Sample Title Slide

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Systematic Approaches to Literature Reviews
Systematic Approaches to Literature Reviewing
Dr. Mark Matthews Student Learning
Development mark.matthews_at_tcd.ie
Dr. Mark Matthews Student Learning
Development http//student-learning.tcd.ie
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Workshop Overview

• explain elements of the systematic review process
  
• explore how these might be used or adapted to
  support
• - a thesis literature review
• - approaches to keeping up-to-date with the
  literature through a PhD

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Discussion

• What does a Literature Review mean to you ?

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The Literature Review ?
Literature reviews introduce a topic,
summarise the main issues and provide some
illustrative examples.

• from www.eppi.ioe.ac.uk

Agree? Disagree?
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The Literature Review ?
If they are to be considered a reliable source of
research evidence they should record how the
primary studies were sought and selected and how
they were analysed to produce their conclusions.
Readers need to be able to judge whether all of
the relevant literature is likely to have been
found, and how the quality of studies was
assessed.
1 Agree? 5 Disagree? 10
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Discussion

• What does a Literature Review mean to you ?
• What are the 3 main challenges?

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Challenges?
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Discussion

1. What does a Literature Review mean to you?
2. What are the 3 main challenges?
3. Why do we do Literature Reviews?

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Why do them?

• Identify gaps
• Avoid re-inventing wheel
• Build on past work
• Identify future colleagues
• Increase your knowledge of the subject
• Identify key works in your area
• Provide intellectual context of your work
• Identify opposing views
• Demonstrate you can find and analyse research
• Identify ideas methods relevant to your work
• Bourner, 1996

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Literature Matters

• From Holbrook et al (2007)

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Systematic Reviews

• a review of a clearly formulated question that
  uses systematic and explicit methods to identify,
  select and critically appraise relevant research,
  and to collect and analyse data from the studies
  that are included within the review. Statistical
  methods (meta-analysis) may or may not be used to
  analyse and summarise the results of the included
  studies. 
• from www.sebc.bangor.ac.uk

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Systematic v.s. Narrative reviews

• Agreed standards Context and differences
• High degree of focus Bias of empirical studies
• Minimise bias
• Strengths of both approaches

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For some review topics, however, the strengths
of the SR may turn into weaknessesdo not allow
for comprehensive coverage but narrative
reviews do not reveal how the decisions were made
about relevance of studies Balancing the
strengths of systematic and narrative reviews
(Collins Fauser, 2004) p. 103-104.
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• Key features of the systematic review process
  you might want to adopt or adapt
• Explicit and transparent methods
• a standard set of stages
• Accountable, replicable and updateable

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Seven steps (of a Cochrane Review)

• Formulating a problem
• Locating and selecting studies
• Critical appraisal of studies
• Collecting data
• Analyzing and presenting results
• Interpreting results
• Improving and updating reviews

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1. Formulating a Problem
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1. Formulating a Problem
Example Questions?
Standard SR question contains subject-
intervention- outcome- comparator
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• Does drinking coffee raise
• peoples blood pressure
• (when compared to chocolate)?

Standard SR question contains subject-
intervention- outcome- comparator
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1 Minute Big Picture Interviewer

• Interview your partner and take brief notes

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2. Locating and Finding Research
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Where do I start?

• Previous Theses
• Review Papers
• Recent Conference Papers
• Subject librarian
• Supervisor

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Phase 1- Identify the Research

• a broad but defined, systematic sweep
• Defined search terms record recall and
  precision
• Defined search arena - e.g. databases, citation
  indices, reference lists from primary and review
  articles, grey literature, conference
  proceedings, research registers, the internet,
  individual researchers/practitioners
• Other broad search limits, e.g. language, date,

TIPS! Document the search protocol and record
what research was found Systematically manage
the search output, e.g. using endnote
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Phase 2- Selection

• select from research using criteria related to
  your research question
• Develop inclusion or exclusion statements, these
  might relate to study outcomes, research design,
  methods used, population worked with etc.
• e.g. studies with a mixed population of men and
  women
• e.g. random control trials only
• e.g. maximum exposure time of 10mins

TIPS! Document the statements and their
purpose (might be pragmatic or research
related)
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Search Log
Date Database Keywords Results
1/11/11 2pm ACM Digital Library Role play, role-play, role playing, role-playing, bodystorming, prototyping 10 articles
4/11/11 SpringerLink Role play, Role-play, Role-playing, Fish bowel 5 articles 1 book
10/11/11 Scopus
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Running the search

• How many titles and abstract can you check?
• How easy will it be to decide to accept or reject
  a record?
• Record the reason for rejection for Excluded
  studies

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• Dont stop searching when youve stopped searching

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3. Critical appraisal of studies

• Assessing the quality of methodology is a
  critical part of the systematic review process
• No standard approach but there are hierarchies in
  fields of study

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3. Critical appraisal of studies
What would be appropriate to consider when
critically appraising research in your area?

