How to write a literature review - my simple 5 step process!

Summary

В этом видео представлена методика написания обзора литературы для аспирантов. Автор делит процесс на пять шагов: определение цели исследования, выбор тем для исследования, поиск и систематизация литературных источников, анализ полученных данных и, наконец, написание текста обзора. Также рекомендуется использовать электронные таблици для организации материалов и не стремиться к совершенству, а сосредотачиваться на количестве написанного текста.

Takeaways

• 📝 Основная цель литературного обзора - ясность позиции и понимание 'зачем' вы делаете исследование.
• 🗣️ Важно обсудить и уточнить исследовательский вопрос с научным руководителем для общего понимания и направления исследования.
• 🔍 Необходимо определить ключевые темы и области, которые будут включены в обзор для ответа на исследовательский вопрос.
• 📚 Посмотреть на другие диссертации в сходных областях для получения идей о структуре литературного обзора.
• 🔬 Исследование часто происходит на пересечении областей знаний, поэтому важно исследовать соответствующие разделы каждой темы.
• 💡 Разбиение литературного обзора на темы и подтемы может быть полезным для организации мыслей и структуры.
• 🔍 Использование Google Scholar для поиска научных статей и других источников по выбранным темам.
• 📑 Организация найденных материалов и создания собственного 'cheat sheet' в Excel для дальнейшего использования и поиска.
• 🧠 Позволение мозгу обрабатывать прочитанную литературу, чтобы найти связи и различные точки зрения.
• 📝 По мере накопления знаний и понимания формировать подтемы и структурировать литературный обзор для написания.
• ✍️ Написание литературного обзора требует систематичности и разделения задачи на меньшие блоки, сфокусированные на конкретных тематиках и подтемах.

Q & A

Что такое литературный обзор и почему он важен для исследований?

Литературный обзор - это систематический анализ и интерпретация уже существующей научной литературы в определенной области исследования. Он важен, потому что помогает определить состояние текущих знаний, выявить пробелы в исследовании и предоставляет фундамент для собственных исследуемых вопросов.

Какова первая ступень написания литературного обзора?

Первая ступень - это четкая формулировка своей цели исследования и понимание 'зачем' вы пишете литературный обзор. Это необходимо для того, чтобы определить, что не отвечает на ваш вопрос и что является нерелевантным.

Почему важно обсуждать свою линейку исследований с научным руководителем?

Обсуждение с научным руководителем важно для того, чтобы убедиться в том, что вы понимаете их взгляды и предположения и что ваши собственные идеи и исследования соответствуют общим целям проекта.

Как определить, какие темы нужно исследовать в рамках литературного обзора?

Для определения тем можно использовать венн-диаграмму, исследовать школы мышления, обзоры других диссертаций в похожих областях или рассмотреть историю развития темы.

Какие инструменты можно использовать для организации литературных источников?

Можно использовать Google Scholar для поиска, а затем организовать найденные материалы в Excel, Mendeley или других программах для управления литературными ссылками.

Почему необходимо проанализировать и сгруппировать литературу по темам до начала написания?

Анализ и группировка по темам помогают структурировать мысли и создать четкую схему, которую будет легче последовать при написании литературного обзора, упрощая процесс и делая его более эффективным.

Какой подход помогает в организации и поиске литературных материалов?

Один из подходов - это печать статей и обозначение ключевых находок на задней стороне первой страницы, а затем ведение перечня с информацией о каждой статье в Excel для дальнейшего поиска и анализа.

Какое количество статей обычно нужно изучить для каждого раздела литературного обзора?

Чтобы составить обоснованное представление о теме, рекомендуется изучить от 20 до 50 статей на каждый раздел, в зависимости от специальности и сложности темы.

Какое количество времени следует выделять на написание литературного обзора?

Для эффективного написания рекомендуется выделять как минимум три часа в день, разделенные на блоки времени для концентрации и продуктивности.

Какие советы можно дать для улучшения процесса написания литературного обзора?

Рекомендуется не стремиться к совершенству на первом этапе, а сосредотачиваться на написании текста, а затем проходить этап редактирования и улучшений. Также полезно получать обратную связь от научных руководителей и, при необходимости, использовать услуги редакторов.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Начало написание обзора литературы

В первом параграфе автор вступает в тему и объявляет о намерении рассказать о пяти шагах структурирования обзора литературы. Подчёркивается важность четкого понимания целей исследования и необходимость согласования с научным руководителем. Автор делится своими личными примерами из области фотохимических исследований, связанных с созданием солнечных батарей из наночастиц в водной дисперсии.

