Overview of what could be included in dissertation literature reviews with examples

1. Academic Achievement Team

2. Literature Reviews

3. Before you can start writing your literature
review, you need to know what you are writing
Literature Review Or Not Literature

4. Which of these would go in a literature review?
1. An overview of the literature related to your field of study
2. An explanation of where your project fits into the academic discussion
3. A list discussing each piece of literature in turn
4. A synthesis of key ideas/concepts/theories found in the literature
5. An identification of areas of controversy or debate
6. A critical evaluation of everything you have read for your dissertation
7. A critical evaluation of relevant research
8. A summary of key texts

5. Not a literature review
An overview of the literature related to your field of study
A list discussing each piece of literature in turn
A summary of key texts
A critical evaluation of everything you have
read for your dissertation

6. Martin, Pescosolido & Tuch (2000) examined the effects of descriptions of the targets’ behavior, causal attributions about
the source of the behavior, the target’s perceived dangerousness, labeling and participants’ sociodemographic
characteristics. Twenty percent of the participants labeled a target described with depressed symptoms as having a
mental illness (as compared with 54% for those described with schizophrenic symptoms or 1% with normal troubles); 37%
would be unwilling to interact with the depressed person (48% for the schizophrenic and 21% for normal troubles); and
33% felt that the depressed person would do violence to others (61% for the schizophrenic and 17% for the normal
troubles).
Alexander and Link (2003) examined the stigma of mental illness, perceptions of dangerousness and social distance in a
telephone survey. They found that, as a participant’s own life contact with mentally ill individuals increased, participants
were both less likely to perceive a target mentally ill individual in a vignette as physically dangerous and less likely to
desire social distance from the target. This relationship remained after controlling for demographic and confound
variables, such as gender, ethnicity, education, income and political conservatism. They also found that any type of
contact – with a friend, a spouse, a family member, a work contact, or a contact in a public place – with mentally ill
individuals reduced perceptions of dangerousness of the target in the vignette.

7. Martin, Pescosolido & Tuch (2000) examined the effects of descriptions of the targets’ behaviour, causal
attributions about the source of the behaviour, the target’s perceived dangerousness, labelling and participants’
sociodemographic characteristics. Twenty percent of the participants labelled a target described with depressed
symptoms as having a mental illness (as compared with 54% for those described with schizophrenic symptoms or
1% with normal troubles); 37% would be unwilling to interact with the depressed person (48% for the
schizophrenic and 21% for normal troubles); and 33% felt that the depressed person would do violence to others
(61% for the schizophrenic and 17% for the normal troubles).
Alexander and Link (2003) examined the stigma of mental illness, perceptions of dangerousness and social
distance in a telephone survey. They found that, as a participant’s own life contact with mentally ill individuals
increased, participants were both less likely to perceive a target mentally ill individual in a vignette as physically
dangerous and less likely to desire social distance from the target. This relationship remained after controlling for
demographic and confound variables, such as gender, ethnicity, education, income and political conservatism.
They also found that any type of contact – with a friend, a spouse, a family member, a work contact, or a contact
in a public place – with mentally ill individuals reduced perceptions of dangerousness of the target in the
vignette.
One
source
Summary of
the paper

8. A Literature review:
A critical evaluation of relevant research
A synthesis of key ideas/concepts/theories found in the literature
An explanation of where your project fits
into the academic discussion
An identification of areas of controversy or debate

