Writing a Literature Review

English for International Students Unit www.eisu.bham.ac.uk Writing a Literature Review A literature review is usually an introductory section of an essay or dissertation. Its main aim is to demonstrate that you have read and understood the relevant published work for your assignment. Managing your reading Students may be under the impression that a literature review means having to write a summary of everything that has been written on the subject: They collect a mass of books and photocopied articles, and then sit down to write a potted summary of it all. Faced with this mass of publications, their task turns into a nightmare. Your literature review should not take over your time. You need to work towards selecting and highlighting aspects of the literature you read that you are going to refer to or use later in your writing. Suggestions on how you can manage your reading : 1 Read as much as you can about your topic in the time you have, and keep a record of what you read. 2 Decide on a system of referencing sources. 3 When you record sources manually, make sure you always note the author’s name, forename or initials, date of publication, title, place of publication and publisher. Remember to keep more than one copy. 4 Make notes of what seem to you to be important issues. Look for and keep a ‘first thoughts’ list of categories of keywords. It is extremely important to have a systematic method in recording your sources regardless of whether you are writing a short essay, dissertation or thesis. Functions and organisation of the literature review Functions The literature survey serves three important functions. First, it provides background information needed to understand your study. Second, it assures readers that you are familiar with the important research that has been carried out in your area. Third, it establishes your study as one link in a chain of research that is developing and enlarging knowledge in your field. Organisational patterns There are usually four parts to summaries of previous research. These are: 1. Introduction of the topic 2. Summary of the main idea 3. Description of previous research 4. Evaluation Task 1 The example below is extracted from the introduction section of a journal article. Can you identify the four parts? In the last decade or so, the field of applied linguistics has seen a significant migration toward new understandings of both language and learning (e.g. Firth and Wagner 1997; Hall 2003; Kramsch 2000; Lantolf 2000). One concept in particular, multicompetence, has attracted some significant attention in the field for reconceptualizing language knowledge. The term was first used by Vivian Cook (1991) in the early 1990s to address what he perceived to be formal linguistics’ inability to address the language competence of users of more than one language. As conceptualized by Chomsky (1965), linguistic theory was to be concerned with the linguistic knowledge of ‘an ideal speaker-listener in a completely homogeneous speech community’ (Chomsky 1965: 4). The intent behind the theoretical construct of an ideal native speaker was to allow linguistic science to focus solely on the nature of language as independent from any performance factors or nonlinguistic cognitive constraints. Cook, however, contended that such a construct idealized the monolingual speaker and, in so doing, ignored the fact that most individuals know more than one language. An adequate theory of linguistic knowledge, Cook argued, needs to capture the language knowledge of multilinguals, and, to do so, Cook introduced the term multicompetence, defining it as ‘the compound state of mind with two grammars’ (Cook 1991: 112). For Cook, this competence is ‘a language supersystem’ (Cook 2003a: 2) that differs in distinct ways from the language knowledge of monolinguals.(…) While these research efforts have indeed been useful in advancing a more positive view of second language learners, we submit that they have been less successful in transforming understandings of language knowledge. --- In addition to summarizing and evaluating previous literature you could also proceed to explore the work of several authors in relation to yours. Here is an example : Ivanič’s view of identity and those of the other researchers mentioned in the next section (3.3) are based on the social constructivist view of identity where an individual’s identity is “the result of affiliation to particular beliefs and possibilities which are available to them in their social context” (see Ivanič 1998:12-14 for more detail). As Hyland (2002(c):40) points out “[w]riting is a social act, and to understand it fully we must go beyond the decisions of individual writers to explore the regularities of preferred community practices”. An important point to be made is that identity within these social contexts is not “socially determined but socially constructed” (Ivanič 1998:12, emphasis original). This means an individual’s identity is not a fixed entity but one that is open to change, as Parker (1989:68) says “implicated moment by moment” (quoted in Ivanič 1998:12). It is