05:01

🔍 Определение тем и методы поиска литературы

Второй параграф посвящён процессу определения ключевых тем для исследования и методам поиска соответствующей литературы. Автор рекомендует использовать Google Scholar для поиска и группировки материалов по темам, а также организовывать найденные источники, например, с помощью Excel, для дальнейшего удобства в работе.

10:01

🧠 Обработка информации и формирование структуры

Третий параграф фокусируется на важности анализа и синтеза прочитанных материалов, чтобы выявить шаблоны и связи между ними. Автор подчёркивает, что на этом этапе следует обновлять структуру обзора, добавлять подзаголовки и корректировать свои первоначальные темы в соответствии с новыми находками.

15:03

✍️ Написание текста обзора литературы

В четвёртом параграфе автор рассматривает процесс написания самого обзора, подчёркивая трудоемкость и необходимость сфокусироваться на написании, не стремясь сразу к совершенству. Рекомендуется разделять работу на блоки, регулярно обращаться к литературе и своим заметкам, и стремиться к тому, чтобы текст всегда возвращался к исходной проблеме исследования.

📝 Заключение и рекомендации по написанию

В заключительном параграфе автор резюмирует предложенные пять шагов по написанию обзора литературы и подчёркивает их значимость для дальнейших исследований и написания диссертации. Также автор делится советом о том, что обзор литературы является важным этапом для формирования уникальных мыслительных связей, которые будут ключевыми в исследовании.

Keywords

💡литература обзора

Литература обзора - это аналитический документ, который охватывает определенную теmatikу, часто используется в академической среде для представления текущего состояния исследования в определенной области. В контексте видео, литература обзора является основой для исследования, позволяя автору определить 'почему' и 'зачем' проводится данное исследование, что важный аспект в процессе написания диссертации.

💡академический наставник

Академический наставник - это специалист, который руководит исследовательской работой студента, часто участвует в формировании литературы обзора и помогает определить основные направления исследования. В видео упоминается, что наставник может быть инициатором проекта, и студенты должны с ним согласовать свои исследовательские вопросы.

💡исследовательский вопрос

Исследовательский вопрос - это конкретный вопрос, который ставится для исследования и определяет его направление. В видео подчёркивается важность четкого определения исследования вопроса для эффективного написания литературы обзора и дальнейших исследований.

💡темы исследования

Темы исследования - это области знаний, которые студенты должны исследовать для ответа на свой исследовательский вопрос. В видео говорится о необходимости определения тем, которые должны быть связаны для ответа на исследовательский вопрос, например, солнечная технология и возобновляемая энергетика в контексте исследования солнечных клеток.

💡организация литературы

Организация литературы - это процесс систематизации материалов, которые были найдены в ходе литературного поиска. В видео упоминается использование Excel для создания 'сводки' с основными результатами и особенностями каждой статьи, что помогает структурировать литературу обзора.

💡поиск литературы

Поиск литературы - это процесс поиска и сбора научных работ, относящихся к исследовательскому вопросу. В видео рекомендуется использовать Google Scholar для поиска и группировки материалов по темам, определенным в ходе исследования.

💡синтез знаний

Синтез знаний - это процесс интеграции и анализа полученных данных для формирования собственных идей и выводов. В видео подчёркивается важность 'отдыха мозга' после чтения литературы, чтобы мозг мог самостоятельно найти связи и разработать структуру литературы обзора.

💡подзаголовки

Подзаголовки - это более детальные разделы, которые организуются под основные темы исследования и помогают структурировать литературу обзора. В видео говорится о том, что после синтеза знаний и чтения литературы, необходимо добавить подзаголовки для более точной организации материала.

💡написание текста

Написание текста - это процесс создания самого текста литературы обзора, включая формулировку абзацев и представление результатов других исследований в контексте собственного исследования. В видео рекомендуется написать текст по частям, не стремясь сразу к совершенству, а затем отредактировать.

