论文写作文献综述

1、1 Writing A Literature Review WANG Yan School of International Studies UIBE What is a literature review? Definition: An account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Literature reviews are written occasionally in the humanities, but mostly in the sciences and

2、social sciences A literature review often constitutes a section of the paper, part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In a graduation thesis, it should be a separate chapter. Sometimes a literature review can be written as a paper in itself. Occasionally students will be as

3、ked to write one as a separate assignment. Literature review vs. Academic research paper An academic research paper: The focus is to develop a new argument contains a literature review as one of its parts uses the literature as a foundation and support for a new insight that the writer contributes A

4、 literature review: The focus is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions. 2 Functions of literature reviews Act as a stepping stone to a field of study Provide you with a handy guide to a particular topic Give you an overview of the research fin

5、dings in the field Keep you up to date with what is current in the field as useful reports Provide a solid background and comprehensive knowledge for a research papers investigation Indicate the credibility of the writer in the field Writing a literature review As a piece of writing, the literature

6、review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their str

7、engths and weaknesses are. Approach it with the inquiries about the key concepts, the established theories, the existing body of knowledge, the controversial issues, the views that need to be tested, and the areas that can be further investigated. Writing a literature review Critically look at the e

8、xisting research relevant to your question in order to Identify the problem Develop a hypothesis Develop a method It is not just a summary of a series of research papers, nor a descriptive list of all material available. You must evaluate the research papers, show the relationships between different

9、 works, identify the gap in the existing research, and lead to your research questions. 3 Skills you can gain and demonstrate Besides enlarging your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review can help you gain and demonstrate at least three skills: Information seeking: the ability to sca

10、n the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books Critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies Creative thinking: the ability to propose new ideas and find new methods to invest

11、igate problems from new angles A literature review must: be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research questions you are developing synthesize results into a summary of what is known and what is not known identify areas of controversy in the literature formulate questions that n

12、eed further research Features of Literature Reviews Thorough: include all key articles Informative: clearly define all concepts Critical: find weakness of previous study Innovative: propose new ideas, new constructs and new relationship among concepts Timely: review the latest articles Balanced: iss

13、ues, types 4 Types of Literature Reviews Classified by research purpose and research focus: 动态性综述(developmental review) 成就性综述(result review) 争鸣性综述(contentious review) Classified by time: 回顾性综述(retrospective review) 前瞻性综述(prospective review) Classified by the authors participation： 评论性综述(critical rev

14、iew) 归纳性综述(inductive review) Structure of a Literature Review 1. 引言引言(introduction) 2. 述评述评(review) 3. 结论结论(conclusion) 1. Introduction引言引言 Content of the Introduction Your research problem the topic, the definition of concepts, scientific principles underlying the topic Scope and content of the lit

15、erature review the research background, the existing problems or discrepancies, the scope of the literature review, different points of view of relevant literature Purpose of your research your research question actual or potential applications 5 1. Introduction引言引言 Language of the Introduction Styl

16、e: simple and concise Tense: Research background: simple present tense Others works: present perfect tense/simple past tense The content of your paper: simple present tense/simple future tense Sentence structure: Simple and concise, simple sentence, parallel structure Person: Subject: third person,

17、or first person (plural) 1. Introduction引言引言 Useful Expressions Definition or explanation: is defined as/has been defined as Referring to sth.: By, it is meant/ By,we mean refers to, includes is/can be classified into There arekinds of Purpose: The purpose/aim/object of this review is to In this rev

18、iew, we aim to highlight No attempt will be made to convince the reader that Useful Expressions Content: This article reviews/We review This review will concentrate on We will focus on This review focuses on The following paper reviews In the following, a brief review is given of/about 1. Introducti

19、on引言引言 6 Useful Expressions Background and Problems: It has been found/reported/proved that It is generally recognized/agreed/accepted that It is thought/regarded/considered that remains an unsolved problem. Two theories have been postulated to explain The first theory proposes that, whereas the sec

20、ond theory indicates that Some papers have reported that; however, other groups have disputed these findings. Several initial studies seemed to support his concept. 1. Introduction引言引言 2. Review述评述评 Function: The core of the literature review The expansion of the introduction. Length and organizatio

21、n: Usually very long Should be divided into several parts with subheadings Proceeds from general to specific, from past to present, from others points of view to the authors own. 2. Review述评述评 Content of the review: Based on the problem and scope mentioned in the introduction, the review part should

22、 give a summary of a number of relevant works, do a comparative analysis, and make comments on the major points of view in each work around the topic, so that the readers may have a comprehensive understanding of the research. 7 2. Review述评述评 Notes: Review the creative points, the research findings

23、and conclusions of the works, rather than the materials, research methods and processes. Comment on the contributions of others works, explore the reasons, and discuss the limitations. Be objective and cautious when expressing your own points of view. Summarize the controversial ideas, and let the r

24、eaders make their own judgments. Useful Expressions Points of view (others: objective): Studies show that Most researchers agree that It is (has been) found that/sb. found that It is (has been) reported that It has been pointed out that It has been proved/ showed that It has been observed that It is

25、 asserted that 2. Review述评述评 Useful Expressions Points of view (with your judgment): It must be admitted that It must be emphasized/stressed that It must be pointed out that It should be made clear that It should be added that An interesting finding is that Nothing is more important than the fact th

26、at A more important fact is that It need not be said that I am of the opinion that 2. Review述评述评 8 Useful Expressions Possibilities: It may be safely said that It can be seen from this that It is (not) possible/probable/likely that It stands to reason that There is no doubt that It is obvious/clear/