9. Many research papers strongly centre on the economic impact an event can have, especially earlier papers (Getz
and Page, 2016), with many positive results being used as justification for Mega-Event bidding (Kasimati, 2003).
Many of these are not directly linked to sale generation from the event; research has pointed to other forms of
economic gain through host business increase in the tourism industry (Lee and Taylor, 2005; Djaballah et al,
2015), and chances for employment (Gursoy et al, 2004; Djaballah et al, 2015) and job stimulation (Djaballah et
al, 2015). Events can create the chance for economic growth through offering job opportunities to host cities and
surrounding areas’ residents (Yolal et al, 2016). This can positively affect the social needs of such residents
(Kaplanidou et al, 2013; Chun Ma and Rotherham, 2016), thus reinforcing the notion that economic impacts can
act as a basis for achieving social needs. Although some research has indicated how events can produce an
increase in jobs, (Feddersen and Maennig, 2012; Kim et al, 2017), the same research has noted that the
employment is not permanent. This notion is supported by further research indicating only short-term
employment results due to the nature of events (Lee and Taylor, 2005; Mathurin et al, 2013; Dwyer et al, 2016).
However, other research emphasises the impact of permanent jobs being created, yet these are at more modest
figures such as 46 for the host region and 37 for outer regions (Lee et al, 2017). Nonetheless, overall research has
indicated that employment opportunity is not a significant impact of a locality staging a major event (Lorde et al,
2011). This project, therefore, hopes to explore the levels of employment created by smaller-scale local events in
order to extend the findings of research into Mega-Events in order to take a more holistic approach to the
relationship between events and employment.

10. Many research papers strongly centre on the economic impact an event can have, especially earlier papers (Getz
and Page, 2016), with many positive results being used as justification for Mega-Event bidding (Kasimati, 2003).
Many of these are not directly linked to sale generation from the event; research has pointed to other forms of
economic gain through host business increase in the tourism industry (Lee and Taylor, 2005; Djaballah et al,
2015), and chances for employment (Gursoy et al, 2004; Djaballah et al, 2015) and job stimulation (Djaballah et
al, 2015). Events can create the chance for economic growth through offering job opportunities to host cities and
surrounding areas’ residents (Yolal et al, 2016). This can positively affect the social needs of such residents
(Kaplanidou et al, 2013; Chun Ma and Rotherham, 2016), thus reinforcing the notion that economic impacts can
act as a basis for achieving social needs. Although some research has indicated how events can produce an
increase in jobs, (Feddersen and Maennig, 2012; Kim et al, 2017), the same research has noted that the
employment is not permanent. This notion is supported by further research indicating only short-term
employment results due to the nature of events (Lee and Taylor, 2005; Mathurin et al, 2013; Dwyer et al, 2016).
However, other research emphasises the impact of permanent jobs being created, yet these are at more modest
figures such as 46 for the host region and 37 for outer regions (Lee et al, 2017). Nonetheless, overall research has
indicated that employment opportunity is not a significant impact of a locality staging a major event (Lorde et al,
2011). This project, therefore, hopes to explore the levels of employment created by smaller-scale local events in
order to extend the findings of research into Mega-Events in order to take a more holistic approach to the
relationship between events and employment.
sources
Main Topic

11. So, a literature review is
• A literature review summarises, synthesises,
critically analyses and evaluates previous research
relevant to YOUR project.
• Places your research in the debate.
• It should address a clearly articulated question or
series of questions.
• It is not a description, list or simply a summary of
literature
Academically a literature
review needs you to sit at
the table and join in the
debate.

12. A literature review
does not deal with
the sources one by
one.
This is an annotated
bibliography.
You could write your
initial notes up in this
way, but then look for
connections between
the texts to plan and
write the review.
A literature review
synthesises relevant
information from your
research.
This means you write
about a number of
sources in each
paragraph.
Comparing and
contrasting
information to give a
analysis of the key
topics connected to
your research.
You should also write
an introduction and a
conclusion.

13. Areas of writing to include:
• Identify what research has been done in
that area
• Identify main areas of agreement or
controversy
• Identify the main methodologies in your
subject area
• Find gaps in the research to help you
formulate your own research
question/justification for the research
In doing this, you are :
• Demonstrating an in-depth
understanding of your topic and its
thinkers
• Convincing the reader that your
research questions are significant,
important and interesting: it is an
argument
This means you need to analyse and
synthesise your reading

