HowtoWriteALiteratureReview

JamesNeill
Lastupdated:08Aug2003

(Source:http://wilderdom.com/OEcourses/PROFLIT/Class3LiteratureReview.htm)

Whatisatraditionalliteraturereview?
Goalsofaliteraturereview
Developinganoutlineforaliteraturereview
Task:Writeanoutlineforaliteraturereview
Exampleoutlineofaliteraturereview
Tipsforwritinganoutline
Recommendedreading

GoalsofaLiteratureReview
Understanding a body of professional literature is much
likemappingandanalyzingthegeographyofanunknown
island...
Asyouexpandtheislandofknowledge,yourevealmore
confidentlyimportantfeaturesofthepreviouslyunknown
island,suchas:
aclearanswertoyourresearchquestion
agoodsenseofwhathasbeenthoroughlyinvestigated
andinwhatareasusefulnewworkmightbedone
abroaderunderstandingofthequestionasitrelatesto
other,relatedareasofknowledge
researchhypotheses
interesting,newquestions

DevelopanOutlineforaLiterature
Review

Sofaryouhave:
developedaresearchquestion,
definedkeyterms,
statedaresearchthesis,and
identifiedatargetlistof20keyresources.
Now,itistimetoknuckledownandbeginsystematicallyreading
andreviewingtheresources.Beawarethatinsodoing,youwill
beleadtoaskseveralfurthersubquestionsandguidedtoseveral
othersources.

Writingaliteraturereviewislikecreatingamapthemain
featuresmustbeclear,plusappropriatedetailsshouldbe
included.
Theresearchquestionservesasalighthousebeacon.

Initially,youneedtodevelopasketchofyourarea. Thisisthe
reasonforwritingaresearchhypothesiswhatdoyouexpectto
find out there? Your annotated reading list is then the list of
coordinates that you wish to visit in order to determine the
geographyofthelandscape. Atthosecoordinates,youwilldo
someindepthreading(i.e.,depthsounding)andwritenotesabout
whatwasfound.Thesenotescanthenbeorganizedandaddedto
thesketchmap,andthesketchmapmodifiedtoclearlyshowthe
mainfeaturesandrelevantdetails.

Insomecircumstances,itmaybethatthereisnoislandtomapor
theterraintoodifficult,etc.Insuchcases,theoriginalpurposeof
the geographical expedition should be reconsidered and the

researchquestionmodifiedordroppedaltogether.

Ultimately, a literature review is designed to fill in a gap in

knowledge. It describes and helps to organize and interpret a
body of professional literature which is not currently well
summarized. Avoid writing a literature review which is
redundant.

Asyourreadingoftheliteraturebecomesmoreextensive,you
shouldstarttonoticethemesandpatternsemerging.Theremay
beobviousthemesandtheremaybesubtlethemeswhichrequire
youtoprobefurtherintotheliterature.

Usethe developing themes and patterns to help structure your

literaturereview.

Generally try to avoid writing a chronological progression of

summariesofresearchstudies.

Asyouread,betakingnoteswithsufficientdetailtoallowyouto
constructareviewwithouthavingtoalwaysreturntotheoriginal
articles.

Perhapsthebestwaytocommunicateyouranticipatedstructure
foraliteraturereviewisbydevelopingatableofcontents. A
tableofcontentscanthenbefleshedoutwithdescriptivebullet
points(annotatedtableofcontents). Bysubjectinganannotated
tableofcontents(oroutline)toreview,anoviceresearchercan
receivevaluableadviceoncontentandstructureoftheplanned
literaturereview.
Theannotatedtableofcontentsisthestepbystepmapofhow
youproposeyouaregoingtogofromyourResearchQuestionto
provingoutaThesisStatement. Possiblewaysofbuildingyour
tableofcontents:
1.Createaconceptmapofthemajortopicsandthesubtopics
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2.Buildastepbystep,hierarchicallistofthepointsyouplanto
cover,e.g.,