💡редактирование

Редактирование - это процесс улучшения и корректировки текста после первоначального написания. В видео упоминается важность возвращения к тексту после написания для улучшения его качества и устранения ошибок.

Highlights

Step one in writing a literature review: Be crystal clear on your research question and why you're doing the research.

Consult with your supervisor to ensure everyone agrees on the research direction and question.

Identify the broad topics that will help answer your research question by looking at other dissertations and finding common themes.

Step two involves thinking about the large topics that need to be brought together to answer your research question.

Search for literature under these topics using Google Scholar and organize the results based on the headings you've identified.

Document your literature search results in an Excel spreadsheet for easy reference and organization.

Step three: Summarize each paper you read by writing out the main findings, who conducted the research, and any challenges or notable aspects on the back of the first page.

Include searchable notes in your Excel document to easily find papers based on specific details or unique aspects.

Regularly read literature to allow your brain to pick up patterns and make connections.

Revisit your structure after reading literature to ensure it still makes sense and tweak it if necessary.

Add subheadings to your main topics based on the patterns and connections you've identified from your reading.

Step four: Let your mind synthesize the information and formulate topics and subheadings.

Step five: Write regularly and aim for progress rather than perfection. Write under each subheading and relate the findings back to your research question.

Consider getting feedback from your supervisor on content and grammatical errors, and use an editor if necessary.

Perfection kills progress. Aim for good and revise later.

The literature review is a warm-up act for your PhD thesis and research, helping you to make unique connections and contributions to your field.

The importance of organizing and documenting literature to make the writing process easier and more efficient.

