The document provides an introduction to literature review writing services from the National Centre for Teaching and Learning (NCTL) at Massey University. It outlines workshops on various aspects of PhD writing including literature reviews. It also provides information on literature review structure, style, and common elements. Examples of feedback on literature reviews from Massey supervisors are given. Details on other NCTL services such as drop-in support and online resources are provided.

1. Introduction to NCTL Services
& lit review writing
National Centre for Teaching & Learning
See these slides online at: tinyurl.com/2018masseyphdinduction

2. NCTL services
CONTENTS
Lit review style
Lit review
structure

3. NCTL services

4. March 14: Writing for confirmation
April 11: Setting and achieving PhD writing goals
May 9: Presenting your PhD research
June 13: Setting up and managing your own PhD
writing groups
July 11th
: Improving your PhD writing style
VLT Rooms on each campus 12.00 – 1.30 pm
Sign up – and access videos of past workshops – through the
Doctoral Community tab on Stream
Writing workshops for PhD students
Second Wednesday of each month from Mar - Dec

5. POSTGRAD SKILLS WORKSHOPS
SEE tinyurl.com/nctlworkshops
n.b. the first two sessions are also available as live on-campus workshops.

6. VIDEOS tinyurl.com/nctlvideos
OWLL owl.massey.ac.nz
Click on Academic Support on Stream for more
details of NCTL Services (including the Academic Q & A)

7. DROP-IN SERVICE and by APPOINTMENT
For more details, see tinyurl.com/masseynctlhome
Request an appointment at ctlalb@massey.ac.nz
ctlman@massey.ac.nz
ctlwel@massey.ac.nz
GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR DRAFTS

8. Attend a library workshop: tinyurl.com/masseylibraryworkshops
See a subject librarian: tinyurl.com/masseylibrarian
Thesis writing video: tinyurl.com/masseythesisvideo
Lit review writing video: tinyurl.com/masseylitreviewvideo
APA referencing guide: tinyurl.com/masseyapainteractive
Endnote guide & download: tinyurl.com/masseyendnote
Health & Counselling: tinyurl.com/masseywellness
OTHER USEFUL LINKS

9. Lit Review structure

10. You’ll write a literature review:
as part of your PhD
confirmation report
as one or more chapters of your
doctoral thesis

11. Excellent rationale for your project.
Relevant links to field of practice.
Effective synthesis of research findings.
A brief explanation of … would be helpful – it is important that
you do not write with too much assumed knowledge.
This is very wordy and it’s not clear how it related to your RQs.
How did they measure this? A little more information would be
helpful.
Needs to be more critical.
Examples of feedback on literature reviews
from Massey supervisors

12. A literature review places your research
in context and explains why it needs to
be done.
Therefore, it typically summarises:
• the main theoretical perspectives
• the key concepts
• seminal and recent studies
• relevant findings and their implications for knowledge and
practice
• gaps or problems in existing knowledge
In other words, the literature review creates
the research space which your study will
occupy.

13. Two common strategies for structuring literature review
chapters (and the sections that make them up)
From general
to specific
From past to
present
(chronological)

14. Cognitive
development of
children with
disorder X
Intervention A for
children with
disorder X
Parental
involvement in
intervention A
Barriers to and
facilitators of
parental
involvement in
intervention A
Early approaches to
assessment of
individuals with disorder
X
Post-war approaches to
assessment of
individuals with disorder
X
Sociocultural changes in
perceptions of disability
in the late 20th
c
Development of the ICF
Implications of the ICF
for assessment of
Examples of these two strategies from lit reviews
written by Massey students

15. Definitions / explanations
of terms
Relevant issues / shifts /
trends in society, philosophy,
technology etc
Summaries of key
research studies
Explanations, comparisons and
critiques of relevant models or
theories
Key claims or arguments
from major figures in the field
Description and evaluation of
approaches / interventions /
techniques / tools etc
Common elements of lit reviews

16. Lit review style

17. Sample phrases from lit reviews written by Massey students
Researchers have defined xxxx as …. (Cummings & Gowings, 2002;
Pype & Slipper, 2012).
The Z approach is a behavioural treatment programme designed to
…. (Noh-All, 2014)
X is a speech disorder characterised by …. (Shortt & Sweet, 2009)
In the late 20th
century, the … movement led to a shift in perspectives
among many clinicians with regard to …. Individuals with X were no
longer viewed as ... (Esselty, 2005)
With the introduction of Y models, there has been a growing trend
towards ….

18. In the literature, A and B approaches have been the most influential
in the assessment of X (Black & Decker, 2008). More recently, D
approaches have gained attention within clinical practice (Toyle &
Trubble, 2015).
Figure 1 illustrates the components (boxes) and connections between
components (arrows) involved in …. (Cee & Billieve, 2016). Each
component is …
Models of …. provide theoretically-grounded predictions of … For
example, ….
Increasingly sophisticated models such as … have been developed;
however, they are typically confined to …
In contrast to previous …., the A Classification System (Brayne,
2003) recognises six subtypes of disorder X: xxxxx. The system has
remained the dominant diagnostic paradigm owing to ….
Z models no longer view A as … but as … (Wright, 2002; Whing &
Apraire, 2015).

