Humanities & Social Sciences
Literature Review
Erin Durham
Reference & Instruction Librarian
*session is being recorded
Humanities & Social Sciences
Literature Review
With content adapted from Dr. Derek Musgrove, Drew Alfgren, Semhar Yohannes, Brianna Hughes, UNC, others
*session is being recorded
Your Reference and Instruction Librarian
UMBC Librarians by Subject Area
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Erin Durham
MLIS, MM, MA
edurham@gmail.com
Introduce yourselves!
What is your…
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Quiz time!
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What is the purpose of a literature review?
Put your answer in the chat
What is the purpose of a
Literature Review?
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What is the purpose of a
Literature Review?
*Demonstrates your awareness of scholarship and allows you to show the relevance of your research
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A literature review is a:
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Steps to writing a literature review
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Steps to writing a literature review
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*Note: This can be a cyclical process- you may adjust your research question based on your searching/reading
Let’s look at an example!
Dissertation example: Sanczyk, A. (2020). A narrative inquiry of second language teacher agency in promoting culturally responsive pedagogy
How is writing a literature review similar to having a conversation?
“Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion...You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense...The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.”
-Kenneth Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form
Ways of Thinking about a Lit Review
A large thought
bubble with
multiple sections
or themes
Ways of Thinking about a Lit Review
A series of buckets into which you group themes, topics, etc.
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How NOT to write a Lit. Review
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How TO write a Lit Review
Lit Review: Getting it Done!
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Pick a working topic: consult with your advisor, other faculty, and review older works done in your department.
Search for sources you will review: Select databases and other lit sources & start identifying subject headings/ descriptors/ that are appropriate. Start identifying classic studies, theories, and theorists.
Analyze & Take Notes: Read broadly to start and identify assumptions, methodologies, testing procedures, and research findings. Note often-cited authors, major works, conflicting theories and contested results & how theories evolve (or not) over time.
Steps
Note taking
Tell a story…..
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Organize: group your selected articles by identified patterns and themes: common findings, major trends in the research, which theories emerge as most influential.
Develop your thesis: write a concise statement summarizing your conclusions about major trends and developments.
Steps, cont.
Outline your paper: Develop headings and subheadings. The sections of your paper should link and progress thematically / topically, not by focusing on the work of individual researchers.
Write and review: Focus on analysis as you compare and evaluate the literature rather than list developments chronologically. Analysis and synthesis are the crucial elements.
Steps, cont.
Search for literature (where)
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Search for literature (how)
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Save your sources
Refine your search
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Use “advanced search”
← Use “Refine Results” left column to limit by:
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Combine databases
← Click on “Content Provider” to see list of databases,
Then click “Show More”
Combine databases
Select specific databases by clicking the check boxes
Book/Ebook
Search
Search Subject Guides
Web of Science
Database > Dissertations & Theses (ProQuest)
See examples of research methodologies, etc.
To see UMBC grad work, check out
Search Dissertations
Organizing Tools
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a mind map!
Organize with Citation Software
Citation software: A software collects citations from various sources, organizes them, and compiles them into a bibliography or list of works cited. Join Library workshops this spring
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Research Support
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Online chat
Ask a question via the Library online chat!
Make a research appointment
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Schedule an appointment with me: https://umbc.libcal.com/appointment/44235
Receive help with
-search strategies
-finding sources
-selecting search terms -organizing citations
…and more!
Library Workshops
Questions?
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