Transcripts

hello my beautiful phd friends so today

we're going to talk about how to write a

literature review

they are long they are frustrating to

write but today i'm going to give you

five things

five steps that you can use to structure

your literature review

process okay let's talk about that if

you're new to this channel please

remember to subscribe and hit that bell

notification i'm going to talk about all

things phd careers

um getting a phd all the tips and tricks

that i learned to finish within three

years write my literature review

write the thesis everything so remember

to subscribe all right let's talk about

the literature review

can be a little bit daunting can't it

okay

step one of writing a literature review

you need to be absolutely crystal clear

on your why like why are

you actually doing this research because

that is the fundamentals that will form

your literature review

you need to make sure that you speak

with your supervisor as well

so a lot of times a literary review and

a beginning of a kind of a project

is the brainchild of an academic

supervisor

and they invite you on as a phd student

or you apply

um and then you kind of do their work

and you kind of

you know explore their ideas while also

incorporating your own

um the one thing i would say is that you

have to make sure with your supervisor

you understand

exactly what's going on in their mind so

step one here

is work out your research question work

out your why

why are you doing a phd why are you

writing a literature review

what are you searching for because being

absolutely crystal clear on those things

will mean

that when you come to write and do your

um your literature searches

that you'll just know exactly what

doesn't answer the question what's not

relevant

but you really need to get crystal clear

with your supervisor

on what your research question really is

so for me i needed to know if i could

make a solar cell

from an aqueous dispersion of

nanoparticles

so like uh yeah like a solar paint or a

solar ink

can i create a solar ink that would make

and generate electricity

when used as the active layer in solar

cells um so that was my physical

chemistry and kind of like surface

science

topics that i needed to combine and so

yes i needed to make sure that all of my

supervisors all three of them

were on board that they all agreed on

where i was heading

and so yes getting crystal clear

on why you're writing this literature

review and getting that in just like a

statement like a

couple sentences statement will be so

beneficial to you

there's step one okay step two

is when um i really start to think about

the topics that i need to bring together

to answer that question

so in my case it was solar technology it

was renewable energy

it was the mini emulsion process um

it was colloid and surface science and

solar cell testing like those are the

things really i needed to bring together

to answer this research question now for

you it may be a little bit different

maybe um you know you need to look at

the kind of

large overall headers we're not talking

about sub-headers here so you know i

imagine literature review

and then all of the headers underneath

that split up the large topics

there's a kind of a nice way to get an

idea of

what sort of topics you need is look at

other dissertations

in a similar field so i went away and i

found

a lot of stuff from europe a lot of

theses from europe and i kind of looked

and went well

well how are they splitting up their

literature review their introduction to

their thesis

and maybe i can use that to guide what i

do

with my thesis so a lot of the time

research

the especially cutting-edge research

happens at the boundaries of

inter of um subjects the interfaces of

subjects and topics

and so you know you need to explore the

appropriate parts of each topic

so that you can answer your research

question and you don't need to do

everything in detail but that is one way

to work out

you know if if my research question was

a venn diagram

which overlapping topics do i sort of um

sit in between and then you can kind of

use that to guide your top level headers

another way is schools of thought so if

some people agree one thing and some

people think another thing you can also

talk you know think about splitting up

your literature review in terms of those

topics

um and also just chronological order so

a great thing for me was to look at the

history of solar cells look at the

history

of the sorts of cells that i was

creating and go well they started here

how did they get to the efficiency

they're currently at and how am i going

to push that

beyond the efficiency that's currently

reported in

the literature and so uh yeah this by

the way

isn't set in stone yet but what but like

initially thinking about how am i going

to split things up how

am i going to organize my thoughts

really i guess

is the main point how are my thoughts

going to come together in this

literature review

and look this isn't like so set in stone

yet but it's a place for you to start

because the next step

is going on and actually taking those

large topics and doing your searches

okay step three is now like now you've

got your topics and your venn diagrams

and all that sort of stuff

you've got to start to think okay what

do i actually need to search for

google scholar by far is the best

um i just get onto google scholar and i

type in

you know the mini emulsion process and

look up that

i look at advances in solar technology i

look at advances in

aqueous based solar cells all of those

things is what i did

and i just started grouping those

uh research themes like under the

headings i've already think that i'm

gonna sort of like organize my

literature review that way

so um yeah i just take the heading and i

just search the literature

for themes for questions for outcomes

for results

that that kind of sit under that large

theme

um and the thing about this

is you are going to generate an absolute

bucket load of papers

of theses of other dissertations that

are written

and so you need a way to organize it and

it's at this point

that you really need to work out for you

what is the best way to

organize your literature i took a

two-prong approach

now i don't know why but i cannot

focus and read on a computer so i

literally printed out

nearly every research paper that i

wanted to read

and i used to read them on the commute

to work on the bus

or you know if i had a spare evening or

a spare couple of hours i then had them

in my bag and i could get them out and

read them

and what i did then is on the back of

the first

page is i wrote out the main finding who

did it what they found any challenges

if there was anything a particular note

you know because each research paper

needs to have something novel something

new about it

so i made sure that i tried to identify

each one of those things

and i just listed them you know three or

four bullet points on the back of the

first page

that i printed out and then what i did

after that is after i kind of got a

stack of five or six of them i

went to excel and i just put in that

that detail so i had like a

um reference i had the authors i had um

uh like the topic area you know the

broad theme that i wanted it to fit

under in my literature review

and then i just had a couple of notes

like those four or five things

but i made sure that i wrote stuff that

i wanted to search for later so

normally when you're writing your

literature review you're like oh what is

that paper

that said this and then i made sure that

i kind of included that in the notes

section you know that little

unique thing so what about that paper

that said they used a different

surfactant

um to create the nanoparticles and i'll

go in and i'll say different surfactant

and i'll make

sure that i try to um yeah include notes

that are searchable

it's easier said than done but a lot of

the time you know it does it does really

really help you just go control

f in excel and you can find um you know

the papers that you want to find

so search for papers under a topic

and then print them off if you want to

or if you're fine um reading them on the

computer that's fine

but then you have to transform that into

a little like cliff notes a little

summary

in excel and how i kind of try to find i

mean there's no hard and fast rule right

but i try to find say 20 to

30 maybe 50 even papers

on each one of those subjects and that

will depend on your

subject area of how many that you'll

actually need

but um that's what i did and uh yeah i

you know

quite often then i would you know even a

year later i would come across a paper

and go oh i didn't know about this and

i'll slot it in

to my excel document but documentation

is so very

important organize you can use mendeley

is what i use to organize all my stuff

and also after note

is another way to organize references

but really that excel document that

you're creating for yourself with the

notes that you can easily search will be

the key and will be the thing

that will just make you feel so much

more relaxed when you come to writing

your thesis

and that is almost the next part let's

talk about the next step let's talk

about step number four

okay step number four doesn't happen

for quite a while because step number

four is after you've searched the

literature and you've started to digest

that information now the great thing is

your brain

is designed to pick up patterns it's

designed for survival

and the way people survive is by picking

up patterns in nature

and in this case you're picking up

patterns in the literature that you're

reading

now you just kind of let that mole

around you know part of the academic

process and this is the kind of first

part is just to start letting your brain

make those connections start letting

your brain you know

see it find overlapping topics and areas

and just let your brain relax and and

you know read stuff and don't try to

force it

um just read regularly you know all

about these steps and do it every day so

if you're reading

literature read literature every single

day even if it's just for half an hour

but you've got to get in the habit of

reading um and then just let it kind of

sit

what you do then is once you kind of

like start formulating your own

topics and seeing the boundaries and

interfaces of different papers

is go back to your structure you know

step two when we're looking at the broad

themes

is does that still make sense as a

structure for your literature review

um it will probably need some tweaking

but the next thing you can do then is go

in under each topic that you may or may

not have tweet

and add subheadings so now we're like

literature review

heading subheadings um and so the

subheadings now are essentially

guided by what you've learned by reading

the literature

by letting your brain kind of you know

synthesize the results find

patterns correlations disagreements you

know that sort of stuff

is so important and that's the

subheading that's kind of like a little

bit more granular

of your literature review and so that's

really step four is

take a step back think about it let your

mind make connections and then put in

those subheadings to those topics

that's when you'll be able then to have

a structure

that you can then just put words under

but until you've got that structure

you're going to be trying to do

structure and words at the same time and

potentially you're just going to end up

confusing yourself

so make sure that you just spend a bit

of time after you've read literature

after you've you know read

50 to 60 maybe even 200 papers in total

just just make sure that that structure

that you're about to write on is there

because that will make your

your kind of writing process so much

easier

and now that's the last bit step five

let's talk about

writing the words there's no two ways

about it

but writing can be a massive pain in the

ass writing uh is

just challenging right sitting down

undistracted

for hours at a time to write now go

check out my other video which is about

how to write your phd thesis in two

months and it's a similar sort of stuff

that applies

so design a day that gets you to your

result

for me that was at least three hours or

so

worth of writing every single day split

up into an hour and a half and an hour

and an hour

um and you just have to write okay

your mind you know you will have to dip

in and out of the literature

and your your cheat sheet your excel

cheat sheet every so often

but really this is about you sharing

your knowledge

and so you do that uh by kind of just

formulating these paragraphs in terms of

this is what someone's found

this is how it fits and this is how it

relates to my why

and you kind of just do that for each

theme and you essentially

want to give you know the literature

review really is about giving

the person who's reading the literary

review an overview of

the the area that you want to um

research and why you're doing it so

trying to always draw it back to that

why

to the purpose of the research will be

really good and so

um as you're writing about each topic

under each subheading

you know you can say these people found

this which is interesting because then

you add your own little flavor

and then this relates to my why you know

which is uh indicative that we will be

able to get closer to our research or

will

help us understand this that or the

other or there's a gap in

the research field which i'm i'm hoping

to fill with this research

and so yeah that really is the writing

component

is break it down into chunks so i used

to like to give myself say two or three

subheadings a day

and just tap out words right don't aim

for perfection

aim for words and then go back and edit

afterwards

perfection kills progress like nothing

else aim for good

get your research supervisor to look

over your

um your different topics and chapters

and give you feedback not only

on the content um but also on

the you know the uh grammatical errors

that they pick up you know that's

something that you shouldn't really have

to worry about

and if you do need to if english is your

second language consider getting a

an editor just to pick up all those

really frustrating little um

typos that people can normally put in

even as a native english speaker

that was one of my feedback from my

thesis is they said that there was lots

of annoying typos in there

i apologize that is essentially

how to write a literature review um it's

not

nice um it's you know it's a combination

of

hard work sitting down in writing but

also sort of

mental uh gymnastics where you're just

always trying to formulate new

ideas and really this is a warm-up act

to

what your phd thesis and your phd

research will be

because it really is your brain that

will produce

the the unique connections that will

make your

research novel new interesting and add

to the field

that your question your research

proposal sits in so

yes those are the five

steps to write a literature review i

hope it's helpful good luck

let me know in the comments what you

would add um to

those five steps or if there's anything

that you've picked up while writing your

literature review that you'd like to

share

uh with other people and i shall see you

in the next video