Literature Review - Step by Step Guide For Graduate Students | Prof. David Stuckler

Summary

Professor David Stuckler's video offers a comprehensive guide to conducting a literature review, emphasizing the importance of understanding the current state of knowledge in a field. He outlines a five-step process, starting with an initial search on Google Scholar, followed by the STRIP method for extracting key information. Stuckler then advises on developing a conceptual framework and using the PEER system for structured writing. Finally, he suggests writing the conclusion and introduction last, ensuring a clear, organized review that can pave the way for further research.

Takeaways

• 📚 A literature review is essential for graduate students, forming the foundation for research proposals, theses, and dissertations.
• 📝 The literature review offers a snapshot of key concepts and gaps in knowledge in a specific field, helping identify areas for contribution.
• 🔍 Start by diving into Google Scholar to identify and download the most relevant articles in your field as a foundation.
• ✂️ Use the 'strip method' to extract key information from each article, focusing on what the authors did, found, and suggested for future research.
• 🧠 Begin to develop a conceptual framework from the gathered articles, organizing studies based on common themes, debates, or chronological order.
• 📈 The 'snowball method' can help expand your research by chasing references from key studies to find more relevant papers.
• ✍️ When writing, use the PEER system for clear paragraph structure: Point, Example, Explain, and Repeat to support your main ideas.
• 🔗 Create a structured backbone for the review, summarizing each study’s main findings and organizing evidence in a logical framework.
• 🔚 Write the conclusion before the introduction, summarizing findings, discussing limitations, suggesting future research, and addressing policy implications.
• 🎯 Finally, craft an engaging introduction that explains the importance of the topic, highlights key gaps in knowledge, and introduces the structure of your review.

Q & A

What is the purpose of a literature review in academic research?

A literature review brings together key concepts, findings, and debates in a particular field of study. It provides a snapshot of the current state of knowledge and helps identify gaps, areas of debate, and potential areas for further contribution.

Why is it important to structure your literature review?

Structuring a literature review helps organize your findings, making it easier to compare and contrast different studies, highlight gaps in the literature, and present the current state of research in a coherent and logical way.

What is the first step to take when starting a literature review?

The first step is to dive straight in by conducting a search on Google Scholar or similar platforms. This will give you an overview of the key contributions in your field. You should download relevant papers and begin summarizing them in a document.

What is the 'strip method' mentioned in the video?

The 'strip method' involves going through each paper, pulling out key points, and organizing them in a document under each citation. This helps extract essential information about the findings, methodology, and relevance of each paper to your topic.

How can you start developing a conceptual framework for your literature review?

You can develop a conceptual framework by analyzing your findings and organizing the papers based on themes, such as studies that support a causal relationship versus those that do not. Chronological, thematic, or methodological approaches can help guide this process.

What is the 'snowball method' for expanding your literature search?

The 'snowball method' involves looking at the references in the papers you've already reviewed. By following the citations in key studies, you can discover additional relevant research to include in your literature review.

What is the PEER system and how is it used in academic writing?

The PEER system stands for Point, Example, Explain, Repeat. It is used to structure paragraphs in academic writing by first making a point, supporting it with examples, explaining the significance of the evidence, and reinforcing the main idea.

Why should you write the conclusion of your literature review before the introduction?

Writing the conclusion first allows you to summarize your findings and the gaps in the literature, which then provides a clearer direction for writing the introduction. The introduction requires more creativity and energy, so tackling it last can make the writing process more efficient.

What should be included in the conclusion of a literature review?

The conclusion should recapitulate your main findings, address limitations of the reviewed literature, suggest areas for future research, and, if applicable, provide implications for policy or practice based on the evidence presented.

How should you structure the introduction of a literature review?

The introduction should start with a paragraph explaining why the topic is important and why it is being discussed now. The second paragraph should highlight gaps or debates in the literature, and the third should explain what specific aspects the review will address to fill those gaps.