1stmainidea1stsupportingpoint
evidence,argument,orexample
evidence,argument,orexample
evidence,argument,orexample
2ndsupportingpoint
evidence,argument,orexample
evidence,argument,orexample
evidence,argument,orexample
2ndmainidea,etc....
The advantages of doing an outline (or expanded table of
contents)arethatit:
servesasapreviewtoolthatallowsyourinstructortograspyour
thesisandorganizationataglance
explainsthescopeanddirectionofyourpaperaswell
helpsyoutoconstructandclassifyyourideas
servesasafinalcheckthatyourpaperisunifiedandcoherent
helpsyouseewhereyouneedtoreviseandedityourwriting
ThemainthingsIwillbelookingforare:
afunnelstructure,whichmovesfromestablishingtheWHY,the
importanceofthetopictothespecificthesisstatement
sufficientdetailsothat Icanfollowthelogicandsequenceof
yourmajorpoints
referencing,whereappropriate,ofkeysources
inclusion of approximate planned WORD COUNT for major
section

Task:WriteanOutlineofaLiterature
Review
Anoutlineforaliteraturereviewcouldconsistofapprox.7
singlespacedpages,whichcontain:


Pages12Title,Author,ResearchQuestion,KeyTerms(&their
definitions),&ResearchThesis(withchangesasperfeedbackon
Task2)
Pages35TableofContentswithapproximately3to6major
sectionsandapproximately3to6majorbulletpointspersection
describingthecontenttobeincludedineachsection.Bullet
pointsshouldbeaccompaniedbyrelevantreferences.Provide
approx.intendedwordcountsforthemajorsections.
Page67References

ExampleLiteratureReviewOutline
ThisisanexampleofanAqualityliteraturereviewoutline.
Themainfeedbackgiventothestudentwhowrotethisoutline
wastoaddtoabriefintroductorysectionwhichexplainedthe
contextandimportanceoftheresearchquestion,mentionedthe
keyterms,conveyedthethesisstatement,andprovidedageneral
outline of the literature review. Also, please provide approx.
wordcountsratherthan#ofpages.
1.RESEARCHQUESTION&TITLE:
Doespreexercisehydrationstatuseffectcarbohydrateutilization
ofunacclimatizedendurancerunnersintheheat?
2.DEFINITIONSOFKEYTERMS;3.THESISSTATEMENT
LITERATUREREVIEWOUTLINE
I.EnduranceExerciseandSubstrateUtilization(34pages)
A. ExplainMechanismof%VO2andSubstrateUtilizationin
EnduranceExercise(23paragraphs)
a. Referenceappropriatestudies(lookinSportsNutrition
book)
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b. IncreaseVO2anddurationconcomitantly,increaseCHO
utilization
B. TotalBodyGlycogenContent(1paragraph)
a. Liver(inNutritionalBiochemistrybook)
b. Muscle
C. TimetoExhaustion(34paragraphs)
a. Referenceappropriatestudies(lookinSportsNutrition
book)
b. Glycogenloadingincreasesperformance

II.HydrationStatusandPerformanceinEnduranceExercise(68
pages)
A. Thermoregulation (2 pages) (Burke review and Topics
packet)
a. Sweatrate
b. Plasmavolume
c. Electrolyteimbalances
d. Evaporationandconduction
e. Referenceappropriatestudies(lookinTopicspacket)
B. Body Temperature (2 paragraphs) (Burke review and
Topicspacket)
a. Coretemperature
b. Skintemperature
c. Muscletemperature
C. Cardiovascular Function (2 paragraphs) (look in Burke
ReviewandTopicsclasspacketandnotes)
a. Decreaseheartrate
b. Decreasestrokevolume
c. Cardiacdrift
D. HormonalRegulationofHydration(34paragraphs)
a. AVP(lookinTopicspacket)
b. Aldosterone(lookinTopicsnotesandarticlesinTopics
packet)
c. Catecholamines(lookinFebbraioReviewarticle)
d. Cortisol(lookinTopicspacket)
E. PreExerciseHydrationonPerformance(34paragraphs)
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(Topicspacket)
a. Effectsofhypohydratedstate
b. Effectsofeuhydratedstate
c. Effectsofhyperhydratedstate
i.
Glycerolinduced
hyperhydration
F.
During Exercise Hydration on Performance (34
paragraphs)(Topicspacket)
a. Adlibitumwaterintake
b. Nowaterintake
c. Requirementstomaintaineuhydratedstate
G. AcclimitizationonThermoregulationandPerformance(34
paragraphs)
a.
Show studies which compare acclimatized to
unacclimatizedandperformance
b. Explainwhy(Topicspacket)
i. Increaseplasmavolume
ii. Decreasestrokevolume
iii. Increasecardiacoutput

