A literature review requires you to:
Doing a literature review benefits from a systematic approach. Before you start, make sure you have a system for keeping track of your reading and references; and a systematic way of making notes and synthesizing the information you gather.
See the 6 steps to a lit review below for tips and guidance.
Define your research question and scope - which topic or field are you examining and what are the main issues? What are you seeking to learn, highlight or discuss? Write this down.
Narrow down what you want to research - a narrower topic allows you to focus more deeply, rather than skimming the surface. You might find making mind maps and bullet lists useful, or doing a free-write to get main concepts, keywords and ideas on paper.
Once you have defined your topic, you will have identified:
Tips for defining your research topic:
a. Start with a general interest area: what subject or theme am I curious about? What issue, theory, practitioner, or movements do you want to explore?
b. Identify a specific focus within that area: break down your general topic into smaller parts; going from broad to specific.
Who: a community, group or specific practitioner?
What: a medium, aspect, theme, or idea?
Where: a geographic or cultural context?
When: a time period or movement
c. Define key concepts and keywords: this step is essential for searching the literature effectively. Split your ideas into key concepts and then brainstorm alternative words or synonyms:
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Concept
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Keywords
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installation art
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site-specific art; immersive art
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memory
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autobiographical experience; nostalgia, personal history
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objects
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materiality; found objects, everyday things
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d. Turn your topic into a searchable question - make it something you can investigate and find an answer to, not just describe. How does X explore Y in the context of Z? or What role does X play in Y related to Z?
Search for relevant literature using the Library, search engines and other sources - where and how will you find materials relevant to your topic? How will you select, keep track and organise sources and references?
Once you have defined your topic (see Step 1), you will have identified and written down:
These form the basis of your database search using Falmouth -Library and Archives search and search engines like Google or DuckDuckGo. You can mix and match keywords with Boolean operators like:
Some more tips for this step are:
IMPORTANT: Doing a literature review benefits from a systematic approach. Before you get started on this step, make sure you have a system for keeping track of your reading and references; and a systematic way of making notes and synthesizing the information you gather.
Being systematic will help you pull together relevant, focused sources - instead of endless browsing.
See the LibGuide to Referencing Management Tools and the LibGuide for Reading and Notetaking for advice.
As you search, start recording in a synthesis matrix.
A synthesis matrix is a way of using a table to organise what each source says about specific themes or questions related to your topic. It can help you compare ideas across multiple sources; spot patterns, debates or contradictions; start to group your lit review thematically, not just one source at a time.
See Step 3 for an example.
Read, evaluate and critically analyse the selected sources, taking notes on key findings and ideas - deciding which texts make a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic and why; recording this in your notes.
As you search, start recording in a synthesis matrix. A synthesis matrix is a way of using a table to organise what each source says about specific themes or questions related to your topic. It can help you compare ideas across multiple sources; spot patterns, debates or contradictions; prepare to group your lit review thematically, not just one source at a time.
You're not just reading and summarising each article, you're pulling out information by theme so you can compare them side by side.
Organise and synthesize the information and ideas and identify common themes and patterns - explore the findings and conclusions of the texts in relation to each other, highlighting agreement and conflict, evaluating similarities and divergences.
Using a synthesis matrix (see last step) means your review becomes:
As you read and add to the matrix, ask yourself:
Structure and draft the literature review, including an introduction, body, and conclusion that summarizes the main findings and their implications for future research - the first draft is for you to figure out what it all means for your research, the redraft is for you to make this clear for your reader!
Aim to guide your reader along a clear path through the literature so they have a clear understanding of the landscape or research field.
Start your review by introducing the topic and the scope of what you are exploring and why it is important or relevant. Introduce your research question or focus and give a brief idea of how you have organised the review.
How you structure the body of your review depends on what you have found by reviewing the literature and your research focus. You might structure your review around themes, ideas or debates, for example and break the review into sections with headings. Here are some examples:
In each section, you might find that you summarise and synthesize the key points from the literature:
You will need to conclude your review by summarising the main insights of the review, pointing out any gaps or opportunities for future research and showing how it connects to your own creative and academic direction.
Check that your in-text citations and references are accurate and complete, that there are no spelling or grammatical errors, that the formatting is in keeping with your module requirements and that your writing flows.
When you review your lit review, check that you have addressed these questions:
