Literature review and note taking

1. Research Methods
Shahla Gahramanova
UNEC Business School
Reading for Academic Purposes:
literature review and note taking

2. Learning outcomes
 understand the importance and purpose of the critical literature review
to your research project;
 be able to adopt a critical perspective in your reading;
 know what you need to include when writing your critical review;
 be able to identify search terms and to undertake online literature
searches;
 be able to evaluate the relevance, value and sufficiency of the
literature found;
 be able to reference the literature found accurately;
 understand what is meant by plagiarism;
 be able to apply the knowledge, skills and understanding gained to
your own research project.

3. Importance of Literature
review
If you want to do something new
you should at least know what has
been done before you.

4. Preliminary search
that helps you to
generate and refine
your research ideas
and draft your
research proposal
Critical literature
review, provides
the context and
theoretical
framework for
your research
Placing research
findings within the
wider body of
knowledge and part
of the discussion
chapter

5. The most widely used types
of review
Integrative review, critiques and synthesizes representative literature on a
topic in an integrative way to generate new frameworks and perspectives on a
topic.
Historical review, which examines the evolution of research on a particular
topic over a period of time to place it in an historical context.
Theoretical review, which examines the body of theory that has accumulated
in regard to an issue, concept, theory or phenomenon. Theoretical reviews are
often used to establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current
theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems.

6. The most widely used types
of review
Methodological review, which focuses on research approaches (Section
4.3), strategies (Section 5.5), data collection techniques or analysis
procedures, rather than the research findings. Methodological reviews are
often used to provide a framework for understanding a method or
methodology and to enable researchers to draw on a wide body of
methodological knowledge.
Systematic Review, which uses a comprehensive pre-planned strategy for
locating, critically appraising, analyzing and synthesizing existing research that
is pertinent to a clearly formulated research question to allow conclusions to
be reached about what is known.

7. Which text sounds academic?
To promote tourism and market
destination, it is important to
study the tourists’ attitude,
behaviour and demand. The studies
of Levitt (1986) and Kotler and
Armstrong (1994) suggest that an
understanding of consumer
behaviour may help with the
marketing planning process in
tourism marketing. The research of
consumer behaviour is the key to
the underpinning of all marketing
activity, which is carried out to
develop, promote and sell tourism
products (Swarbrooke and Horner,
1999; Asad, 2005). Therefore, the
study of consumer behaviour
has become necessary for the sake
of tourism marketing.
Holiday trips to the Antarctica have
quadrupled in the past decade
and last year more than 46,000
people visited the land mass and
surrounding oceans. However, safety
fears and concerns about the impact
visitors are having on the delicate frozen
landscape have soared and members of
the Antarctic Treaty – an agreement
between 28 nations, including the UK, on
the use of the continent – are now
meeting to discuss ways to regulate
tourism. British officials are seeking to
establish a ‘strategic agreement for
tourism’ around the South Pole.

8. Benefits of Literature review
(LR)
A good literature review demonstrates that You
 have a knowledge of the field.
 know what the most important issues are and their
relevance to your work
 became familiar with controversies and know what is
neglected
 have the anticipation of where info has been taken.

9. Benefits of Literature review 2
 LR helps you to map the field and position
your research within the context.
 LR justifies the reason for your research.
You need to read critically and to write in such a way
that shows you have a feel for the area.

10. Benefits of Literature review 3
Literature review allows you to identify the gap
which your research could fill.
However
It is not enough to find a gap. You have also to be able to
convince your reader that what you are doing is important
and needs to be done.

11. The literature review as a product
The literature review fulfills several key functions:
 brings the reader up to date with current knowledge on a topic;
 locates a gap in research;
 provides a justification for undertaking the study;
 demonstrates your knowledge on the current status of a field;
 provides evidence (through citations) to support your claims, thus
affording you a greater credibility.

12. The literature review as a process
.
Once you have located a number of sources that may potentially be
relevant to your research, you need to decide what to read and
why. Please note:
 Not all papers will be equally important to you.
 Start by simply scanning the content to find sections or keywords
that provide the information you are seeking.
 Proceed with skimming, namely reading through parts of text
that give you an overview on content. And
 Finally, move to in-depth reading from beginning to end.

13. Note taking
 “Note-taking is a process that involves writing or recording what
you hear or read in a descriptive way. This is often the first stage of
the process of producing effective notes.
 Note-making is an advanced process that involves reviewing,
synthesizing, connecting ideas from the lecture or reading and
presenting the information in a readable, creative way that will stick
in your mind” (Neville, 2006).
NOTE TAKING OR NOTE MAKING?

14. P.22_Masterin AW

15. Systematic note- taking
…follow these principles:
 On each sheet of notes, record the author, short title of the
source, page numbers, and key words.
 Put notes on different topics on different pages.
 Perhaps most important: clearly distinguish three kinds of notes:
 what you quote,
 what you paraphrase and summarize
 your own thoughts.
On a computer, use different fonts or styles; on paper use headings
or different- colored ink or paper.

16. Selecting and recording information by
taking notes in various ways
 Use headings, underlining and capitals to organise the
notes on the page
 Use symbols/abbreviations for brevity
 Use bullets or numbering
 Leave good margins so you can add additional notes,
thoughts or questions
 Use “quotation marks” to show direct quotes from your
lectures or the source you are using
 Identify where you have noted your own ideas e.g. use
[square brackets]

17. Three Column Technique
LEFT
SECTION
Use this area
to highlight key
terms,
questions and
references.
RIGHT
SECTION
Use this area to take notes using any note taking
technique.
LOWER SECTION Use this area to write a summary in your own
words of the lecture or reading.

18. Note Taking
Individual exercise on note taking
Also see:
https://usawriters.org/knowledge_base/the_importance_of_literature_
reviews_in_academic_writing