14. Analysis and synthesis : differences
To analyse your literature, you need to be
reading critically:
• Who is the author?
• What is the central point or main argument?
• What findings and conclusions are made?
• What evidence is used?
• What methodology has the author used? What
are the strengths and limitations?
• Does the author make any assumptions?
• What is not being said?
• Is there any explicit or hidden bias?
To synthesise your literature, you need
to:
• Make comparisons and connections
• Position key points against each other
• Compare methods
• Identify themes and trends
• Areas of agreement or disagreement

15. A reading grid can help you keep track of your research and analysis, and
think about how you will use or refer to it in your writing: helps synthesis
Author, title Topic Key idea/theme Strengths/
Weaknesses
How to use Further thoughts:
relate to project
Bill Johnston
(2010) The First
Year at University:
Teaching Students
in Transition
(Helping Students
Learn)
Effects of
stress on
university students
during transition
Students need to
have differences in
study practices
made clear at the
outset: this is
primarily the
responsibility of
the university
Very small sample
but longitudinal
study –
appropriate
methods
Rich data – see
transcripts
Compare to Jones
(2001) and Ali
(2002) -
emphasise the
responsibility of
the student in
adapting
Show agreement
with Smith, 2013;
Mohammad et al,
2015; Jackson,
2017
Jackson also uses
longitudinal study
Appears to be part
of a developing
trend in HE student
support – test with
a bigger sample
size
But is longitudinal
a better method?

16. Some alternative approaches:
Adapt headings to your discipline/project:
Author Year Type of
study
Sample Design Data
collection
approach
Key
findings
Sciences/Experimental focus
Humanities/Theoretical focus
Author Year Type of
work
Strengths Weaknesses Relevance to own
study
Taken from The University of Adelaide Writing a literature review
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/learning_guides/learningGuide_writingLiteratureReview.pdf

17. Organisation
As with most academic assignments, literature reviews also must contain at least
three basic elements:
•Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the
central theme or organizational pattern; reasons for doing it; any gaps in the
research you have read
•Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either
chronologically, thematically, or methodologically.
•Review what sources have said and compare and contrast them and
comment on the significance of this/anything surprising and what it means
for your topic area. DON’T just describe.
•Also remind the reader of gaps in the research as they arise.
•Conclusions/Recommendations: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing

18. Introductions : example
“Motivation for this study of postgraduate student writing a literature review for their
thesis came from growing literature on the issues that graduate students face when
writing their first thesis in English. It is therefore important to consider some of the
ways that these issues have been addressed or have failed to be fully addressed, and
also approaches that have been offered by some institutions to meet these needs.
This section considers what the literature has reported and then introduces the genre-
based discourse literature that informed the instructional approach considered best
suited to addressing the shortcomings in writing.”

19. “Motivation for this study of postgraduate students writing a literature review for their thesis came from a
growing literature on the issues that graduate students face when writing their first thesis in English. It is
therefore important to consider some of the ways that these issues have been addressed or have failed to be
fully addressed, and also approaches that have been offered by some institutions to meet these needs. This
section considers what the literature has reported and then introduces the genre-based discourse literature that
informed the instructional approach considered best suited to addressing the shortcomings in writing.”
What are the aims of the study?
Why did the writers feel it was necessary to study this?
What language is used to describe the justification for the study?
Does the paragraph indicate any of the themes which will be used to organise the review?
What structure is given for the review?
To study how PGT students write literature reviews
Literature suggests it is a significant “growing”
problem
“Motivation……came from”
The problems that have been addressed
The gaps in the research (“failed”)
How other institutions have addressed the problem
A review past studies and then an
approach is used that is considered
effective for research in this area

20. There are different ways to organise a literature review
• How you organise will depend on your question and from the
research you do
• Also, some subjects or supervisors might prefer you to organise it in
a specific way, so always check !

