Writing a Literature Review for
Engineers
Sue Wainscott
STEM Librarian, UNLV Libraries
Julie Longo
Technical Communications, Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering
[email protected]
HOW TO CONDUCT A QUALITY LITERATURE SEARCH
 Purpose of a literature review
 Getting started
 Search strategies
 Keeping up to date
 Organizing your material
 Reading and evaluating your material
 When are you finished with your literature search?
HOW TO WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW
 Refresher: How to read a paper critically
 Levels of writing a literature review
 How to organize your material before writing
 Writing a Level I literature review: biblographic annotation
 Writing a Level 2 literature review: contrast and compare
Contents
 Writing a Level 3: integration and synthesis
These workshops count towards the Graduate College
Research Certificate Program.
You may want to apply for this program.
Introductions
• Please introduce yourself to the group, including:
• Your name
• Your department
Image from https://www.flickr.com/photos/29792566@N08/6140852961
When you hear
the phrase
“literature
review” what
words come to
mind?
Type your answers here:
http://padlet.com/sue_wainscott/litrev
Any & all!
Good, bad,
indifferent…
Brainstorming!
Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brainstorming.png
http://padlet.com/sue_wainscott/litrev
Purpose of a Literature (Lit.) Review
• Demonstrate your knowledge
• Explain how your research fits into the
context of what is already known
• Determine if your research idea is new
and interesting
• Give credit to and summarize the work
of the other researchers who have
written about the topic
Image from https://pixabay.com/en/question-mark-question-response-1019820/
Getting Started with Your Lit. Review
• What is the main purpose of
this literature review?
• Who is your target audience?
• What will the final product be?
•
•
•
•
Thesis or dissertation
Journal article
Grant proposal
Technical report
Image from https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/14922664313
Small Group Activity!
Image from: https://pixabay.com/en/exchange-of-ideas-debate-discussion-222788/
Activity: Strategies for Lit. Reviews
1. Think about how you have approached a
literature review (with a written product) in the
past.
2. Share with your group some of the strategies you
think work best to accomplish one of the below
tasks:
•
•
•
•
search for information resources
evaluate those resources
take notes on what you read
organize the notes and resources you read
Activity: Strategies for Lit. Reviews
1. Think about how you have approached a literature
review (with a written product) in the past.
2. Share with your group some of the strategies you think
work best to accomplish one of the below tasks:
3. As a group, choose one spokesperson.
4. Share ideas with the whole room.
•
•
•
•
search for information resources
evaluate those resources
take notes on what you read
organize the notes and resources you read
http://padlet.com/sue_wainscott/litrev1
Search in order to tell a Story
A good newspaper article story answers:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Image from: https://pixabay.com/en/newspaper-news-journal-headline-152320/
Search in order to tell a Story
A good literature review (story) ALSO answers:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Useful words for a
Keyword Search
Search Strategies
•
•
•
•
•
Keywords
AND, OR, NOT, *, and “”
Author searching
Look for review articles
Subject Headings, linked
keyword lists
• Footnote chasing / using
bibliographies
• Citation tracking (Web of
Science & Scopus)
• Keep track of where you’ve
looked, what keywords you
used.
Image from: https://pixabay.com/en/sherlock-holmes-detective-462978/
Where you Look is Important
• What is a database?
• Advantages of using multiple databases?
• Subject specific
• Multi-disciplinary
• Search in multiple databases
• Discovery Tools :
• UNLV Libraries Quick Search
• Google Scholar
More than journal articles
Other Sources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conference papers and proceedings
Standards manuals / handbooks (current and older)
Chemical and materials property data sources
Government agency technical reports
Professional association magazine articles
Company and trade association white papers
Patent applications and patent documents
Data sets
Keeping Up To Date
• Search alerts in
databases
• Table of Contents (TOC)
alerts
• RSS Feeds for journal
and other webpages
Image from: https://pixabay.com/en/alarm-clock-clock-time-minute-hour-590383/
Organizing
•
•
•
•
•
•
RefWorks
Mendeley
Zotero
EndNote
3x5 cards
BibTeX
Image from:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Don%27t_kill_your_reputation%2C_organize_your_information_-_NARA_-_518156.jpg
When is it time to stop searching?
