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learning objectives

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  • establish an organization and strategy for your literature review
  • begin thinking about how to make their literature review a significant contribution to knowledge

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The literature review explains to the reader:

    • Why does this research need to be conducted?
    • How is it different from other studies?
    • Where does this study fit within (or go beyond) current knowledge, and what do you therefore expect to contribute?

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Rewards for good literature reviews (in addition to contributing to knowledge)

  • Thermal adaptation in the built environment: a literature review GS Brager, RJ de Dear - Energy and Buildings, 1998 - Elsevier Cited by 161
  • Travel and the built environment: a synthesis R Ewing, R Cervero - Transportation Research Record: Journal …, 2001 - Trans Res Board Cited by 303

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The skeleton for your literature review helps:

  • Identify information you need
  • Balance your search for information
  • Organize information you find
  • Take advantage of patterns and generalizable principles

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There are a variety of approaches to literature review skeletons.

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The road map structure traces the history of knowledge in the field, one work after another�

  • All point to one destination: the current work
  • Good way to identify “missing links”

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Déjà vu all over again identifies current knowledge on a topic to argue for replication on another population.�

  • Still requires identifying holes and weaknesses

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The swiss cheese approach develops a picture of current knowledge that illustrates gaps or holes in the field

  • Sets up the argument for why the current research will fill those holes

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Battlebots identifies current lines of argument or debates/trends in the field

  • Situates the study within that playing field and stakes its position

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Guilt by Association is used to construct a context based on inference using similar research from other fields.

  • Used when there is no existing research in your precise domain.

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The eyeball switch involves constructing a new perspective to contain and reinterpret existing literature.

  • Theory is the basis for the new framework.
  • New gaps are identified.

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The how-to-book includes examples of your methodology used in other fields to show its feasibility in your case.�

  • This may be required if you’re using an unusual methodology.

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Organizing the skeleton should help you present the literature in a logical sequence (tell a story).

  • For example, organization may include:
    • general concepts to more specific concepts,
    • chronology,
    • topic,
    • type of research, or
    • any method that makes sense

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The two-topic format examines the relationship between two variables.

  • Introductory paragraph - literature review on topic one - literature review on topic two - a review of the literature linking topics one and two - a statement of the purpose of the proposed study.

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The funnel format may also be used to structure your literature review.

  • Begin by discussing the topic in the most general of terms, and gradually narrow the focus to become closer and closer to the topic or purpose of the present study.

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Activity - organizing your own literature review.

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If you’re just starting out, mind mapping may be helpful to determine what you should be reading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ

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Possible parts of your mind map…

  • related independent variables
  • related dependent variables
  • types of research design (e.g. correlational, experimental)
  • related concepts
  • theories
  • changes in understanding over time
  • etc…

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As you move along in your research, more refined strategies may be helpful.

  • Review existing diagrams/typologies
    • Select good fits
    • Adapt/synthesize/combine

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Literature Mapping

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Process Maps

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Multidimensional Blocking

(Vanegas 2000)

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Venn Diagramming (sort of)

(Vanegas 2000)

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Hybrid Maps

(Pearce 1999)

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Johari Windows

(Vanegas & Pearce 2000)

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For the decision making for sustainability, there are lots of existing dimensions you can use to map:

  • Sectors
  • Project types
  • Stakeholders
  • Life cycle phases
  • Systems/materials
  • Contexts
  • Processes
  • Environmental conditions
  • Many others

These can be mapped across one another as well - multiple dimensions to characterize your work!

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Criteria for good literature maps, and therefore literature reviews.

  • Mutually exclusive but collectively exhaustive
  • Grounded in established theory
  • Satisfies classification criteria:
    • Repeatable
    • Objective
    • Unambiguous
    • Well-described

This process makes�a literature review into�a search/classify problem!!

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Once you have your map…

  • Search for literature and classify
  • The next step is then to critically analyze the literature:
    • Identify variables/methodology/etc.
    • Critique according to some criteria
    • Just because a gap is filled doesn’t mean it was filled well!
    • Search for contradictions in your categories