21. Chronologically :
• This describes each work in succession starting with the earliest available information, so you
will group together the sources in order of their publication date.
• For example, if the earliest available article on the topic dates back to 1991, you could
arrange the sources in three groups:
• information from 1991-2000
• from 2001-2010
• 2011-the present.
• This is commonly used to show how ideas have changed over time e.g. diagnosis and
treatments relating to a disease

22. Methodologically
• Here, the author is not concerned with what someone said, but how they
came to say it
• Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at
different levels, and consider areas such as research approaches, data
collection and analysis techniques
• This approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and
consider as you go through your own study

23. Thematically
• Here, the author organizes and discusses existing literature based on themes or theoretical
concepts he or she feels are important to understanding the topic.
• For example, a review on skin cancer could include sections on :
• studies about melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer
• tanning as a cause of skin cancer
• teenager awareness and attitudes to skin cancer
• treatment models.
• Doing it thematically, can also help you link the themes back to your research objectives, and
also forward to your findings and discussion

24. Literature Review Practice

25. Literature Review A
[S1] There are various different types of emotional labour. Hochschild (1983) said the term ‘feeling rules’ could be used to
explain emotional norms. [S2] Macdonald & Sirianni (1996:9) said emotional labour is refraining from reacting to abusive
behaviour, and maintaining a perpetual, sincere smile’. [S3] Scherer (1996) said emotion included not only feeling but also
neurophysiological responses and motor expression. [S4] Ashforth and Humphrey (1993:89) said that ‘display rules’ is a more
appropriate term, as emotional labour appears to be primarily concerned with publicly expressed emotions.
[S5] Various negative impacts of emotional labour on staff have been identified. [S6] Adelmann (1995) identified job stress,
Ledgerwood et al. (1997) identified employee burnout, Wharton (1993) identified emotional exhaustion and Hochschild (1983)
identified staff feeling ‘phony’ when portraying false emotion to customers. [S7] Riley et al (1998) found positive effects of
emotional labour with staff often enduring some less pleasant aspects of service work for the opportunities for interaction
working with others affords and gaining satisfaction from such work. [S8] Weatherly & Tanisk (1993) examined various methods
used by customer-contact workers to deal with role stress.

26. Literature Review A
• [S1] There are various different types of emotional labour. Hochschild (1983) said the term ‘feeling rules’
could be used to explain emotional norms. [S2] Macdonald & Sirianni (1996:9) said emotional labour is
refraining from reacting to abusive behaviour, and maintaining a perpetual, sincere smile’. [S3] Scherer
(1996) said emotion included not only feeling but also neurophysiological responses and motor expression.
[S4] Ashforth and Humphrey (1993:89) said that ‘display rules’ is a more appropriate term, as emotional
labour appears to be primarily concerned with publicly expressed emotions.
• [S5] Various negative impacts of emotional labour on staff have been identified. [S6] Adelmann (1995)
identified job stress, Ledgerwood et al. (1997) identified employee burnout, Wharton (1993) identified
emotional exhaustion and Hochschild (1983) identified staff feeling ‘phony’ when portraying false emotion
to customers. [S7] Riley et al (1998) found positive effects of emotional labour with staff often enduring
some less pleasant aspects of service work for the opportunities for interaction working with others affords
and gaining satisfaction from such work. [S8] Weatherly & Tanisk (1993) examined various methods used by
customer-contact workers to deal with role stress.

27. Literature Review B
[S1] There are various different types of emotional labour including ‘personalizing an impersonal relation’
(Hochschild 1983:109), refraining from reacting to abusive behaviour, and maintaining a perpetual, sincere
smile’ (Macdonald & Sirianni 1996:9). [S2] Hochschild (1983) introduced the term ‘feeling rules’ to explain
emotional norms. [S3] However, Scherer (1996) defined emotion, as including not only feeling but also
neurophysiological responses and motor expression. [S4] If this definition is to be adopted, the implied
dominance of ‘feeling’ should be treated cautiously. [S5] Ashforth and Humphrey (1993:89) approach this issue
by proposing that ‘display rules’ is a more appropriate term, as emotional labour appears to be primarily
concerned with publicly expressed emotions. [S6] Both of these concepts appear to have value, although
neither, taken individually, satisfactorily includes all the elements of emotion and emotional labour, and a
combination of both seems more appropriate. [S7] Display rules may seem more useful in the study of the
subject, especially from a behaviourist point of view, but to fully understand their nature and impacts, actual
feelings, cognition and physiological state should probably be examined as well.
[S8] Various possible negative impacts of emotional labour on staff have been suggested including job stress
(Adelmann 1995) employee burnout (Ledgerwood et al. 1997), emotional exhaustion (Wharton 1993), and
feeling ‘phony’ when portraying false emotion to customers (Hochschild 1983). [S9] It should be pointed out,
however, that positive effects of emotional labour have also been suggested with staff often enduring some
less pleasant aspects of service work for the opportunities for interaction working with others affords (Riley et
al 1998) and gaining satisfaction from such work. [S10] Weatherly & Tanisk (1993) examined various methods
used by customer-contact workers to deal with role stress that seem relevant to emotional labour.