•
•
•
•
Recurring authors
Recurring institutions, labs
Recurring settings for experiments/measurements
Recurring methods or results
 Patterns that let you know
you are done with your
search
 Law of diminishing returns
 Materials found are too
old
 (OR you run out of time…)
Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newport_Hill_Climb_finish_line.png
Sue Wainscott
[email protected]
702-895-2262
UNLV Libraries home page
(http://library.unlv.edu)
Image from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/travelinlibrarian/223839049
HOW TO WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW




Refresher: How to Read a Paper Critically
Levels of writing a literature review
How to organize your material before writing
Writing a Level I literature review: bibliographic
annotation
 Writing a Level 2 literature review: compare and
contrast
 Writing a Level 3 literature review: Integration and
synthesis
This means you must question everything!!!
Scan:
Title,
abstract,
figures, and
tables
If this paper
looks
promising, do
a thorough
read.
Do you agree
with the
results?
Do you have
questions?
Read the
introduction
to get a sense
of the study’s
goals.
Quickly read
through the
methodology
and results.
How to Read a Paper Critically
A THOROUGH READ OF A PAPER
MEANS ARMING YOURSELF WITH:
 Post-it notes
 Highlighter
 Ruler
 Any other tools to make sure you
gain understanding of the subject
(website links, thesaurus, etc.)
 This assumes you will read hard
copy, not online
 Having a favorite chair and favorite
drink (coffee, hot chocolate, soda)
often helps this process!
 The point is: you are reading,
challenging, and dialoguing with the
authors!
How to Read a Paper Critically
http://lakerlutznews.com/lln/?p=18684
A classic:
How to Read a Book
Adler and van Doren
ISBN-13: 004-2516291251
ISBN-10: 0671212095
How to Read a Paper Critically
Level I: Basic Assessment





Tabulate
Select
Find the patterns
Categorize (subheads)
Describe
This is also known as a bibliographic annotation.
This level is author-centric.
Levels of Writing a Literature Review
Level I: Basic Assessment





Tabulate
Select
Find the patterns
Categorize (subheads)
Describe
Level I: Basic Assessment
Author / Date
Pautasso, M. / 2013
Taylor-Powell, E.
and Renner, M. /
2003
Webster, J and
Watson, JT / 2002
Torraco, RJ / 2005
Title
Description
Ten Simple Rules for Writing a
Literature Review
• Most researchers in the sciences do not plan how to write a literature
review
• Graphically describes the types of literature reviews
• States 10 rules in writing a good literature review.
Analyzing Qualitative Data
• Qualitative Analysis or Content Analysis -- another name for
Literature Review?
• Includes papers, video, photos, other forms of data.
• Five steps: know your data, understand what you want to analyze,
organize your data, find the pattern among data sets, synthesize and
interpret.
Analyzing the Past to Prepare for
the Future: Writing a Literature
Review
• The need for a ‘plot’ or theme
• Emphasis on how to conduct a “complete” search
• Two types of literature reviews: one centers on concepts (synthesis)
and the other centers on authors
• Find the patterns and address the knowledge gaps
• Evaluate your own assessment to see if it is solid
Writing Integrative Literature
Reviews: Guidelines and
Examples
• “Integrative literature reviews...generate new knowledge about the
topic reviewed.”
• Reviews, synthesizes, and integrates material
• Organize ideas around topics with a rich source of literature; address
the gaps for emerging topics.
• What is the contribution of the literature review? What is the point or
the need?
• Concept structuring and traditional step in writing a literature review
• What sets an integrative LR apart: critical thinking and advanced
synthesis
Level I: Basic Assessment
Level I: Basic Assessment
 Tabulate
 Select
− What do you want your paper to accomplish?
− What is the focus of your study?
− Find the literature that most closely pertains to your study
and use those.
− Work with your faculty advisor
In my literature review, I want to define the three levels of
writing a literature review.
Level I: Basic Assessment
Level I: Basic Assessment





Tabulate
Select
Find the patterns
Categorize (subheads)
Describe
Level I: Basic Assessment
Author / Date
Pautasso, M. / 2013
Taylor-Powell, E.
and Renner, M. /
2003
Webster, J and
Watson, JT / 2002
Torraco, RJ / 2005
Title
Description
Ten Simple Rules for
Writing a Literature
Review
• Most researchers in the sciences do not plan how to write a literature review
• Graphically describes the types of literature reviews
• States 10 rules in writing a good literature review.
Analyzing Qualitative
Data
• Qualitative Analysis or Content Analysis -- another name for Literature
Review?
• Includes papers, video, photos, other forms of data.
• Five steps: know your data, understand what you want to analyze, organize
your data, find the pattern among data sets, synthesize and interpret.
