Doing Your Literature Review

Jill Jesson entered higher education as a mature student. Shewon a First Class Honours BSc in Behavioural Science, and in 1988 was awardedher PhD for a pioneering doctoral thesis on black businesses, both from Aston University.Since then she has worked with multi-disciplinary research teams within theAston School of Pharmacy, AstonBusiness Schooland with M-E-L Research, an independent public services research consultancy.Her publications cover community pharmacy practice, public health and socialcare. Her special interest in literature review and the idea for this bookdeveloped as a result of teaching applied research to pharmacy undergraduatesand Business School Masters students. LydiaMatheson is an Information Specialist working for Library & InformationServices at AstonUniversity.  Sheundertook her BA Honours in English at YorkUniversity and her PG Diploma inLibrarianship at the Universityof Central England. Her current role includes supporting business school students and developingthe library’s online learning module for staff and students.  She iscurrently Secretary of the Business Librarians Association and a member ofCILIP.  Before 2002,  she worked on Stories from the Web forBirmingham Libraries and the SENCO Electronic Communications Project for theNational Council for Educational Technology. Fiona M. Lacey is a Glasgownative and graduate in Pharmacy, from Strathclyde University.She has been a registered pharmacist since 1982, practicing mainly in communitypharmacy. Following a PhD in pharmacology, she gained post doctoral experienceof R&D as a laboratory scientist in a UK-based multinational pharmaceuticalcompany. She has been at AstonUniversity since 1997,where she has taught various scientific and professional aspects of Pharmacy toundergraduate and postgraduate students. Her interest in literature review andthe systematic review came through years of supervising student researchprojects. She is currently Associate Dean in the School of Life and HealthSciences at Aston University.

′Tasks, tips, examples, figures and summaries in each chapter give the book a "self-guided" feel appropriate in a textbook, and the language is rarely arcane. Four useful appendices and a fine index complete the work. Overall, this is a sound guide for the absolute neophyte in how to create useable literature reviews. Part 2 is especially recommended as a good discussion of the ways and means of writing reviews. The work is useful for students at most levels, and for those who teach research methods and want a clear guide for literature reviews for their reading lists′ -G. E. GormanOnline Information Review

• IntroductionWho is this book for? How is this book different?The rationale and history behind the contributions from a researcher and from an information specialistFeatures of the bookLayout of the book PART ONE: GETTING INFORMATION PreliminariesWhat is a literature review?Terminology used in this bookDifferent styles of review Two styles or approaches A critical approach Knowledge and literature Why and when will you need to review the literature? The research question and the literature reviewWhat is appropriate literature? Choosing which style of review: a traditional narrative review or a systematic reviewProject management Searching for InformationIntroductionDevelop online searches by identifying key words and creating a search recordThe range of information sources available for complex searches.What do you need from a resource to make it appropriate for locating journal articles for your review? Reading SkillsIntroductionBe analytical in your readingWhere to startReading techniques - scan, skim and understandReading different types of material Grey literature: non academic sources and policy reportsRecording and note making From Making Notes to Writing IntroductionNote-makingFrom notes to writing Writing - critical writing and types of argumentMaking a value judgment and bias PART TWO: USING INFORMATION The Traditional Review Overview of the debateTypes of review: critical, conceptual state of the art, expert and scopingDraw up an analytical framework - how to sort the material Moving to analysis and synthesisThe presentation of your review Summarizing the gap - dare to have an opinion. Writing up Your ReviewOverviewA short summaryA self-standing review Abstract, executive summary and annotated bibliography Writing the reviewKey words or phrases to help you move from stage 1 to stage 2The ′so what′ question, originality and making a value judgmentThe Systematic ReviewOverviewDefinitions Development of the review protocol Formulating the review question Documenting your progressLocating studies and sources of informationSelecting studies: inclusion and exclusion criteriaAppraisal - assessing the quality of research Data extraction Synthesis, drawing conclusions, what the review shows Evolving formats of systematic review Meta- AnalysisOverviewWhat is meta-analysis?Can I use meta-analysis to summarise the results of my systematic review?Undertaking your meta-analysisDisplaying the results of a meta-analysisIs your meta-analysis free from bias?Performing a sensitivity analysis Referencing and PlagiarismIntroductionWhy is referencing important?What do you need to reference?How many references should I provide? When and how to reference Referencing systemsWhere to find citation information you need Plagiarism Copyright Conclusion Summary Appendices Appendix 1: Further reading Appendix 2: Critical review checklist Appendix 3: Systematic review online resourcesAppendix 4: Resources for meta-analysis Glossary