28. Literature Review A: strengths/weaknesses
Strengths: Weaknesses
 Organised by theme into two paragraphs.
 Refers to several different sources when
 reporting on research in each area outlined
 The sources are cited correctly
 It simply reports facts on the studies that are
being reviewed using a limited range of
structures
 There is no comment on how the different
research relate to each other
 It is not possible to identify which research is
influential or relevant to the writer’s own
study.

29. Literature Review A and B
A B
Does the review describe current knowledge
about the topic? Where?
Yes S1 – S4 Yes S1-S5
Does the review critically evaluate the
literature? Where?
Highlight the relevance of literature to the
author’s research proposal? Where?
Identify gaps in current knowledge? Where?
Identify the most appropriate methods to
conduct the research? Where?

30. Literature Review A and B
A B
Does the review describe current knowledge
about the topic? Where?
Yes S1 – S4 Yes S1-S5
Does the review critically evaluate the
literature? Where?
No – it just reports what
academics said
Yes S6
Highlight the relevance of literature to the
author’s research proposal? Where?
No – there is no reference to
author’s own research
Yes S7 reference to ‘the study’
Identify gaps in current knowledge? Where? No – it only reports on existing
research
Yes S7 – ‘actual feelings, cognition
and physiological state should
probably be examined as well’
Identify the most appropriate methods to
conduct the research? Where?
No – although perhaps this
comes later in the lit. review
(this is only an extract
No – although perhaps this comes
later in the lit. review (this is only an
extract).

32. • Paragraph one
• Lim et al. (2006), a group of research staff of the centre for epidemiology and population
health, have explored the issue of ‘disappearing teaspoons’ through the implementation
of a longitudinal cohort study. This was undertaken at their own institution in
Melbourne, Australia. They placed 70 numbered teaspoons in various tea-rooms in the
institute and tracked them over a period of five months. Eighty per cent disappeared for
good. Based on the rate of disappearance, 252.4 teaspoons would need to be bought
each year to supply a working population of 140, with one teaspoon between two
people. They argue that teaspoons in their workplace are lost at such a rapid rate that, as
a result, employee satisfaction is reduced, and indeed, harmonious office culture in
general, is threatened. In terms of their research methods, there are perhaps some
issues relating to their use of a deductive approach: there are clearly limitations to
research which explores pre-conceived ideas. However, their use of a covert study
seems an appropriate method in terms of gaining objective insight into this issue;
especially as this method was countered by a follow-up questionnaire which revealed
some of the reasons for teaspoon ‘theft’. The authors acknowledge that this is an area of
limited research; it is therefore impossible to make comparisons with similar studies, or
office cultures elsewhere. This is clearly a limitation, and affects evaluation of the
veracity or generalisability of their findings. However, as this represents a sole study
about teaspoon displacement, it is clearly an important one for those interested in
cutlery-based issues.