Analyzing the Past to
Prepare for the Future:
Writing a Literature
Review
• The need for a ‘plot’ or theme
• Emphasis on how to conduct a “complete” search
• Two types of literature reviews: one centers on concepts (synthesis) and the
other centers on authors
• Find the patterns and address the knowledge gaps
• Evaluate your own assessment to see if it is solid
Writing Integrative
Literature Reviews:
Guidelines and Examples
• “Integrative literature reviews...generate new knowledge about the topic
reviewed.”
• Reviews, synthesizes, and integrates material
• Organize ideas around topics with a rich source of literature; address the gaps
for emerging topics.
• What is the contribution of the literature review? What is the point or the
need?
• Concept structuring and traditional step in writing a literature review
• What sets an integrative LR apart: critical thinking and advanced synthesis
Level I: Basic Assessment
Author / Date
Pautasso, M. / 2013
Taylor-Powell, E.
and Renner, M. /
2003
Webster, J and
Watson, JT / 2002
Torraco, RJ / 2005
Title
Description
Ten Simple Rules for
Writing a Literature
Review
• Most researchers in the sciences do not plan how to write a literature review
• Graphically describes the types of literature reviews to identify what kind of
review to write
• States 10 rules in writing a good literature review.
Analyzing Qualitative
Data
• Qualitative Analysis or Content Analysis -- another name for Literature
Review?
• Includes papers, video, photos, other forms of data.
• Five steps: know your data, understand what you want to analyze, organize
your data, find the pattern among data sets, synthesize and interpret.
Analyzing the Past to
Prepare for the Future:
Writing a Literature
Review
• The need for a ‘plot’ or theme
• Emphasis on how to conduct a “complete” search
• Two types of literature reviews: one centers on concepts (synthesis) and the
other centers on authors
• Find the patterns and address the knowledge gaps
• Evaluate your own assessment to see if it is solid
Writing Integrative
Literature Reviews:
Guidelines and Examples
• “Integrative literature reviews...generate new knowledge about the topic
reviewed.”
• Reviews, synthesizes, and integrates material
• Organize ideas around topics with a rich source of literature; address the gaps
for emerging topics.
• What is the contribution of the literature review? What is the point or the
need?
• Concept structuring and traditional step in writing a literature review
• What sets an integrative LR apart: critical thinking and advanced synthesis
Level I: Basic Assessment
Level I: Basic Assessment
 Tabulate
 Select
 Find the patterns
 Categorize (subheads)
 Describe
₋ In your own words or
₋ Quoted appropriately
Level I: Basic Assessment
Taylor-Powell, E. and
Renner, M. / 2003
Analyzing
Qualitative Data
• Qualitative Analysis or Content Analysis -- another name for Literature Review?
• Includes papers, video, photos, other forms of data.
• Five steps: know your data, understand what you want to analyze, organize your data, find
the pattern among data sets, synthesize and interpret.
Taylor-Powell, E. and Renner, M. (2003). Analyzing qualitative data. Madison, WI:
University of Wisconsin Extension. Retrieved from
http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/G3658-12.pdf
Taylor-Powell and Renner (2003) discussed a systematic approach to organize and
describe qualitative information, in other words, information that is not in numerical
format. This includes describing the literature regarding a specific topic, results of written
answers in surveys, issues discussed in forums, and anecdotal material, and more. The
material could be written, spoken, or in video, photos, or other forms of media.
These authors emphasize identifying the patterns and organizing the data in categories, an
undertaking that the authors point out is “fairly labor intensive depending on the amount
of data you have” (Taylor-Powell and Renner, 2003), and crucial to the total effort. Once
the categories are established, they state the next step is to find the patterns existing
among the categories. This is the starting point in finding a way to synthesize the material
into a coherent literature review.
Example of a Level 1 literature review (author-centric)
Exercise:
 Each using their own literature search material, create a
table of three of the papers with Names of Authors,
Title of Paper, and three to five key bullet points for
each paper.
 We will give you about 10 minutes to do this.
 When you are finished, have another person review
your table and give feedback.
Level I: Basic Assessment
Level 1: Basic Assessment
 Not really considered a true literature review
 Also known as:
₋ Author-centric literature review
₋ Bibliographic Annotation
₋ This is the level we expect from undergraduates.
 We want to move you from Level 1 to Level 2, which is
where graduate students should be.
 Post-docs and Faculty should be able to write a literature
review at Level 3.
Level I: Basic Assessment
Cayla Buttram, David MacMillan III, & Dr. R.T. Koch, Jr. Updated November 2012. University of North Alabama,
Center for Writing Excellence.
http://www.una.edu/writingcenter/docs/Writing-Resources/Comparing%20the%20Annotated%20Bibliography%20to%20the%20Literature%20Review.pdf
Level I: Basic Assessment
Level 2: Compare: Compare and Contrast
 Tabulate
 Select
− What do you want your paper to accomplish?
− What is the focus of your study?
− Find the literature that most closely pertains to your study and
use those.
− Work with your faculty advisor
 Find the patterns
 Categorize
 Compare and Contrast
Level 2: Compare and Contrast
Level 2: Compare: Contrast or Collate
 This is what the literature calls ‘synthesis’ at the most
basic level
 You are trying to find the authors that are in agreement
with each other on a conclusion (collate) or disagree
(contrast) on a specific concept
 This what Webster and Watson (2002) were talking
about when they distinguished a literature review that
is ‘author-centric’ versus ‘concept-centric’
Level 2: Compare and Contrast
Webster, J and Watson, RT (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: writing a literature review. MIS
Quarterly. 26:2 pp xiii-xxii.
http://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2625&context=misq&seiredir=1&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3DAnalyzing%2Bthe%2Bpast%2Bto%2Bprepare%2
Bfor%2Bthe%2Bfuture%26btnG%3D%26as_sdt%3D1%252C29%26as_sdtp%3D#search=%22Analyzing%20past%20prepare%20future%22
Level 2: Compare and Contrast
Author / Date
Pautasso, M. / 2013
Taylor-Powell, E.
and Renner, M. /
2003
Webster, J and
Watson, JT / 2002
Torraco, RJ / 2005
Title
Description
Ten Simple Rules for
Writing a Literature
Review
• Most researchers in the sciences do not plan how to write a literature review
• Graphically describes the types of literature reviews to identify what kind of
review to write
• States 10 rules in writing a good literature review.
Analyzing Qualitative
Data
• Qualitative Analysis or Content Analysis -- another name for Literature
Review?
• Includes papers, video, photos, other forms of data.
• Five steps: know your data, understand what you want to analyze, organize
your data, find the pattern among data sets, synthesize and interpret.
Analyzing the Past to
Prepare for the Future:
Writing a Literature
Review
• The need for a ‘plot’ or theme
• Emphasis on how to conduct a “complete” search
• Two types of literature reviews: one centers on concepts (synthesis) and the
other centers on authors
• Find the patterns and address the knowledge gaps
• Evaluate your own assessment to see if it is solid
Writing Integrative
Literature Reviews:
Guidelines and Examples
• “Integrative literature reviews...generate new knowledge about the topic
reviewed.”
• Reviews, synthesizes, and integrates material
• Organize ideas around topics with a rich source of literature; address the gaps
for emerging topics.
• What is the contribution of the literature review? What is the point or the
need?
• Concept structuring and traditional step in writing a literature review
• What sets an integrative LR apart: critical thinking and advanced synthesis
Level 2: Compare and Contrast
Dawadi S and Ahmad S (2013). Evaluating the impact of demand-side management on water resources under
changing climatic conditions and increasing population. Journal of Environmental Management. 114: 261-275.
Level 2: Compare and Contrast
Level 3: Integrate / Synthesis
 To be able to write at this level, you need to master
Level 1 and Level 2.
 You also need to gain sufficient experience and breadth
of knowledge in your field of expertise
 Level 3 has a narrative quality
 If you have compared and contrasted at Level 2, at
Level 3 you want to discuss why there were contrasting
results in the first place
 At this level, you might be offering your opinion on the
quality and accuracy of other researchers’ work
Level 3: Integrate / Synthesis
Dawadi S and Ahmad S (2013). Evaluating the impact of demand-side management on water resources under
changing climatic conditions and increasing population. Journal of Environmental Management. 114: 261-275.
Level 3: Integrate / Synthesis
Observations from Dr. Ladkany:
Literature citations are embedded in all the sections of a
paper except for the abstract and the conclusion, which are
your ideas exclusively.
Recommendation:
As you conduct your literature search for any of your
projects, see if you can identify if the literature review in
each paper was written at Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.
Level 3: Integrate / Synthesis
Technical Writing Intensive
 Next Friday, April 15th
 SEB 1243
 9 a.m. to 12 noon
Bring your paper, report, dissertation, or thesis to
work on. You will have ample opportunity for oneon-one counseling.
To register, sign up before you leave this
workshop today
Questions?