Guidelines for Dissecting a Survey Paper
Contribution
What does the author aim to accomplish or contribute to the literature by writing this survey article? If the intended contribution is not explicitly stated, what do you think the author intended to contribute?
Scope of the survey
What is the scope of literature reviewed in the paper?
Does the author state clearly the criteria used in selecting papers? If not, what criteria do you think the author actually used?
Context
Does the author help you in understanding how the body of selected papers fits into a larger topic that includes both those papers that are selected (papers inside the defined boundary of literature) and those that are not (papers outside the boundary)?
Type of papers
Are the papers reviewed mainly theoretical, empirical, policy oriented?
Categories
Does the author have a clear and defendable framework for categorizing papers by themes? If so, do you think the author’s categories are useful. If not, what categories do you think would have been useful?
Does the survey provide a typology useful in categorizing other articles within the literature?
Style
In individual papers and the relevant body of literature, is the survey mainly descriptive (i.e., focuses on what was actually done) or critical (i.e., evaluates the soundness of what was done and possibly suggests alternatives).
Detail
Does the author give enough detail to help you understand the key contributions of each paper, theory, viewpoint, or method?
Insights
Does the author give you new insights about the survey topic that you may not have gotten simply by reading the papers yourself? If so, what are these insight(s).
What new research topics (or sub-topics), hypotheses, theories, methods, or data did this glean from this paper?
Does the survey synthesize the literature in a new and innovative way?
Comprehensiveness
In your view, did the author include all of the important papers within the scope of literature... [continues]
Contribution
What does the author aim to accomplish or contribute to the literature by writing this survey article? If the intended contribution is not explicitly stated, what do you think the author intended to contribute?
Scope of the survey
What is the scope of literature reviewed in the paper?
Does the author state clearly the criteria used in selecting papers? If not, what criteria do you think the author actually used?
Context
Does the author help you in understanding how the body of selected papers fits into a larger topic that includes both those papers that are selected (papers inside the defined boundary of literature) and those that are not (papers outside the boundary)?
Type of papers
Are the papers reviewed mainly theoretical, empirical, policy oriented?
Categories
Does the author have a clear and defendable framework for categorizing papers by themes? If so, do you think the author’s categories are useful. If not, what categories do you think would have been useful?
Does the survey provide a typology useful in categorizing other articles within the literature?
Style
In individual papers and the relevant body of literature, is the survey mainly descriptive (i.e., focuses on what was actually done) or critical (i.e., evaluates the soundness of what was done and possibly suggests alternatives).
Detail
Does the author give enough detail to help you understand the key contributions of each paper, theory, viewpoint, or method?
Insights
Does the author give you new insights about the survey topic that you may not have gotten simply by reading the papers yourself? If so, what are these insight(s).
What new research topics (or sub-topics), hypotheses, theories, methods, or data did this glean from this paper?
Does the survey synthesize the literature in a new and innovative way?
Comprehensiveness
In your view, did the author include all of the important papers within the scope of literature... [continues]
Cite This Essay
- APA
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(2011, 04). Guidelines for Dissecting a Survey Paper. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 04, 2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Guidelines-For-Dissecting-A-Survey-Paper-660467.html
- MLA
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"Guidelines for Dissecting a Survey Paper" StudyMode.com. 04 2011. 04 2011 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Guidelines-For-Dissecting-A-Survey-Paper-660467.html>.
- CHICAGO
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"Guidelines for Dissecting a Survey Paper." StudyMode.com. 04, 2011. Accessed 04, 2011. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Guidelines-For-Dissecting-A-Survey-Paper-660467.html.
