Writing the first year report, with a focus on the literature review

Alicia Cresswell

Head of Writing Development

The first year report is

an assessment of your progress so far

useful practice in academic writing

an opportunity to obtain feedback

Overall structure of the report

Comment on the structure of Report A:

Introduction – 31 pages Materials and methods – 9 pages Results – 8 pages Discussion – 2 pages Future work – 2 pages

Overall structure of the report

Comment on the structure of Report B:

Review of the literature – 18 pages Aims – 1 page Methodology – 21 pages Strengths and weaknesses - 2 pages Future work – 3 pages

Overall structure of the report

Comment on the structure of Report C: Introduction Context and background Plan of research

Justification for research Research aims Qualitative methods in health economics Research methods Timetable Summary of progress

Writing the introduction

Key elements:

Context-setting (importance/relevance of your research)

Background (key studies) Gap (what we don’t know) Aims (what you hope to find out, in very broad terms)

Sample introduction

Relationship between carbonated and other low nutrient dense beverages and bone mineral content in adolescents1The adolescent growth period is a critical time for bone mineral accretion [1 and 2], yet carbonated beverage consumption increases as individuals enter adolescence [3 and 4]. 2There is concern that intake of carbonated beverages during adolescence causes increased fractures in that age group [5, 6 and 7] as well as contributing to low peak bone mass attainment and thus osteoporosis in later years. 3In particular, cola beverages have been singled out in this regard. 4Wyshak [5] recently reported that consumption of cola beverage is associated with bone fracture in girls, while consumption of all carbonated beverages was significantly related to fracture incidence only when activity level and energy intake were controlled. 5Thus, the amount as well as the nature of the carbonated beverage appears to be an issue with respect to bone health of adolescents.

6Many investigators have attempted to tie a chemical component of carbonated beverage intake to increased bone loss, e.g.: phosphorus [5 and 7] or fructose [8]. 7Other components of carbonated beverages may be actively promoting bone loss, such as caffeine [9] and acid loads of the beverages [10]. 8However, equally possible is that a decrease in consumption of milk coincides with an increase in consumption of non nutritive beverages such as carbonated beverages, thereby lowering calcium intake at a critical time. 9Replacement of milk with non nutritive beverages in children’s diet results in decrease levels of many nutrients including calcium [4]. 10A decrease in calcium intake by girls may be of special concern because girls tend to have lower calcium intakes than boys, and these differences become more pronounced in adolescence [12].

11The purpose of our study was to determine the beverage intake of subjects in the Saskatchewan Pediatric Bone Mineral Accrual Study, and to relate the amount and type of beverage consumed to accumulation of bone mineral content during a critical time in adolescent bone development. 12This time is the two years surrounding the age of peak bone mineral accrual, a period when adolescents are accumulating the greatest amount of bone mineral [2]. 13Our hypothesis was that drinking carbonated beverages was associated with lower bone mineral content in adolescents. 14As subjects drank a variety of low nutrient dense beverages besides carbonated drinks, we also determined the relationship between intake on noncarbonated beverages (ice tea, koolaid, and other sugar or sugar-free drinks) as well as total low nutrient dense beverage intake, and bone mineral content.

Writing the literature review

A literature review is NOT:

A descriptive list of all the work published in your field

A chronological account of existing research

So what is a literature review?

Briefly, it is

the driving force and jumping off point for your own research

(Ridley, 2008)

What is a literature review (in more detail)?

A survey of existing research relevant to your topic. The survey provides

the historical background for your research an overview of the current context in which your research is situated

by referring to contemporary debates, issues and questions in the field

A discussion of concepts and theories that underpin your research

A justification of your choice of research methods

A coherent argument providing a justification for your study

Purpose of the literature review

To situate your work within a larger disciplinary context

To demonstrate how your current work builds upon or deviates from earlier publications

To show how your work will extend and develop knowledge in the field

A good literature review demonstrates an ability to

Conduct a literature search Recognise relevant sources Identify their strengths and weaknesses Assess their contribution to disciplinary

knowledge, theory or methodology Identify positions, themes and trends Identify areas of controversy in the literature Identify gaps in the existing research Read and write effectively and critically