embedded within representations of “audience, subject matter and other elements of context” (Cherry 1998:269). The view adopted in this thesis is a social constructivist one where identity is something that is construed by the writer through language within the context of an academic discourse community. Language focus 1: Citational patterns and tense choice Tense choice in reviewing previous research is subtle and somewhat flexible. The following, therefore, are only general guidelines for tense usage. Several studies have shown that at least two-thirds of all citing statements fall into one of these three major patterns. Past tense Present perfect Present • Jones (1987) investigated the causes of illiteracy. • The causes of illiteracy were investigated by Jones (1987). • The causes of illiteracy have been widely investigated (Jones 1987, Ferrara 1990, Hyon 1994). • There have been several investigations into the causes of illiteracy (Jones 1987, Ferrara 1990, Hyon 1994). • Several researchers have studied the causes of illiteracy. • The causes of illiteracy are complex (Jones 1987, Ferrara 1990, Hyon 1994). • Illiteracy appears to have a complex set of causes. reference to single studies, focus on what a previous researcher did reference to areas of inquiry, focus on what previous researchers have done reference to state of current knowledge, focus on what has been found You should be aware that there is much variation within these patterns. The choice of tense, for example, also depends on the reporting verb. By and large, when verbs are used that focus on what the previous researcher did (investigated, studied, analysed etc.), the past tense is used. However, when it refers to what the researcher thought (stated, concluded, claimed ...) more tense options are possible: • Jones (1987) concluded that illiteracy can be related to… • Jones (1987) has concluded that… • Jones (1987) concludes that… Good writers of literature reviews employ a range of citational patterns in order to vary their sentences. A good example was the paragraph in task 1. Look at the following examples where student writers have not varied their citational patterns: Text A The readings provide conflicting evidence as to whether ESL students from different language backgrounds vary in performance and behaviour. Kobayashi (1984) reports differences in writing rhetorical patterns. Huang (1985) concludes that good language learners in China follow strategies adopted by good language learners elsewhere. Oller et. al. (1970), as cited by Tesdell, found that spelling errors varied according to the L1 writing system, but Tesdell (1984) found no such variation. Text B There are at least four papers relevant to the question of background variation in ESL. The earliest found that the L1 writing system had an effect on spelling errors (Oller et al. 1970), but later work contradicts this finding (Tesdell 1984). Japanese may be influenced by their background in the way they organise their writing in English (Kobayashi 1984). On the other hand, good language learners may be similar all over the world (Huang 1985). Don’t let your readers become bored and lose interest! Task 2: Rewrite the following passage so that it groups the research better, does not repeat itself and has a little bit more variety in the citational patterns. The paragraph is likely to become shorter. The origins of the First Scientific Article The first scientific article was started in London in 1665. Obviously, the first scientific articles had no direct model to build on, and several scholars have discussed possible influences. Ard (1983) suggests that the first articles developed from the scholarly letters that scientists were accustomed to sending to each other. Sutherland (1986) showed that early articles were also influenced by the newspaper reports of that time. Paradis (1987) described the influence of the philosophical essay. Shapin (1984) claimed that the scientific books of Robert Boyle were another model. Finally, Bazerman (1988) argued that discussion among the scientists themselves made its own contribution to the emergence of the scientific article. Language Focus 2: Combining Sources Remember that in a literature review it is very important to signal how the pieces of information you are citing relate to one another. Task 3 Read the following example from a study of women’s experience of prison. List the words/phrases used to (a) signal agreement among the quoted authors and (b) to signal a shift from one point of view to another. According to Giallombardo (1966), women alleviated the pains of imprisonment by developing kinship links with other inmates. Similarly, Heffernan (1972) found that adaptation to prison was facilitated by the creation of a pseudo-family. Owen (1998) also notes that the female subculture is based on personal relationships with other women inmates. Others, however, believe that the subculture in women’s prisons is undergoing a gradual shift that more closely resembles that of male prisons. Fox (1982) states, for example, that the cooperative caring prison community that has embodied characterizations of female prisons has evolved into a more dangerous and competitive climate. Task 4 The following table summarises research on the question of whether practice in writing contributes to the development of writing ability. Put a ‘+’ next to the sources that support the statement that practice in writing contributes to the development of writing ability, and a ‘-’ next to those that do not. Write a paragraph, introducing all these sources. Study Year Subjects Finding +/- 1. Donaldson 1967 College freshmen Good writers write more outside school. They also do more letter writing. 