III.HeatStressandCarbohydrateUtilization(46pages)
A. CarbohydrateRequirementsinHeat
a. IncreasedCHOmetabolisminheatcomparedtoambient
temperatures(Burke,Febbraioarticles)
B. HighCarbohydratevs.LowCarbohydratediet
a. Pitsiladisstudycomparing2dietsinheatwithtimeto
exhaustion showing High Carbohydrate diet had a greater
performancetime
C. Mechanisms Responsible for Increased Metabolism
(FebbraioandTopicsbook)
a. ReducedBloodFlow
i. Deliveryofnutrientstoactive
muscle
ii. Removalofwastefromactive
muscle
b. TemperatureEffects
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c. HormonalEffects
D. Hyperhydration Techniques to Remove these problems
listedinC(TopicsbookandLyonspaper)
E. GlucoseAvailabilityinHeat(Febbraiopaper)
F. MuscleEnergyRequirementsinHeat(Febbraiopaper)
G. Determine Amount of Carbohydrate Necessary to
MaximizePerformance
a. Gobacktooriginalamountsofglycogennecessaryfor
enduranceperformanceinambienttemperatures(seesection
I.)
H. Thesisstatement

Total:1318pagesplus12pageintroand1pageconclusion.

TipsforWritinganOutline(orAnnotated
TableofContents)(adaptedfromRozakis,1999)
1. Arrange your notes in a logical order. If you are having
difficultyseeinganorder,lookforcluesinthesequenceofyour
ideasortryconceptmappingthetopic.
2.Identifythemajorthemesthesecanbeusedasdraftmajor
headings.
3.Sortyournotestofitundertheheadings.Revisetheheadings,
order,orboth,asnecessary.
4. Look for relationships among ideas and group them as
subtopics.
5.Trytoavoidlonglistsofsubtopics.Considercombiningthese
intorelatedideas.Innearlyallcases,yourliteraturereviewwill
bebetterifyoulinkrelatedideas.
6.Ifyoucan'tdecidewheretoputsomething,putitintwoor
moreplacesintheoutline.Asyouwrite,youcandecidewhich
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placeisthemostappropriate.
7.Ifyou'renotsurethatanideafits,writeyourselfareminderto
seewhereitbelongsafteryou'vewrittenyourfirstdraft.
8.Ifanimportantideadoesn'tfit,writeanewoutlinewithaplace
forit.Ifit'simportant,itbelongsinthepaper.Ontheotherhand,
istheideareallyimportant? Youmightlikeit,butitmaynot
belonginthisliteraturereview.
9.Acceptyouroutlineasaworkingdraft.Reviseandedititas
youproceed.
10.Letyouroutlinesitafewdays.Thenlookatitagainandsee
whatideasdon'tseemtofit,whichpointsneedtobeexpanded,
andsoon.Nomatterhowcarefullyyouconstructyouroutline,it
willinevitablychange.Don'tbediscouragedbythesechanges;
theyarepartofthewritingprocess.

RecommendedReading

Literature reviewing: Finding the evidence in the first place!

[.ppt]

Reviewingtheliterature:Whyandhow[.pdf]

Practitioner

research: The purposes of reviewing the literature

withinanenquiry

Thesystematicliteraturereview:WhatitisandhowITcanhelp

Gall, M. D., Borg, W. R., Gall, J. P. (2003). Educational

research:Anintroduction.(7thEdition).WhitePlains,NewYork:
Longman.Recommended:SkimreadChapter4"Reviewingthe
Literature"(pp.89121).
Rozakis, L. (1999). Schaum's quick guide to writing great
researchpapers.NewYork:McGrawHill.Rozakis'Chapter10
"HowdoIEvaluateSources?"(pp.7382)andChapter11"How
doIDocumentMySources?"pp.8389).
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