27、apparent/evident that There is no proof of 2. Review述评述评 Useful Expressions Comparison and contrast: Sentence patterns: There are some/a few/many differences (similarities) between A and B. A differs from B / A is different from B in three aspects. One difference (similarity) lies in/seems to be/is

28、that Words and phrases: on the contrary, in contrast, in comparison, on the other hand be like (unlike), just as, be the same as similarly, differently, likewise while, whereas, yet, but, however 2. Review述评述评 3. Conclusion结论结论 Function: a summary of the literature review a section for the author to

29、 express his/her own opinions Content: The summary of the reviews in the review part The comments on the issues mentioned above The suggestions or expectations for future studies Form: Usually with a subheading, such as “Summary” For a short literature review without subheadings, the conclusion part

30、 usually begins with phrases like: “As mentioned above”， “To sum up”，“To conclude”，“In short”，“In all”, etc. The summary of the reviews can be written in bullet-point form. 9 3. Conclusion结论结论 Language in the Conclusion Emphasizing the current situation and the research results achieved so far Prese

31、nt tense and present perfect tense The expressions of comparison and evaluation are frequently used. Critically Analyzing the Literature Abstract Statement of the Problem Hypotheses or Research Questions Method Results and findings Discussion Conclusion Before writing the literature review Check the

32、 following issues : The purpose of your research: The problem, specific thesis or research question The type of literature review you are conducting: Theory or methodology The scope of your literature review (information seeking): The discipline you are working in Types of publications Adequate numb

33、er of sources The breadth and depth of the search The critical analysis of the literature: comparison and evaluation controversial issues Relevance, appropriateness and usefulness of the studies you review 10 Before writing the literature review Examine each book or article you include from the foll

34、owing perspectives: Definition of the problem/issue Significance of the research Research orientation (e.g., interpretive, analytical, reasoning, combination) Research design and methodology Structure and reasoning Novel ideas and contributions Implications of the findings Possibility to approach th

35、e problem more effectively from another perspective Prepare to write the literature review 1. Clarify the basic requirements Decide the type and the number of sources to be included Seek clarification from your instructor whether you should summarize, synthesize, evaluate or criticize your sources b

36、y discussing a common theme or issue 2. Find models Refer to other literature reviews, the bibliography or reference section of sources, and get a sense of the organization and style of this type of writing 3. Narrow your search Find and determine quickly the most seminal pieces in the field among t

37、housands of references Consult your supervisor and tap into your professors knowledge in the field. 4. Consider whether your sources are current Determine the relative currency requirement in your field (natural sciences, history, social sciences or the humanities) Examine some other current bibliog

38、raphies or literature reviews to get a sense of what your discipline expects, and to consider what is currently of interest to scholars in this field and what is not. Strategies for Writing the Literature Review 1. Find a focus Do not just simply list your sources and go into detail about each one o

39、f them. Read widely but selectively in your topic area and consider what themes or issues connect your sources together. Pick one of these themes to focus the organization of your review. 2. Construct a working thesis statement Then use the focus youve found to construct a thesis statement which sho

40、uld argue for a particular perspective on the material, rather than argue for a position or an opinion. e.g.: More and more scholars in cultural studies are accepting popular media as a subject worthy of academic consideration. 3. Consider organization Develop an organization for your review at both

41、 a global and local level, containing the three basic elements: an introduction, the body of the review, and a conclusion 11 Begin Composing 1. Use evidence 2. Be selective 3. Use quotes sparingly 4. Summarize and Synthesize 5. Keep your own voice 6. Be cautious when paraphrasing 7. Revise, revise a

42、nd revise Literature Review of Graduation Thesis for English Majors (BA) Language and length of a literature review: About 1000 words in English Cited sources in a literature review A. Number of cited sources (more than 20) B. Cite and quote when necessary C. List all the cited sources in the refere

43、nce list D. Use in-text citations(夹注) In-text citations 夹注夹注 (parenthetical citations) e.g.: Conceptually, motivation is seen as “the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitude toward learning language” (Gardner, 1985, p.10). Based on diffe

44、rent findings, it is proposed that “the type of motivation and its strength are likely to be determined less by some generalized principle and more by who learns what in what milieu” (Laser-Freeman (2) how, in his language particularly, he avoids a “black and white”, right/wrong type of judgment of

45、the positions he reviews A sample of literature review Language and gender: A brief literature review With the general growth of feminist work in many academic fields, it is hardly surprising that the relationship between language and gender has attracted considerable attention in recent years. In a

46、n attempt to go beyond “folk-linguistic” assumptions about how men and women use language (the assumption that women are “talkative”, for example), studies have focused on anything from different syntactical, phonological or lexical uses of language to aspects of conversation analysis, such as topic

47、 nomination and control, interruptions and other interactional features. While some research has focused only on the description of differences, other work has sought to show how linguistic differences both reflect and reproduce social difference. Accordingly, Coates (1988) suggests that research on

48、 language and gender can be divided into studies that focus on dominance and those that focus on difference. A Sample of literature review Much of the earlier work emphasized dominance. Lakoffs (1975) pioneering work suggested that womens speech typically displayed a range of features, such as tag q

49、uestions, which marked it as inferior and weak. Thus, she argued that the type of subordinate speech learned by a young girl “will later be an excuse others use to keep her in a demeaning position, to refuse to treat her seriously as a human being” (1975, p.5). While there are clearly some problems with Lakoffs work her analysis was not based on empirical research, for example, and the automatic equation of subordinate with “weak” is problematic the emphasis on dominance has understandably remained at the Centre of much of t