Planning your literature review

Knowledge-based elements (Hart, 1998):

A description of previous work on the topic, identifying leading concepts, definitions, theories and/or methodologies

Consideration of the ways the above were developed and operationalised as solutions to problems in previous work

Identification and description of matters other researchers have considered important

Planning your literature review

Argumentation elements:

An assessment of strengths and weaknesses in previous work

A compelling case for your research, showing that your research will in some way make a contribution to the discipline

Writing the review

Start with an overview Decide on organising principles (themes,

trends, methodology, chronology, controversies – usually a combination of some of these)

Use headings for the different sections of the review

Provide summative signposts of where your argument is leading

Use of citations in the literature review

Two types of citations: Integral: The author’s name appears in the sentence.

Example: Braun (2008) argues that the ban on smoking in public places

has been a key factor in the fall in cigarette sales. Non-integral: The author’s name appears outside

sentence. Example: The ban on smoking in public places has been a key factor in

the fall in cigarette sales (Brown, 2008).

Is there a reason why we should use one or the other in certain cases?

Using reporting verbs

Are these reporting verbs descriptive or evaluative?

Argue Claim Find Show Suggest

Taking a position towards the sources you cite

Is the author’s stance about these sources positive, negative or neutral?

As Gregg (2003) points out, good street lighting is an important factor in reducing crime.

There has been a valuable expansion of studies into the causes of childhood obesity (Albas, 2005; O’Connor, 2004; Chen, 2002)

Although French (1999) found that bees produced less honey in these conditions, a large-scale study by Makeba and Torres (2005) reported higher than average production.

Academic literacy has been narrowly defined as the ability to read and write academic texts at university (Liu, 2004).

Attempts to model whole-ecosystem response to human intervention have had limited success (Schmidtt, 2006; Crew and Wilson, 2002).

Writing the methods section

Fairly detailed description of the methods used/to be used Some methods sections in future tense (not yet done) Elements:

Overview Location Sample Restrictions on sample Sampling technique Materials Procedures Variables Statistical treatment Ethical considerations

Results and discussion

Results are probably tentative:

These experiments are in their infancy but results so far suggest that …

However, the assay is currently under review and responses using an alternative … will be reported.

Or non-existent: No results are available at the present time.

Learning from models

Look at samples of good theses in your field

Read review articles in prestigious journals in your field.

Writing clearly and accurately

Grammar and punctuation

Improve the following:

The skin is the largest organ in the body that serves to maintain the body’s physical and biochemical integrity, a constant body temperature and provides sensory information about the surrounding environment.

Edited version

The skin is the largest organ in the body. It serves to maintain the body’s physical and biochemical integrity and a constant body temperature. It also provides sensory information about the surrounding environment.

Writing clearly and accurately

Grammar and punctuation

Improve the following:

Structurally the skin consists of two parts; the thin outer portion called the epidermis that is composed of epithelial tissue and the inner layer called the dermis is composed of connective tissue.

Edited version

Structurally, the skin consists of two parts: The thin outer portion, called the epidermis, is composed of epithelial tissue; the inner layer, called the dermis, is composed of connective tissue.

Writing clearly and accurately

Grammar, punctuation and vocabulary

NAFLD was first described in 1980 (Ludwig J 1980). However with the pandemic of obesity the incidence of NAFLD is set to increase exponentially and has therefore generated a vast interest worldwide.

Edited version

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was first described in 1980 (Ludwig, 1980). With the rapid rise in obesity in recent years, the incidence of NAFLD is expected to increase exponentially. As a result, this condition has generated a great deal of interest worldwide.

Further reading

Greenhalgh, T. (2006) How to Read a Paper: The basics of evidence-based medicine Third edition. Oxford: Blackwell and BMJ

Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review. London: SAGE

Ridley, D. (2008) The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students. London: SAGE

Yudkin, B. (2006) Critical Reading: Making sense of research papers in life sciences and medicine. London: Routledge

Online resources

Writing Development Centre Online Learning Resources

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/wdc/learning/

Academic Phrasebankwww.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk

One-to-one support

Book online at:

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/wdc/support/