33. • Lim et al. (2006), a group of research staff of the centre for epidemiology and population health,
have explored the issue of ‘disappearing teaspoons’ through the implementation of a longitudinal
cohort study. This was undertaken at their own institution in Melbourne, Australia. They placed
70 numbered teaspoons in various tea-rooms in the institute and tracked them over a period of
five months. Eighty per cent disappeared for good. Based on the rate of disappearance, 252.4
teaspoons would need to be bought each year to supply a working population of 140, with one
teaspoon between two people. They argue that teaspoons in their workplace are lost at such a
rapid rate that, as a result, employee satisfaction is reduced, and indeed, harmonious office
culture in general, is threatened. In terms of their research methods, there are perhaps some
issues relating to their use of a deductive approach: there are clearly limitations to research
which explores pre-conceived ideas. However, their use of a covert study seems an appropriate
method in terms of gaining objective insight into this issue; especially as this method was
countered by a follow-up questionnaire which revealed some of the reasons for teaspoon ‘theft’.
The authors acknowledge that this is an area of limited research; it is therefore impossible to
make comparisons with similar studies, or office cultures elsewhere. This is clearly a limitation,
and affects evaluation of the veracity or generalisability of their findings. However, as this
represents a sole study about teaspoon displacement, it is clearly an important one for those
interested in cutlery-based issues.
There is evaluation
and comment on
ideas from the
source and how
the study was
done, but there is
only one source
used
If is a “limited
area” does it need
researching more?
Why might it be
“limited”?

34. Paragraph two
To first consider the use of the verb acquisition in a metaphor of learning, it suggests that to
learn we acquire something like an object or entity exemplified in the abstract form of
knowledge, experience and skills. Sfard (1999,p5) affirms that the idea of ‘concept
development’ as suggested by Vygotsky and Piaget prescribes that concepts can be
understood as basic units of knowledge that are accumulated, refined and combined to form
richer cognitive structures. The focus here is on the verb ‘accumulation’, as it is conducive to
the principles of the acquisition metaphor of learning. Though not cited, Sfard (1999, p5)
uses Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) metaphor of the ‘human mind as a container’ to be filled
with certain materials. Elaborating further on this metaphor, Bereiter (2002, p179) likens the
human mind to a ‘mental filing cabinet’. If we are to consider this metaphor in terms of
lifelong learning in F.E colleges, it becomes apparent that the underlying principle of
knowledge and skills acquisition is saturated in the framework of curriculums that depend
upon the assessment of these acquisitions to enable a qualification to be awarded. Sfard
(1999, p6) observes the language used in education frameworks: “attainment, construction,
accumulation” are to name but a few, and clearly exemplify the principle of the acquisition
of something.

35. • To first consider the use of the verb acquisition in a metaphor of learning, it suggests that to learn
we acquire something like an object or entity exemplified in the abstract form of knowledge,
experience and skills. Sfard (1999,p5) affirms that the idea of ‘concept development’ as suggested
by Vygotsky and Piaget prescribes that concepts can be understood as basic units of knowledge
that are accumulated, refined and combined to form richer cognitive structures. The focus here is
on the verb ‘accumulation’, as it is conducive to the principles of the acquisition metaphor of
learning. Though not cited, Sfard (1999, p5) uses Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) metaphor of the
‘human mind as a container’ to be filled with certain materials. Elaborating further on this
metaphor, Bereiter (2002, p179) likens the human mind to a ‘mental filing cabinet’. If we are to
consider this metaphor in terms of lifelong learning in F.E colleges, it becomes apparent that the
underlying principle of knowledge and skills acquisition is saturated in the framework of
curriculums that depend upon the assessment of these acquisitions to enable a qualification to be
awarded. Sfard (1999, p6) observes the language used in education frameworks: “attainment,
construction, accumulation” are to name but a few, and clearly exemplify the principle of the
acquisition of something.
Comments on
different source
ideas and uses
different sources
Final sentence seems
out of place
Try not to finish on the
ideas of others, finish
with your own
comment