19. Proponents of this approach acknowledge that …
Bigg and Little (2004) suggest that … is likely to ….
To develop appropriate treatment plans, it has been argued that
there is a need for … (Lowd & Kleer, 2011).
There are a number of evidence-based treatments available to
address … However, while these treatments are effective, practical
constraints such as ….. mean that …. Devising more efficient
treatments for … should facilitate …
A variety of terms are used in the literature to describe approach Z
Approach Z can be used across a range of activities involving
communication and therefore …

20. Factor A appears to be critical for positive outcomes for …. in children.
However, there has been little research into ….
Plugg and Sockitt (2009) found that approach Z can provide
opportunities for …
The Z approach has an evidence base comprising ….. (Locke, Stock
and Barrill, 2010)
A study by Cobley et al. (2010) showed the importance of using a
treatment that … The authors identified that …
Wille and Aweigh (2003) demonstrated the usefulness of … approach
A for disorder B in a ….. study ….
Parents of children using device B reported … (Hinge & Brackitt, 2010)
Leizee-Buoy (2000) found that nearly half of the parents he surveyed
reported … ; however, the survey did not ask for information about ….
Therefore, it is difficult to determine …
To sum up, research about the use of approach Z has reported
positive outcomes for language development in children with disorder
Y; however, further research is required to explore ….

21. Create a research space for your study by referring
to gaps or limitations in current knowledge throughout
the literature review
Summarise these gaps / limitations in conclusion
paragraphs at the end of each section
“Build an argument, not a library”
(Rudestam & Newton, as cited in Punch, 2006)
Punch, K. F. (2006). Developing Effective Research Proposals. London: Sage Publications.

22. CARS 1: Paragraph introducing area of interest
Catechins, derived from both green tea (Mukhtar & Ahmad 2000)
and red wine (Waterhouse, 2002), are a family of flavonoid
polyphenols associated with chemopreventive effects on colon,
skin, lung, prostate, and breast cancers (Butt & Sultan, 2009).
They are also associated with numerous cardiovascular benefits,
such as decreased inflammation and platelet adhesion, increased
endothelial nitric oxide activity, and improved blood lipid profile
(Babu & Liu, 2008). Although the addition of catechins and
other polyphenols can increase the functionality of a
product, they can also elicit significant levels of bitterness and
astringency (Peleg et al., 1999) — attributes generally associated
with lower consumer acceptance (Lesschaeve & Noble, 2005) —
which may reduce the uptake of these products in the market and
place limits on the concentration of polyphenolic compounds that
can be used in their formulation. These considerations have led
to renewed interest in strategies to moderate the perception of
bitterness and astringency elicited by these and related functional
ingredients (Guadette, & Pickering, 2012).
Linking phrase
signalling
transition to
problem
(sub-area of
topic)
Gap / opportunity
linked to writer’s
own topic area
Summary of
topic:
attributes of X

23. Sharp et al. (2013) conducted an observational case
study of eating behaviours of children with ASC. The
participants were a convenience sample of 30 children
with ASD aged 3-8 (23 males; 7 females). Their
caregivers completed the BAMBI questionnaire and FPI
and were observed with children during mealtime. The
children were offered items from each food group in
puree and table textures and, if necessary, prompted or
helped to eat. Data was collected on acceptance of
food, disruptions (such as pushing away the spoon) and
negative vocalizations. Reliability was enhanced by a
detailed protocol and inclusionary criteria. 80% of
parents reported concerns with their child’s eating and
that 40% of the foods on the FPI were rejected by their
children, with vegetables the most common food
avoided. During observation, children accepted less
than half of bites, 43% demonstrated disruptive
behaviours and 33% negative vocalizations. However,
the lack of a control group, reduced comparability
with behaviours of typically developing children
towards non-preferred foods.
CARS 2: Paragraph summary & evaluation of a key study
Linking phrase
signalling
transition to
limitation
Summary of key
points:
Focus +
Method +
Findings

24. Another limitation of Smith (2017) given its ethnographic
approach, is the relatively short period of observation and
the limited forms of data on which the analysis was based.
It has been argued that ethnography “requires intensive
immersion in the data” (van Lier, 2000). It is such rich
data that forms the basis of ethnography’s defence against
the criticism that its findings are limited by “the tyranny of
the single case” (Erickson, 1981, p. 27). A number of other
ethnographic studies of managers’ beliefs (e.g. Clarke,
2016; Singh & Patel, 2013; Walker, 2011) have followed
participants over extended periods of time and
supplemented interview data with reflective journals. In
Clarke’s study, for instance, the use of reflective journals
allowed the researcher to show how disruptive events
prompted changes in manager’s beliefs regarding diversity.
Because Smith was restricted to a single set of interviews,
her model of managers’ beliefs regarding technology did
not incorporate change or identify environmental causes of
change as Clarke had done for beliefs regarding diversity.
CARS 3: Paragraph explaining a limitation of a key study
Limitation
Explanation of
why this was a
limitation
Strengths of
studies in other
related areas
which avoided
this limitation