Transcript Sample Title Slide - Trinity College, Dublin

Systematic Approaches to
Literature Reviews
Systematic Approaches to
Literature Reviewing
Dr. Mark Matthews
Student Learning
Development
[email protected]
Dr. Mark Matthews
Student Learning Development
http://student-learning.tcd.ie
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
Discussion
1. What does a Literature Review mean to
you ?
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?
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
Discussion
1. What does a Literature Review mean to
you ?
2. What are the 3 main challenges?
Challenges?
Discussion
1. What does a Literature Review mean to
you?
2. What are the 3 main challenges?
3. Why do we do Literature Reviews?
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
Literature Matters
working
understanding
critical
appraisal
connection
to findings
disciplinary
perspective
coverage
scholarliness
literature use
From Holbrook et al (2007)
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
Systematic v.s. Narrative reviews
Agreed standards
High degree of focus
Minimise bias
Context and differences
Bias of empirical studies
Strengths of both approaches
Student Learning
Development, TCD
14
“For some review topics, however, the strengths of the
SR may turn into weaknesses…do 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.
Key features of the systematic review
process you might want to adopt or
adapt–
1.
2.
Explicit and transparent methods
a standard set of stages
3.
Accountable, replicable and updateable
Seven steps (of a Cochrane Review)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Formulating a problem
Locating and selecting studies
Critical appraisal of studies
Collecting data
Analyzing and presenting results
Interpreting results
Improving and updating reviews
1. Formulating a Problem
1. Formulating a Problem
Example Questions?
Standard SR question contains
subject- intervention- outcome- comparator
Does drinking coffee raise
people’s blood pressure
(when compared to chocolate)?
Standard SR question contains
subject- intervention- outcome- comparator
1 Minute Big Picture Interviewer
Interview your partner and take brief notes
2. Locating and Finding Research
Where do I start?
Previous Theses
Review Papers
Recent Conference Papers
Subject librarian
Supervisor
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
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)
Search Log
Date
Database
Keywords Results
1/11/11
2pm
ACM Digital
Library
Role play, roleplay, role
playing, roleplaying,
bodystorming,
prototyping
4/11/11
SpringerLink Role play, 5 articles
Role-play, 1 book
Roleplaying,
Fish bowel
10 articles
Running the search
1. How many titles and abstract can you check?
2. How easy will it be to decide to accept or reject
a record?
3. Record the reason for rejection for “Excluded
studies”
Don’t stop searching when you’ve stopped
searching
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
3. Critical appraisal of studies
What would be appropriate
to consider when critically
appraising research in your area?
Student Learning
Development, TCD
30
3. Critical appraisal of studies
Authority
Validity
Accuracy
Objectivity
Currency - Recency
Coverage
Location
Student Learning
Development, TCD
31
3. Critical appraisal of studies
No standard approach but there
are hierarchies in fields of study
critical
appraisal
working
understanding
connection
to findings
disciplinary
perspective
coverage
scholarliness
literature use
4. Collect data & analyse
• Evaluate
• Synthesise results of literature review
– Tables to compare
– Descriptive
– Meta-analysis
– Index Cards
Student Learning
Development, TCD
33
Author
Year
Student Learning
Development, TCD
Aim
Methods
Conclusions
Critique
34
Write up literature review - Structure
Background
Purpose/Research question
Method
Findings
Discussion
Implications/Recommendations
Student Learning
Development, TCD
36
Remember
Not a description of what you found
Not a list of relevant research
Your review must be directed by your
research question
Voice
Writer as tour guide - voice
Funnel Method
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
Writing Style
Introduction
What I will show you?
Why?
Body
Why this area?
Don’t leave reader to fill gaps
Conclusion
What we have seen?
How this is relevant to research?
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?
Workflow for Literature Reviews
1.
2.
3.
4.
Search
Assess
Read
Write
Evaluation and Literature Review
Research evaluation
Literature Matters
working
understanding
critical
appraisal
connection
to findings
disciplinary
perspective
coverage
scholarliness
literature use
From Holbrook et al (2007)
Comprehensive Literature Review
Do parallel
literatures exist
for this topic?
In which
subject areas
has the topic
been studied?
What are the key
concepts in this area?
How is this topic
approached by
others?
Who are
these
“others”?
Which
discussions?
Which aspects of this
work are of most
relevance to my
study?
Which subthemes?
What are the
main
perspectives
on this topic in
previous
research?
Coherent synthesis
of past and present
research in the
domain of study
What have been the
main research
questions?
What are the main
conclusions on
previous research in
this area?
Where are the gaps in
literature?
Which existing
work could be
extended?
Where is existing
knowledge “thin”?
What are the key
areas of debate in this
area?
Which work is
subject to
challenge?
Which writers?
Source: Dr Hazel Hall, Napier University
Other ideas and options
Speed reading
Endnote
Databases in my area
Google Alerts
Reading
Constructing a Good Dissertation
Erik Hofstee
www.exactica.co.za/dn/exactica-bookliterature-review.pdf
Systematic Approaches to
Examiner comment on the literature
review in Ph.D. theses
Literature Reviewing
Allyson Holbrook et al.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.
Dr. Mark Matthews
1080/03075070701346899
Student Learning
Development
Academic Phrasebank
[email protected]
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.
uk/sources.htm
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/articlerender.fcgi?artid=521688
If you prefer power-point, how about this one on mixed method reviews
http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/methods/events/challenges/documents/JamesThomasESRCMeth
odologicalchallenges.ppt
Finding your way in the
woods
Systematic Approaches to
Literature Reviewing
Dr. Mark Matthews
Student Learning
Development
[email protected]
Student Learning Development
Thank you for your time
Visit our website at:
http://student-learning.tcd.ie