36. • Paragraph three
• Firstly, it must be noted that the literature evidenced significant criticism of Hofstede’s
dimensions of national culture, and there is much debate about the validity of the
Hofstede and GLOBE data, with regards to the methodology used and the validity of the
data. Imm, Lee & Soutar (2007) argue that that Hofstede’s framework could be
obsolete because the data was collected many years ago. In agreement, Magnusson et
al (2008) states, ‘the contemporary relevance of Hofstede’s data has been questioned
given that the data was collected in the late 1960s’ (pg. 185). More recently, Migliore
(2011) challenged Hofstede’s data in terms of date relevance, in particular for the PDI
scores, arguing that ‘significant changes in new technologies enable people all over the
world to gain greater access to information and data – all which seem to represent a
new type of power distribution […]’ (pg.50). However, more importantly, and despite all
prior criticism, Hofstede’s dimensions are being used and updated, with data for new
and existing countries being added all the time. For example, Migliore (2011) offered
updated scores for USA and India, whereas Taras, Steel & Kirkman (2012) present
updated scores from their findings for 49 countries, comparing scores over the years
and against various other meta-analytic scores including GDP/Capita, Human
Development Index and Inflation, in order to explain the changes in the scores
suggesting that, ‘the change is certainly not rapid, but it appears to be occurring faster
than expected by Hofstede’ (pg.330). Interestingly however, none of the 2012 literature
mentioned Hofstede’s additional dimension which was added in 2010; Indulgence
versus Restraint (IVR), but this could be due to the limited data collated for this
dimension to date.

37. Firstly, it must be noted that the literature evidenced significant criticism of Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture,
and there is much debate about the validity of the Hofstede and GLOBE data, with regards to the methodology used
and the validity of the data. Imm, Lee & Soutar (2007) argue that that Hofstede’s framework could be obsolete
because the data was collected many years ago. In agreement, Magnusson et al (2008) states, ‘the contemporary
relevance of Hofstede’s data has been questioned given that the data was collected in the late 1960s’ (pg. 185). More
recently, Migliore (2011) challenged Hofstede’s data in terms of date relevance, in particular for the PDI scores,
arguing that ‘significant changes in new technologies enable people all over the world to gain greater access to
information and data – all which seem to represent a new type of power distribution […]’ (pg.50). However, more
importantly, and despite all prior criticism, Hofstede’s dimensions are being used and updated, with data for new and
existing countries being added all the time. For example, Migliore (2011) offered updated scores for USA and India,
whereas Taras, Steel & Kirkman (2012) present updated scores from their findings for 49 countries, comparing scores
over the years and against various other meta-analytic scores including GDP/Capita, Human Development Index and
Inflation, in order to explain the changes in the scores suggesting that, ‘the change is certainly not rapid, but it appears
to be occurring faster than expected by Hofstede’ (pg.330). Interestingly however, none of the 2012 literature
mentioned Hofstede’s additional dimension which was added in 2010; Indulgence versus Restraint (IVR), but this could
be due to the limited data collated for this dimension to date.
Starts by
opening the
debate
“significant
criticism” and
then
exemplifies this
“However..”
they are still
“being used”
but why is it??
Suggests a
reason for
omission of
information

38. Think about the language you use
Useful phrases to show critical analysis
• X’s research is not wholly persuasive because she overlooks
___________
• X’s theory of ___________ is extremely useful because it
sheds insight on the difficult problem of ___________
• Whereas X provides ample evidence that ___________, Y and
Z’s research on ___________ and ___________ is more
convincing in its argument that ___________ because
___________
• This suggests that ___________
• Conversely, it could be argued that ___________
Useful link: Manchester University
Phrasebank
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.
uk/being-critical/

39. Remember:
• Be selective in your sources and also in the ideas you use from them
• Use quotes sparingly and save them for terms or phrases that stand
out
• Synthesise as much as possible
• Be open to your research revealing unexpected conclusions – have an
open mind
• Use your writer’s voice so the reader can hear your views on the
literature
• Use cautious language (e.g. “this appears to show”, “possibly”,
“could”, “this may be because”. )

40. What’s next for you? Write an action plan
Don’t forget our Canvas Module has
a full range of resources to help you:
NCSKI01 Academic Writing ONLINE PLANNER:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/ai
/ask/index.php
TIME:
Work backwards from your
deadline and write a
timetable for your research