As part of the Ph.d Coursework activity, the task was given to us on, How one can Write an Effective Literature review based on some of the Video Lectures and a Presentation Prepared by Dr. Dilip Barad sir about What is Literature Review.
What is a Literature Review?
Typically research Scholars are Asked to Write a Literature Review on their Topic of research but one can not write it without understanding what it is.
A literature review is an account of what has been Published on a Topic by Accredited Scholar and Researchers.
They are asked to write in the form of annotated bibliography which consist of a list of references with brief understanding of what argument is presented in the work. But the Literature review is not just a summary but the foundation of the research.
In my understanding i have understood from the videos that,
A literature review is not just List of Resource work but Relevant research works that can be helpful in the Research that I am Going to do.
A Literature review is of not any Literature that is done in the Area of Study that I am Going to Pursue, but of Exceptionally Good Quality that can be useful in Strengthening my way of looking at things and the Arguments that I am Using.
A literature review is not just of Positive Literature for my Arguments but also of contradiction that can be useful in providing second perspective to my research and also i can challenge through my arguments
A Literature Review is not Just List of summaries of Various works that I have Reviewed but also that must showcase how it is useful to my arguments and provide a research gap.
Purpose and Significance
In Writing the Literature review our purpose is to convey to the Readers that, ‘what knowledge and ideas have been established on a Topic, and what their strengths and weakness are. As a Peace of Writing literature review must be defined by the guiding concepts of Research objectives, problems and issues you are discussing and your argumentative thesis.
What a literature review is not is just a descriptive list of the material available or set of Summarizes.
Significance of LIterature Review lies in the question Why do a Literature Review ? and there are several Reasons for that and that are,
To identify gaps in literature
To avoid reinventing the wheel ( to stop you from making same mistakes of the past Scholars)
To Carry on from where others have already reached (where others have left the work incomplete so the new findings can be made)
To Identify other People working in the same Field and to create a Network of People and Resources
To increase the breath of the knowledge of your subject area
To identify the seminal work in your area
To Provide the intellectual context for your own work
To Identify opposing viewpoints
To put your work in perspective
The two important objectives of the literature review are
Information Seeking: it's the ability to scan the literature effectively both from Manual or Computerized method to evaluate the knowledge from the resource and to find the connection with your area of interest
Critical Appraisal: it’s the ability to apply the principle of analysis to identify unbiased and valid Studies.
Steps in Writing a Literature Review
As Mentioned in the Video three, There are six Step in which A Literature Review can be Written
1 Tabular Format
This Allows the Researcher to List Down all the Resources that he Comes across according to the Research Area, here we don't have to Thoroughly Read the Resource but just have to make the List ot the Relevant Works
So, we have to Prepare a Excel Sheet or a Table containing List or Resources.
2. Annotated Bibliography
Here we Require to Review the work from the List and Summarize the Work for the Literature Review
We can Do this Bibliography in Two Ways
Alphabetical Order (According the Citation, First name of the AUTHOR)
Numeric Orders (According to the Date of Publication YEAR)
3. Reorganize the Order
Here we have to Organize the list of Annotated Bibliography according to the flow of the argument we are going to present in our work, this allows us to rearrange the order.
4. Write Introductory & Concluding Lines
This is Called hook Paragraph where we have to now make relevance of the review work with our research arguments as well have to make relevance with the previous and following works review, so the Introductory and concluding lines of each paragraph are important and have to be carefully constructed.
5. Concluding Paragraph
This paragraph is not for one work but for the entire Literature Review Chapter. So now as we have Reviewed all the Relevant Literature regarding our area of the research, we must have found the gap in Literature that will Strengthen the Hypothesis and Research Question that we have Proposed.
6. Writing the Introduction to the Literature Review
The Step of Writing the Literature Review the Final one and it provides an Interesting Strategy. If We write the Introduction in the beginning and the n do the Literature Review, there will be some problem that, in the Beginning we were thinking something else but the Review suggest otherwise, also we can Confuse ourselves be jump into reviewing literature with false conception and differs path of looking.
While writing the literature review Introduction in the End it Provided cohesive Structure to the Chapter.
One Important thing is also that, The Last Line of the Literature Review is the First Line of the Conclusion Paragraph, this Suggests that review is Cohesive and what we wanted to achieve From the Review is what we are Reflecting in the Conclusion
Key Takeaways from the Videos
The First Video deals with, what constructs a Research Project and to know that E G Guba has given three Important questions in his work “The paradigm Dialogue” 1990 as Discussed in Video 1.
What is there that can be Known- What is Knowable?
What is the Relation of the Knower to the Known?
How do we Find Things?
To Understand more the Knowable we must have to Look at the Johari Window
‘I Know what i Know’
There will be things that can be known to yourself but what can be known is the ocean and a single person can not acquire that knowledge, so we must understand the limit of understanding of an individual. There comes the second statement,
‘I Know what i Don't Know’
This can be understood after one acknowledges the limitations of his knowledge. It is the skepticism towards our understanding and limits. The doubt of the knower regarding the known, this only can be understood If the person just doesn't rely on his own knowledge and is able to look at things with different perspectives than one he can widen his knowledge.
‘I don't know what i know’
This third part can be understood by the term ‘collective unconscious’, that there will be some similarity, some common understanding in various knowledge that can be looked at after we climb out of our understanding of things and accept a wider perspective.
