This document provides guidance on conducting a literature review. It discusses the importance of building upon past research and standing on the shoulders of giants. The key steps outlined include developing search strategies, organizing sources, taking notes, identifying themes, and structuring the review. Effective reviews require searching various sources, evaluating relevance, synthesizing information, and presenting findings in a logical flow. The goal is to critically analyze prior work and identify gaps to further research.

1. Dilum Bandara
Dilum.Bandara@uom.lk
Some slides extracted from Dr. Hans Gray

2. Process of searching, understanding, &
documenting related set of contents on a
given topic
• Includes academic papers, books, industry
articles, news papers, Wikis, blogs, etc.
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Source: www.criticalproof.com

3. 3
Cedalion standing on the shoulders of Orion from Blind Orion Searching for the Rising
Sun by Nicolas Poussin, 1658, Oil on canvas
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants

4. “Dwarfs standing on the shoulders of
giants”
• Metaphor meaning “One who develops future
intellectual pursuits by understanding the research
& works created by notable thinkers of the past”
“If I have seen further it is only by standing
on the shoulders of giants.” ― Isaac
Newton
“Those who don't know history are doomed
to repeat it.” ― Edmund Burke
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5. To find a solution to a problem
Knowledge accumulates
• We learn from & build on what others have done
• Today’s studies build on those of yesterday!
To make sure work you are trying to do
hasn’t already been done
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6.  Distinguish what has been done from what needs to be
done
 Discover important variables relevant to topic
 Synthesize & gain a new perspective
 Identify relationships between ideas & practice
 Establish context of topic or problem
 Rationalize significance of problem
 Enhance & acquiring subject vocabulary
 Identify methodologies & techniques that have been used
 Place research in a historical context to show familiarity
with state-of-the-art developments
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7. Problem identification
Analysis of problem in relation to existing
literature
• Depth of the problem
• How my solution can be unique?
During project work
• Design parameters
• Experiment/simulation setup
While writing thesis
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8. Peer reviewed journals
Academic books
Articles in encyclopedias, hand books
Periodicals
News papers, news letters, magazines
Patents
Documents, project reports
Experts & consultants
On-line sources of information
• Wiki, Blogs, Forum, Twitter
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9.  Google Scholar
 Other research indexes & online databases
 University libraries
 Government document collections
• National Archives
 Government departments & institutions
• NERD, NSF, ITI
 Resources centers run by foreign missions
• British Council, Russian Cultural Center, American
Center, Practical Action
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10. Suppose your are interested in “online
payments using virtual currencies”
1. Go to Google Scholar & search for “virtual
currency”
• Note title, date, source, no of citations
• Are results are all over the place?
• Let’s be more specific in selecting search terms
2. Search for “virtual currency payments”
• Better not miss fundamental papers
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11. 3. Search for more recent papers
• Papers within last 2-3 years
• Select ones to read should be based on title,
citations, then later by abstract
• Look for recurrent terms/words
• See the word “BitCoin”?
4. Search for “BitCoin”
• Lot more related results
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12. 5. Expand search
• Looks at citations of a paper – these are related
work
• Look for related work from same authors, others,
& supporting & opposing arguments
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13.  Google Scholar has a “Save” link
 Use a tool
• Zotero
 Browser-based research tool
 Help you collect, organize, search, cite, & share your
research sources
• Mendeley & Qiqqa
 Web & desktop based
 Partly free
• EndNote
 Commercial
 Most university libraries have access
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14. After a while
• You don’t remember where your ideas came from
 You better not miss key/all citations
• All your sources are mixed up
Styles are complicated
• Hundreds of styles of references
• Conferences & journals have their own styles &
reviewers are strict on style
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Source: https://thesislink.aut.ac.nz/?p=491

16.  As you read widely, but selectively in your topic
area, consider what themes or issues connect your
sources together
 Do they present one or different solutions?
 Is there an aspect that is missing?
 How well do they present material & portray it
according to an appropriate theory?
 Do they reveal a trend in the field?
 Is there a raging debate?
 Pick one of these themes to focus the organization
of your review
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17. Document ideas in a suitable form
• Use cases
• Parameter space
• Alternative designs
• Gaps
Examples
• Just list them down
• Note cards
• Mind maps
• Rich pictures
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18. You got a focus, & narrowed it down to a
problem statement
What is the most effective way of
presenting information?
What are the most important topics,
subtopics, etc.?
What order should you present them?
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19. Introduction or background
• Basics
• Central theme
Body containing discussion of sources
• Organized either chronologically, thematically,
or methodologically
Conclusion and/or recommendations
• Where we need to go from here
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20. Accepted facts in the area
Popular opinion
Main variables
Relationship between concepts & variables
Shortcomings in existing findings
• Limitations in methods used in existing findings
Relevance of your research
Suggestions for further research
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21.  One of the first researchers to investigate this problem is
Chen . . .
 Smith and Jones counter Chen’s argument . . .
 The issue becomes more complex when a third school of
thought is considered . . .
 One researcher who agrees with Chen is . . .
 A different approach to this question looks at problems in X
 One of the most troublesome problems is addressed by
Green . . .
 A problem with this approach is that . . .
 A recent study adds this to the mix . . .
 A crucial issue that has not been addressed is z . . .
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22. What are you planning to do?
Why is it important?
How are you planning to do it?
Answer these 3 questions in a suitable
order
Write a single paragraph
Refine it as you understand the research
problem better
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23. Get stuck while writing it?
• It means you are still not clear about the research
problem
• If so, think, read, & analyze more, talk to others
• Then give it another try
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24.  Is a synthesis of
available research
 Is a critical evaluation
 Has appropriate
breadth & depth
 Has clarity &
conciseness
 Uses rigorous &
consistent methods
 An annotated
bibliography
 Confined to description
 Narrow & shallow
 Confusing &
longwinded
 Constructed in an
arbitrary way
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25.  Vagueness due to too much or inappropriate
generalizations
 Very narrow focus
 Insufficient information
 Irrelevant material
 Omission of contrasting view
 Omission of recent work
• Work carried out during last 2 years
 Lack of a clear flow
 Repetition
 Use of big words
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26. All the Best!
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