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... without knowing that I was about to write a lit review, as a (foreign) grad student in musicology (Univ of Illinois) in the 70s, I tried to answer in writing: WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT a given (xyz) TOPIC? It was overwhelming! So, the first thing you want to focus on is the *WHAT* part, as well as *how* much, *who* are the readers/learners, and *why* you are doing this. Then comes the craft that we learn (typically in lib schools--should be extended across all colleges and professional schools) about the ways we construct lit reviews (AKA meta analysis of results in a given discipline, on a subtopic, etc.). Katherine's matrix is an excellent way to conceptualize that *HOW* part of constructing and writing LR. Also looking at ARIST chapters might help :-) Zorana Ercegovac On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 5:09 PM, Katherine McCain <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > Sheri and Charles, > > In one sense, there is a “best way” but it won’t be the kind of > step-by-step approach that seems to be desired. > > - Consider a set of documents that discuss one or more themes on the > subject of the review > - You can model the documents as a matrix — each row is a document, > each column is a topic potentially discussed by that document (this is not > unlike a document/term matrix). > - An annotated bibliography would “write across the rows” -- dealing > with each document in turn. This is a way to write a very bad lit review > - A better lit review would be to “write down the columns” -- taking > up each theme in turn and discussing it with reference to the documents. > > > Kate McCain > > > > On 1/20/12 11:00 PM, "Charles Hildreth" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Sheri, > > There is no single "best" way of doing a literature review. Much depends > on the aim, scope and length of the research study being reported. Also, > different literature reviews have different purposes. If you want a recipe, > I suggest you consult a cookbook. Then, again, there is no single best > recipe for any dish or food offering, except, of course, my wife's. You > write, "I wanted one that’s been tested among our group." I wonder, just > who are the members of your group? > > Charles R. Hildreth, Ph.D. > 146 Marks Avenue > Lancaster, Ohio 43130 > > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Sheri A. Massey <[log in to unmask]> > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Sent:* Friday, January 20, 2012 2:59 PM > *Subject:* Literature Review Text > > > Hello All, > > I am looking for a book or manual that walks a person through the steps of > doing a literature review— very detailed, replicable steps. There are many > lit review books available, but I wanted one that’s been tested among our > group. Also, I am not looking for a complete guide to research, just > something on literature reviews. > > Thanks in advance for your help! > > -SM > > ______________________ > Sheri Anita Massey, Ph.D. > Lecturer > > College of Information Studies > 4117L Hornbake Library, South Wing > University of Maryland > O: (301) 405-4580 > F: (301) 314-9145 > [log in to unmask] > > > > > > > > >