‘I don't know what i don't know’
There will be no chance that a person can acquire all the knowledge of the world. There will be limitations to the present knowledge, his ability to acquire knowledge, technical limitations that can also limit the prograss, so this should also be kept in mind that not everything can be understood or known, there will always be some limitations.
We get more understanding by looking at the elaborated questions given by Ann Gray in ‘Research Practice in Cultural Studies’
What is there that can be Known- What is Knowable? - This is ontological Question
What is the Relation of the Knower to the Known? - This is Epistemological Question
How do we find things? - This is a Methodological question.
This adds an extra layer to the questions, as we understand how we have to look at the things now .
First question, What is there that can be Known or What is Knowable? is an ontological Question, which tests our understanding of the subject matter we are dealing with. The general understanding of the area of research. As Ontology suggests, it is the Study of existence or being real.
There are two type of Ontology
Ontological materialism, which suggests that the Reality exists regardless of Human Observer, we can say this to understand that if the Human never evolved and remained thoughtless epp, the universe would have been as it is.
Ontological Idealism, which suggests that Reality is Constructed in the Mind of the Observer.
Both of these ideologies are important in the Pursuit of Knowledge and Research.
Second question, What is the Relation of the Knower to the Known? is an Epistemological Question.
Epistemology is Study of the Knowledge or Understanding
Knowledge is not just an accepted assumption or perspective but a Claim that is Justified and Proved by Scientific Fats. so, for the Knowledge to be true there is Three Steps to Follow,
First, the Claim or Fact must be justifiable.
Second, We have to Provide Evidence that is Logical and Scientific.
Third, we must believe in our Findings,
There are two Branches of the Epistemology
Empiricism
Rationalism
Deductive Reasoning
Intuitive Method
Logical Reasoning
In video 2, the Final Question Is Discussed.
How do we find things? - This is a Methodological question.
This Question is Solved once we complete the Literature review. Methodology is Determined by the Review and how we are going to Proceed with the topic of Research.
The Important thing here discussed for why Literature Review is by Example of
‘Standing on the Shoulder of the Giant’
Giant here is the Literary Giants, the Authors and Researchers who have shaped and Influenced the areas of Research and Knowledge through their findings and Knowledge.
The Literature Review grants us that insight and Understanding through review of all the important and seminal works which are important for our understanding and shaping research.
The Review also helps to Locate the Framework of Research. Which Theory, which Idea, which Method is Relevant for Our Research.
Anohther Important point in this video was, A literature review must do these things
be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question we are developing
synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
identify areas of controversy in the literature
formulate questions that need further research
As we have discuted the Importance of Literature Rivew and the two objectives that are, Information Seeking and Critical Appraisal, these can be found if we constantly ask the following questions while reviewing the literature.
What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that my literature review helps to define?
What type of literature review am conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure)? qualitative research (e.g., studies )?
How? Ask yourself questions like these.
What is the scope of my literature review? What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government documents, popular media)? What discipline am I working in (e.g.,
Engineering, Psychology, Humanities, Pharmacy,
Management)?
How good was my information seeking? Has my search been wide enough to ensure I've found all the relevant material? Has it been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material? Is the number of sources I've used appropriate for the length of my paper?
How? Ask yourself questions like these
Have I critically analysed the literature I use? Do I follow through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items to each other in the ways they deal with them?
Instead of just listing and summarizing items, do I assess them, discussing strengths and weaknesses?
Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective?
Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful?
How? Ask yourself questions like these about each book or article you include:
Has the author formulated a problem/issue?
Is it clearly defined? Is its significance (scope, severity, relevance) clearly established?
Could the problem have been approached more effectively from another perspective?
What is the author's research orientation (e.g., interpretive, critical science, combination)?
What is the author's theoretical framework (e.g., psychological, developmental, feminist)?
How? Ask yourself questions like these about each book or article you include:
Has the author evaluated the literature relevant to the problem/issue? Does the author include literature taking positions she or he does not agree with?
In a research study, how good are the basic components of the study design (e.g., population, intervention, outcome)?
How accurate and valid are the measurements? Is the analysis of the data accurate and relevant to the research question? Are the conclusions validly based upon the data and analysis?
Reflections and Applications to My Research
For my research topic, “Ethics and Ontology of Cyborg Consciousness: A Study of Posthumanism in Select Films,” the ontological and epistemological frameworks discussed are central. The question of “what is knowable” is vital when exploring cyborg beings and artificial consciousness in Films. This review will help me locate philosophical debates around existence, identity, and ethics in the posthuman era.
An important point from the lectures is the importance of including diverse perspectives both supporting and contradictory to strengthen one’s arguments. I aim to examine foundational texts by thinkers like Donna Haraway and N. Katherine Hayles, while also engaging with opposing views on posthumanism and the human-machine boundary.
The structured approach tabulating resources, writing annotated summaries, reorganizing content around themes, and concluding with research gaps offers a practical roadmap. Writing the introduction last ensures alignment with actual findings.
The anecdote of “standing on the shoulders of giants” reminds me that my research builds upon existing knowledge. The Johari Window has also given an interesting perspective in acknowledging the limitations of my understanding.
Here are the Resource Videos and Presentation mentioned in the Blog2. Literature Review - Part 2
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