Dissertations: writing your literature review

1. Dissertations: writing your literature review Dr Jessica Hancock Lecturer in Academic Development

2. During this video you will learn about: • What makes a good literature review • The lit review writing process jessica.hancock@gcu.ac.uk londonadt.youcanbook.me

3. The literature review

4. A lit review scaffolds your research • Clear and balanced • Demonstrates knowledge • Context and rationale • Tells a story

5. You can also think of it like baking … Ingredients: Themes Debates Theories Seminal research

6. The outcome is your research project

7. Lit review process

8. Planning a lit review • Structure – chronology/ themes • Manage and shape research process • Similar to other academic writing

9. Organising your research • Write summaries - one piece of paper • Categorise and sort • Create subheadings/ themes • Where are the gaps?

10. Describing research

11. What does your reader need to know? • What the research is about • Your analysis of the research • The significance: • Relationship to your research • Relationship to other research • Anticipate their questions: • What’s your point? • What’s your evidence? • So what?

15. The source attractiveness model suggests that consumers have a more positive response to attractive people and the effectiveness of the message depends on the similarity, familiarity and liking for an endorser (McGuire, 1985). Therefore attractive celebrities may be more successful in changing beliefs, and generate purchase intention (Carroll, 2009). However Ohanian (1991) points out that most celebrities are attractive and hence the overall impact of this variable might be weak. Equally, Erdogan (1999) notes that while attractive celebrities may enhance attitudes towards advertising and brands, whether they are able to create purchase intentions is ambiguous.

16. Remember DISCO? In a lit review, use your description and conclusion sentences to: • Draw connections • Contextualise the research • Clarify the sources’ contribution

17. Description sentence examples • A major theme for this study is X, because... • The studies on X are particularly relevant to the aim of... • Some authors have mainly been interested in questions concerning X and Y (Smith, 2001; Jones …) • Much of the available literature on X deals with the question of … • http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk

18. Make these sentences more concise • UK studies in the last 30 years (Orange, 1987; Blue, 2001; Yellow, 2015)investigating the key criteria influencing current account provider selection for the general population and for students indicate a reduction in the range of search strategies used by students when selecting a current account provider. • More recent studies indicate the dominance of recommendation as an influencing factor over other criteria. In their discussion Tank and Tyler (2005) noted that average student debt had increased since Thwaites and Vere’s (1995) earlier study. • Post your updated versions here: https://padlet.com/jessica_hancock1/xnwgeoh6gb9g

19. My new versions • UK studies, in the last thirty years (Orange, 1987; Blue, 2001; Yellow, 2015), indicate a reduction in the range of search strategies used by students to select a current account provider. • More recent studies indicate the dominance of recommendation as an influencing factor. Tank and Tyler (2005) note that average student debt had increased since Thwaites and Vere’s (1995) study.

20. Read other literature reviews!