Preparing your literature review

DocumentNumber:20120524/2 DocumentAuthor:SuddhasheelGhosh Thisisabittimeconsumingbutisaneffectiveapproachforwritingtheliteraturereview Createamainfolderinadrivewhereyouhaveatleast200MB+ofspace.Nameit Literature

Step 1: Organise your literature subject wise and yearwise.

SubjectmeansBroadareas.Forexample(a)Classification(b)Segmentation(c) CreatesubfoldersinsidetheLiteraturefolder.Thenamesofthesubfoldersshouldbe accordingtothebroadarea Createyearnumberfoldersineachofthesesubfolders.Forexamplecreatesubfolders named1991,1992,1993...

Step 2: Download literature citation related software

FreeandOpensourcesoftware:Jabref Professionalsoftware:EndNote CreateyourBibtexorEndnotefileinthesesoftware. Nameeachofthecitationscarefully.Byname,Imeanthereferencekey.Forexample: OneAuthor:A.F.Charles,2007:tobenamedasCharles2007.Incasetherearetwo papersbythesameauthorinthesameyear,namethemasCharles2007aand Charles2007b.Formoresuchcases,keeponsuffixingc,d,eandsoon. Twoauthors:A.F.CharlesandB.K.Robinhood,2006:Tobenamedas CharlesRobinhood2006.Fortwosuchpapersbythesameauthorsinthesameyear,name themasCharlesRobinhood2006aandCharlesRobinhood2006b.Formoresuchcases, keeponsuffixingc,d,eandsoon Morethantwoauthors:A.F.Charles,B.K.Robinhood,E.D.Samuel,2009:Tobe namedasCharlesEtal2009.Supposethatthereisanotherpaperinthesameyearbutby A.F.Charles,D.BollingerandE.Hemmingway,2009.NameitasCharlesEtal2009b

Step 3: Tabulate your research review chronologically for each of the subjects
Createseparatetablesforeachofthesubjects.Eachtableshouldcontaintwocolumns androwsasnecessary.Theleftcolumnwithcontainthecitationandtherightoneshould containanessenceoftheworkdone. Startwiththeearliestyearforeachsubjects Readapaperandinsertthecitationintheleftcolumnandwritethedescriptionintheright

column Foreachpaper,wemusthaveonerow! Minethisdata!Youmightfindcontradictoryapproachesformanysubjectsandsub domains.Thisisinterestingforyourliteraturereview.

Step 4: Write your literature review

Presentthebroadpicture.Mentionwhyyouhavechosenthisdomainofresearch. Theliteraturereviewchapterismeanttogiveanoverviewofliterature/researchdoneover thepastfewyears.Providepointerswhatyouaregoingtoaddresswhere. Foreachsubjectlocatesimilarpapers.ItismorelikebuyingapacketofGEMSand groupingthemwithsimilarcolours.Bysimilarpapers,Imeansimilarapproaches. Doyoufindcontradictoryapproachesorstatementsinsomepapers?Mentiontheminyour literaturereview.WecallitValueAddition! WhileCharles(2009)mentionedthatthepresenceoftomatoesinsoupsincreasestheRBC, Hemmingway(2010)arguesthatkidneystonescanformbasedonantibodies.Further, Busybodyetal.(2011)conductedanexperimentandfoundstrongcasesofkidneystone formationintwodifferentgroupsinacontrolledstudy. Justfortherecord,thisisanimaginaryargument! Canyoufindgroups,subgroupsandsubsubgroupsintheliteratureforaparticular subject?Interesting,drawadiagram. Makeatablesummarisingthedifferentapproachesforstudyinasubject.

Step 5: Find the gaps and propose your research angle

Itisimportanttopointoutseveralgapsandposecertainresearchquestionsattheendofthe literaturereview.WecallitBeginningthequest Theseresearchquestionsshouldbebroadandshouldbeabletobeaddressedthroughthe methodology. Pointouttothereader,whereexactlyyouaregoingtoaddressandanswerthesequestions. Theresearchquestionsshouldbewritteninsimplesentencesandinaninterrogativemood. ThechapternamedResultsandDiscussionshouldstronglyemphasiseonanswering theseResearchQuestionsapartfromdescribinganddiscussingtheresults.

REMEMBER!RESEARCHISNOTABOUTPRODUCINGRESULTSBUT ABOUTDISCUSSINGWHYTHESERESULTSHAVECOME.