A Manual for Literature Review

Outline

 What Is Literature Review?  Why Do Literature Review?  The Steps of Literature Review  Tips for Literature Review  Last but not the least

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Japanese winner of Nobel prize in Chemistry

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What Is Literature Review?
“... a literature review uses as its database reports of primary or original scholarship, and does not report new primary scholarship itself. The primary reports used in the literature may be verbal, but in the vast majority of cases reports are written documents. The types of scholarship may be empirical, theoretical, critical/analytic, or methodological in nature. Second a literature review seeks to describe, summarize, evaluate, clarify and/or integrate the content of primary reports.”
Source: Cooper, H. M. (1988), “The structure of knowledge synthesis”, Knowledge in Society, Vol. 1, pp. 104-126

In a word, literature review is a critical summary and an assessment of the current state of knowledge or current state of the art in a particular field.
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Why Do Literature Review?

to let researchers and readers know the relationship between your research and former researches, including the strengths and weaknesses of former research
Literature review should be done around your research topic. However, it should be noted that literatures you reviewed may be related to your research in other aspects, like research questions, research target, concept framework, and/or method and procedure. Before finishing literature review, it is impossible for you to decide the definition of research questions and targets.

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Why Do Literature Review?
Several other purposes and benefits by doing literature review
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to avoid unfounded research and over repetition on the research already done by former researchers to identify gaps in the literature, to find new research frontiers, and to confirm how, where and by what way should your current research be done to increase existing knowledge to provide a train of thought and guidance for following situation:  how to solve the problems you may face
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technologies data sources other research methods you haven’t come into your mind
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The Steps of Literature Review

 Step 1: Define the problem
It is important to define the problem or area which you wish to address. Having a purpose for your literature review will narrow the scope of what you need to look for when you read.

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The Steps of Literature Review
 Step 2: Carry out a search for relevant materials
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books (monographs, text books, reference books); articles from journals, whether print or electronic (but make sure electronic journals have been subject to the peer review process); newspaper articles; historical records; commercial reports and statistical information; government reports and statistical information; theses and dissertations; other types of information which may be relevant to your particular discipline.
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The Steps of Literature Review
 Step 2: Carry out a search for relevant materials
In Tokyo Tech, there several ways to search literatures  Firstly, you can access the website: http://www.libra.titech.ac.jp/databases/ to find the related databases. For example, here are some common used databases:
CiNii
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EBSCO host

Engineering Village

SciFinder Web

Web of Science

Secondly, you can use the Google Scholar to search the literatures you are interested in. Some of these literatures are free, and some of them are free, but you can access them by the location of Tokyo Tech if Tokyo Tech has bought the databases.
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The Steps of Literature Review
 Step 2: Carry out a search for relevant materials
In Tokyo Tech, there several ways to search literatures  Thirdly, you can use Tokyo Tech Library. You can search the database first before you go to library.  Fourthly, if you find some literature is very helpful but not included in any database in Tokyo Tech, while other universities have it, you can go directly to the university or borrow it from Tokyo Tech Library.  Fifthly, there are many books in our lab and Prof. Miyazaki’s office. There should be some books matching your research. Or you can suggest some books or reports to buy.

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The Steps of Literature Review
 Step 3: Evaluate the literatures
This part of information comes from “www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/guides/write/literature.htm”

Initial appraisal from raw bibliographical data  What are the author's credentials, are they an expert in the field? Are they affiliated to a reputable organization?  What is the date of publication; is it sufficiently current or will knowledge have moved on?  If a book, is it the latest edition?
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Is the publisher a reputable, scholarly publisher? If it is a journal, is it a scholarly journal which has been peer reviewed?

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The Steps of Literature Review
 Step 3: Evaluate the literatures
This part of information comes from “www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/guides/write/literature.htm”

Appraisal based on content analysis:
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Is the writer addressing a scholarly audience? Does the author review the relevant literature? Does the author write from an objective viewpoint, and are their views based on facts rather than opinions? If the author uses research, is the design sound? Is it primary or secondary material? Does the author have a particular theoretical viewpoint, e.g. feminist? What is the relationship of this work to other material you have read on the same topic, does it substantiate it or add a different perspective? Is the author's argument logically organized and clear to follow? If the author is writing from a practice-based perspective, what are the implications for practice?
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The Steps of Literature Review

 Step 4: Analyze the findings
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What themes emerge and what conclusions can be drawn? What are the major similarities and differences between the various writers? Are there any significant questions which emerge and which could form a basis for further investigation?

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The Steps of Literature Review
 Step 5: Organize literature review
This part of information comes from “www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/guides/write/literature.htm”
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Introduction: define the topic, together with your reason for selecting the topic. You could also point out overall trends, gaps, particular themes that emerge, etc. Body: this is where you discuss your sources. Here are some ways in which you could organize your discussion: chronologically; thematically (take particular themes in the literature); methodologically(the focus is on the methods of the researcher)

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Conclusion: summarize the major contributions, evaluating the current position, and pointing out flaws in methodology, gaps in the research, contradictions, and areas for further study
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Tips for Literature Review
Use Literature, NOT show Literature: Literature review is not reading report; don’t just list what you read. You need to use literature, not show literature! You need to analyze these literatures including your comments. Don’t review many new and great prevalent theories before what have gone after your research! Literatures should be selected! 5C Principles: Comprehensive, Concise, Coherent, Cumulative and Critical.
(Flowerdew, R. (1997). Finding previous work on the topic. In R. Flowerdew & D.)

Quotations should be correct! Use relative softwares like reference manager JabRef and SciPlore Mindmapping to manage your literatures.
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Tips for Literature Review

Note for Sources You have to make clear information on the sources you are using!

Plagiarism is not allowed!

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Last but not the least
This is just a general information on literature review, not represent all related information.
What you need to do is “Do it as this guideline say and accumulate know-how when you do it”. There are many other more information in internet or papers on literature review. If you want to know more, please read more and practice it.

One example of literature review: Franco Malerba, 2007. Innovation and the dynamics and evolution of industries: Progress and challenges. International Journal of Industrial Organization 25, 675–699.
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