2. Mcqueen et al 1963 College freshmen Better writers were required to do more writing in high school. 3. Lokke & Wykoff 1948 College freshmen Two writing tasks per week did not produce significantly better results than one task per week. 4. Dresser et al 1952 College freshmen Those who write frequently show only similar improvement to those who write infrequently. 5. Bamberg 1978 One group during regular writing class and the other doing an extra remedial class. Better writers did more writing in high school. 6. Wall & Petrovsky 1981 College freshmen Best writers do a greater variety of outside writing and took more composition courses. 7. Woodward & Phillips 1967 College freshmen Weaker writers reported they had done no writing in high school. 8. Arnold 1964 High school students There was no difference between frequent writers and infrequent writers. _________________________________________ Key Task 1 (1) In the last decade or so, the field of applied linguistics has seen a significant migration toward new understandings of both language and learning (e.g. Firth and Wagner 1997; Hall 2003; Kramsch 2000; Lantolf 2000).(2) One concept in particular, multicompetence, has attracted some significant attention in the field for reconceptualizing language knowledge. (3) The term was first used by Vivian Cook (1991) in the early 1990s to address what he perceived to be formal linguistics’ inability to address the language competence of users of more than one language. As conceptualized by Chomsky (1965), linguistic theory was to be concerned with the linguistic knowledge of ‘an ideal speaker-listener in a completely homogeneous speech community’ (Chomsky 1965: 4). The intent behind the theoretical construct of an ideal native speaker was to allow linguistic science to focus solely on the nature of language as independent from any performance factors or nonlinguistic cognitive constraints. Cook, however, contended that such a construct idealized the monolingual speaker and, in so doing, ignored the fact that most individuals know more than one language. An adequate theory of linguistic knowledge, Cook argued, needs to capture the language knowledge of multilinguals, and, to do so, Cook introduced the term multicompetence, defining it as ‘the compound state of mind with two grammars’ (Cook 1991: 112). For Cook, this competence is ‘a language supersystem’ (Cook 2003a: 2) that differs in distinct ways from the language knowledge of monolinguals. (4) While these research efforts have indeed been useful in advancing a more positive view of second language learners, we submit that they have been less successful in transforming understandings of language knowledge. Task 2: suggestion When the first scientific journal was started in London in 1665, there were no direct models to build on. Several scholars have discussed the possible influence of written sources, e.g. the traditional scholarly letters between scientists (Ard, 1983), newspaper reports (Sutherland, 1986), the philosophical essay (Paradis, 1987) and the scientific books of Robert Boyle (Shapin, 1984). Bazerman (1988), however, argued the importance of the discussion among the scientists themselves. Task 3 italics: agreement; underlined: shift of point of view According to Giallombardo (1966), women alleviated the pains of imprisonment by developing kinship links with other inmates. Similarly, Heffernan (1972) found that adaptation to prison was facilitated by the creation of a pseudo-family. Owen (1998) also notes that the female subculture is based on personal relationships with other women inmates. Others, however, believe that the subculture in women’s prisons is undergoing a gradual shift that more closely resembles that of male prisons. Fox (1982) states, for example, that the cooperative caring prison community that has embodied characterizations of female prisons has evolved into a more dangerous and competitive climate. Task 4: +: studies 1,2,5,6,7 -: studies 3,4,8. suggested paragraph: A number of studies support the idea that writing practice contributes to the development of writing ability. Mcqueen et al. (1963), Bamberg (1978), and Woodward & Phillips (1967) suggest that better writers wrote more in high school. As for practice outside of school, there is evidence that good writers have taken composition courses (Wall & Petrovsky, 1981), and have written letters (Donaldson, 1967). However, others studies found little or no link between writing proficiency and frequency (Lokke & Wykoff (1947), Arnold (1964), Dresser et al. (1952)).