconfidence … but not ‘cockiness’ or arrogance; žjudgement which is critical … but not dismissive; žopinions … without being opinionated; žcareful evaluation of published work … not serial shooting at random targets; žbeing ‘fair’: assessing fairly the strengths and weaknesses of other people’s ideas and writing … without prejudice; žmaking judgements on the basis of considerable thought and all the available evidence … as opposed to assertions without reason.” ž žWellington J., Bathmaker A., Hunt C., McCulloch G. and Sikes P. (2005). Succeeding with your doctorate. London: Sage. Finding relevant literature ž žCheck references of references: it can be a good idea to check through their reference lists to see the range of sources that they referred to. ž žHand searching of journals will reveal ideas about focus, research questions, methods, techniques, or interpretations that had not occurred to you ž žUse software packages such as RefWorks to collect and store details of articles but also read abstracts to make sure they are relevant ž by Dr Paul Reilly, LSE Exercise to help you use the library effectively for your literature review ž žIdentify 2 - 3 key terms relevant to your dissertation (e.g. bilateral matching, growth econometrics) and use these to search the library catalogues for relevant resources. žTry to evaluate the relevance of the resources that you find in the library catalogues by using the title and the abstracts. žIdentify a list of resources for your literature review including books, journal articles (databases if relevant to your topic), and other resources that are relevant. ž by Dr Paul Reilly, LSE Writing up your literature review žWrite up your review part way through your reading in order to identify gaps/weaknesses žKeep the focus on your study and not the literature žMake sure that the literature review is framed by your research questions žWhere possible, use original sources rather than other people’s review of literature(s) ž by Dr Paul Reilly, LSE After the first draft (I) žAsk yourself questions: ØHow good was my literature search? ØHas it been wide enough to include relevant and narrow enough to exclude irrelevant materials? ØHave I critically analysed the literature I use? ž After the first draft (II) ØHave I assessed them for their strengths and weaknesses? ØHave I cited studies contrary to my perspective? ØWill the reader find my lit. review relevant, appropriate and useful? ž