Reviewing the Literature

By: Andrew P. Johnson

Sources for the Literature Review

• Academic journalso Written by specialists in the field, usually

college professors who describe their research, secondary research, novel applications of existing theories, or interesting new ideas set in a theoretical context

• Bookso Credible sourceso Keep in mind that because it is printed in

a book it does not necessarily mean it is true!

Sources for the Literature Review

• Interneto U. S. Department of Education

• www.ed.govo Provides links to the National Center for Education

Research, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, National Center for Special Education Research, What Works Clearinghouse, Evaluation Reports and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)

Sources for the Literature Review

• ERIC o Designed specifically for educators

• ED Pubs. o www.edpubs.gov o Offers a variety of publications for free

• Articles, reports, reference material, statistical information, monographs, and books related to a variety of educational topics

• Many can be downloaded as PDF files • PsychINFO

o www.apa.org/pubs/databaseso Journals, articles, abstracts, monographs, and books

• Professional organizations o CEC, KDP, FEA

How many sources do I need?

• Dictated solely by your research topic, purpose of your research and the type of research you are conducting

• 5 – 7 resources for this action research• Master’s thesis calls for a minimum of 25• Doctoral dissertation calls for a minimum of 50

Steps for a Literature Review

• Step 1: Find a good college library or journal database o Public libraries usually do not have academic journals and

books needed to complete a literature reviewo College libraries have a variety of academic journals and

recent books o MDC allows you to use other libraries as a borrowed user

• Step 2: Locate possible sourceso Find a database or series of databases that will allow you to

access journal articles and books by subject, author, and key words

• Step 3: Peruse your sourceso Take a few minutes to see whether your sources provide

information related to your question o Read the abstract and the beginning of an article

Steps for a Literature Review

• Step 4: Read and take careful notes o Review and read the articles; take noteso Record the reference citation at the top of the page

• This will save you time later from having to search and insert it into your reference page at the end of your project

o Record information that is needed to support your question

• Step 5: Organize notes and look for emerging themes o Congruence or similarities between articleso Is there any link in research

Steps for a Literature Review

• Step 6: Express emerging themes with declarative sentenceso State what research has demonstrated or proven

• Step 7: Create an extremely rough first drafto Create a summary of what you have read from each source o You can create summaries by article or by theme

• Step 8: Start the revision process o Review the section ensuring that you have NOT included your

personal opiniono Check for grammatical and spelling errors

Citations• Support your ideas and sets them in a theoretical

context o Lend credibility to your writing o Acknowledge the authorso Enable the reader to find your supporting documents

• One author- one article or booko (Majkowski, 2010)

• More than one author- one article or booko (Favre, Rogers, & Starr, 2010)

• More than one article or book o (Hadl, 2010; Starr, Bratkowski, & Hunter, 2007; Wright, Dickey, &

Whitehurst, 2009)

Practice Citing • Journals

o One author • In 2010, Gregory Marx wrote Action Research in Elementary

Schools found in the Journal of Education, Volume 3, pages 123-129

• In 2001, Othniel Hardy wrote The Referenced Page: Indenting is Crucial found in the Journal of Writing, Volume 34, pages 87-90

o More than one author • In 1998, Sara Laurel, Bonnie Abbott, & Luigi Costello wrote

The Importance of Reference Citation in the Brighton Journal of Writing, Volume 57, pages 122-131

Practice Citing • Books

o One author • Barry Keaton in 2009 wrote Academic Writing: A Key to

Professional Success. Published in Minneapolis, MN by Elitist Press International

o More than one author • Frank Arbuckle, Jo-Lynn Lewis, & Charlie Chaplin wrote How

to Write in 2010. Published in New York, NY by Ellen and Beacon Publishing

o Books of a later edition • In 2011, Andrew Johnson wrote A Short Guide to Action

Research. This is his 4th edition published in Boston, MA by Pearson Education, Inc.

Check Your Work!• Journals

o One author • Marx, G. (2010). Action research in elementary schools. Journal of Education, 3, 123-

129.• Hardy, O. (2001). The referenced page: Indenting is crucial. Journal of Writing, 34, 87-

90. o More than one author

• Laurel, S., Abbott, B., & Costello, L. (1998). The importance of reference citation. Brighton Journal of Writing, 57, 122-131.

• Bookso One author

• Keaton, B. (2009). Academic writing: A key to professional success. Minneapolis, MN: Elitist Press International.

o More than one author • Arbuckle, F., Lewis, J., & Chaplin, C. (2010). How to write. New York, NY:

Ellen and Beacon Publishing. o Books of a later edition

• Johnson, A. (2011). A short guide to action research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

A Sample Literature Review

Literature Review

Subheading

Begin the summary of the subsection here. Remember to include in-text

citations in APA format. All your references do not need to be included here.

Subheading

Begin the summary of the subsection here. Remember to include in-text

citations in APA format. All your references do not need to be included here.

Remember that you must include at least 5 – 7 references to obtain mastered.