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3. Critical appraisal of studies
Authority Validity Accuracy Objectivity Currency
- Recency Coverage Location

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3. Critical appraisal of studies
No standard approach but there are hierarchies in
fields of study
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4. Collect data analyse

• Evaluate
• Synthesise results of literature review
• Tables to compare
• Descriptive
• Meta-analysis
• Index Cards

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Author Year Aim Methods Conclusions Conclusions Critique




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Write up literature review - Structure

• Background
• Purpose/Research question
• Method
• Findings
• Discussion
• Implications/Recommendations

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Remember

• Not a description of what you found
• Not a list of relevant research
• Your review must be directed by your research
  question

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Voice
Writer as tour guide - voice
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Funnel Method
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Writing Style

1. Assess the value of the literature
2. Explain the context research takes place
3. Emphasise limitations of existing research
4. Tell a story

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Writing Style

• Introduction
• What I will show you?
• Why?
• Body
• Why this area?
• Dont leave reader to fill gaps
• Conclusion
• What we have seen?
• How this is relevant to research?

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Writing Style

• Introduction
• Define your topic provide context
• Why are you reviewing literature
• Explain the structure of the review
• What is included and not
• Body
• Group the literature
• Provide insight and make connections for reader
• Proceed from general to specific
• Conclusion
• Summarise main points / contributions of
  literature
• Evaluate current State of Art
• Gaps?
• Issues?

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Workflow for Literature Reviews

1. Search
2. Assess
3. Read
4. Write

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Research evaluation
Evaluation and Literature Review
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Literature Matters

• From Holbrook et al (2007)

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Comprehensive Literature Review
What have been the main research questions?
What are the main perspectives on this topic in
previous research?
In which subject areas has the topic been studied?
Do parallel literatures exist for this topic?
What are the main conclusions on previous
research in this area?
What are the key concepts in this area?
Coherent synthesis of past and present research
in the domain of study
How is this topic approached by others?
Who are these others?
Which existing work could be extended?
Where are the gaps in literature?
Where is existing knowledge thin?
Which aspects of this work are of most relevance
to my study?
Which discussions?
What are the key areas of debate in this area?
Which work is subject to challenge?
Which sub-themes?
Which writers?
Source Dr Hazel Hall, Napier University
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Other ideas and options

Speed reading Endnote Databases in my
area Google Alerts
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Reading
Constructing a Good Dissertation Erik
Hofstee www.exactica.co.za/dn/exactica-book-litera
ture-review.pdf Examiner comment on the
literature review in Ph.D. theses Allyson
Holbrook et al. http//www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf
/10.1080/03075070701346899 Academic
Phrasebank http//www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
sources.htm
Systematic Approaches to Literature Reviewing
Dr. Mark Matthews Student Learning
Development mark.matthews_at_tcd.ie
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SR websites

• Centre for Evidence-based Conservation
  -http//www.cebc.bangor.ac.uk/
• Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (medical)
  -http//www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/index.htm
• Cochrane Collaboration (international- medical)
  -http//www.cochrane.org/
• EPPI-Centre, Institute of Education -
  http//eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/
• Social Policy and Social Care -http//www.york.ac
  .uk/inst/chp/srspsc/index.htm
• If you read one article, an example here of a
  review of the ways studies in reviews are
  appraised - http//www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/artic
  lerender.fcgi?artid521688
• If you prefer power-point, how about this one on
  mixed method reviews http//www.ccsr.ac.uk/metho
  ds/events/challenges/documents/JamesThomasESRCMeth
  odologicalchallenges.ppt

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Finding your way in the woods
Systematic Approaches to Literature Reviewing
Dr. Mark Matthews Student Learning
Development mark.matthews_at_tcd.ie
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Student Learning Development
Thank you for your time Visit our website at
http//student-learning.tcd.ie