Key Concepts Lit Review

Literature Review - Quick Overview from the University of Toronto

A literature review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas

1. information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books
2. critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis 

A literature review must do these things

1. be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing
2. synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
3. identify areas of controversy in the literature
4. formulate questions that need further research

Literature Review - Quick Overview from the University of North Carolina

A literature reviews must contain at least three basic elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the paper.
Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.
Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically (see below for more information on each).
Conclusions/Recommendations: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed?

Three possible ways to organize the Lit Review
1) Chronological
     a) by publication
     b) by trend
2) Thematic
3) Methodological

Link to Literature Review Resources from Deakin University

A good literature review requires knowledge of the use of indexes and abstracts, the ability to conduct exhaustive bibliographic searches, ability to organize the collected data meaningfully, describe, critique and relate each source to the subject of the inquiry, and present the organized review logically, and last, but by no means least, to correctly cite all sources mentioned (Afolabi 1992).

As far as the literature review process goes, ultimately the goal for students is to complete their review in the allocated time and to ensure they can maintain currency in their field of study for the duration of their research (Bruce 1990).

Afolabi, M. (1992) 'The review of related literature in research' International journal of information and library research, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 59-66.

Bruce, C. S. (1990) 'Information skills coursework for postgraduate students: investigation and response at the Queensland University of Technology' Australian Academic & Research Libraries, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 224-232.

Key Concepts: Developing the Study Readings

Wildemuth Ch 2 Developing a Research Question

4 important matters to consider for your research questions
1) A question isn't a question unless there is some uncertainty about the answer
2) Consider the importance of the question
3) Consider the symmetry of potential outcomes (findings will be useful)
4) Consider the feasibility of answering the question in which you're interested

Components of a problem statement
- lead-in
- claim for originality based on lit review
- justification of the study's value

Research question should be 1 sentence and contain the following aspects: (setting, perspective, intervention, comparison, evaluation)

Wildemuth Ch. 3 - Questions Originating in Library & Information Practice

For practice-based questions, you will want to select a question related to one of your core activities, rather than just the newest procedure or technology - management, education, and reference services were the three core areas that could yield important research & evaluation questions.

Carrying out your practice-based question research study is similar to any other study with one exception: most often you will be conducting the research within the organization you are a member of.


Wildemuth Ch 5 - Testing Hypotheses

Two places you might develop your hypothesis are:
 - you might have direct experiences w/ a phenomenon and in your personal experience find it related to another phenomenon
 - the evidence provided by prior studies.  It's possibly (even likely) that some studies have already investigated the phenomena that you are contemplating.

The first step in testing a hypothesis is to state it clearly.  Then define each noun in the sentence.  Then examine each adjective & verb in the sentence - do they have clear implications?

Patten Topic 14 Reasons for Reviewing Literature

Reviewing Literature can:
   help you identify testable hypotheses
   help you identify measuring tools (instruments)
   help you avoid dead ends
   help you learn how to write research reports by paying careful attention to the style & organization used in polished reports.

Always include your lit review in the introduction of your own study. 

Patton Topic 15 Locating Literature Electronically

Three major sources of electronic lit
a) Sociofile (contains print versions of Sociological Abstracts & Social Planning/Policy Development Abstracts
b) PsycLIT (Psychological Abstracts)
c) ERIC

One of the most important ways to access the databases is to search for articles using appropriate descriptors. To determine the descriptors each database has a Thesaurus, which is key

Patten Topic 16 Writing Literature Reviews

Step 1: name & describe your broad problem area and provide conceptual definitions of major terms
Step 2: establish the importance of your topic
Step 3: write a topic-by-topic description of relevant research, and provide major & minor subheadings to guide a reader thru a long lit review


Pyrczack Appendix D

Really good checklist of all the chapters and list of evaluation questions to consider when working on a study.

Williamson Ch. 3 The Beginning Stages of Research How to formulate your questions: Step 1: Write down your broad area of interest Step 2: Write down a specific sub-area of this broad area in which you have particular interest. Try to formulate a question based on this.  Step 3: List 5-8 unanswered questions you have in respect to the specific sub-area Good Hypotheses should: - be stated in correct terminology - be as brief and clear as possible - state an expected relationship or difference between two or more variables - be testable - be grounded in past knowledge, gained from the literature review or from theory Theory is a viewpoint or perspective which is explanatory.  It 'informs' the research process and helps to direct it.

Blog Post 3 - Article Review Option B

David Riley
9/19/2011
Article Review #1

Gavillet, Erika L. (April 2011). The "just do it" approach to customer service development: A case study.  College & Research Libraries News, 72(4), 229-31, 246.          

Introduction
The purpose of this study was to devise a method of surveying, which was both painless to the users (did not want to create 'survey fatigue') and gathered essential information for service innovation ideas that would  target improvements that are important to the users of the library, as opposed to those that are only important to the library staff. I chose this article to review as my research topic focuses on how academic libraries have adapted customer service survey approach that was typically only found in for profit business or service environments.

Problem Statement

 The problem that the library staff was faced with was trying to learn what ideas and improvements were actually important to the users of the library, and to do so in a way that was more holistic and direct than standard surveys.

Literature Review

Gavillet draws upon studies published between 2004 and 2010 and one from 1988 to support the idea that student and other patron's experience is vital to keeping libraries relevant in the 21st century. The literature review focuses largely on articles and studies published in peer-reviewed journals, both library and non-library specific.  She also uses the official website to reference the Fish Philosophy.   Much of the research referenced supports Gavillet's approach of reaching out to students in a language and method that is known to them.  Gavillet's article compliments much of the recent studies - specifically the Fish Philosophy.

Method
Responses were completed by about 1,000 staff, postgraduates, undergraduates, and NHS external members of the university library. The data was collected by a short three question survey.  The survey was kept very short and straight to the point in an effort to get clear feedback and to reach as many patrons as possible.  The results were analyzed by the Customer Services Group, which is a group from the university library designated to improve customer service. Based on the results the library implemented a few action plans, and conducted further surveys of library staff and patrons to measure the effectiveness of the campaign.  These results were collected via survey. Forty-five staff responded to the survey.  The student feedback was gathered by asking users a number of short questions when they came to the Enquiry desk for any reason.  420 responses were elicited. 

Caveats
The most glaring limitation of the research was that the library staff had students provide feedback about their action plans when students approached their desk to ask an unrelated question.  This is limiting because it is unclear that students were given an anonymous way in which to provide the feedback.  This may have skewed the results to be overwhelmingly positive. 

Key Concepts: Research Traditions Readings

Williamson Ch.2

Positivist - Researchers attempt to apply research methods used in the natural sciences to the social sciences.  Quantitative approaches to research are largely linked with positivism. Deductive reasoning is also linked with positivist approach. 

Interpretivist (aka interpretive) - Researchers emphasize the meanings made by people as they interpret their world.  Qualitative approaches to research are largely linked with interpretivism.  Inductive reasoning is associated with interpretivist. 

Powell & Connaway Ch. 2

Basic steps for the SMI
a) An unanswered question in the mind of the researcher (a problem)
b) Definition of researcher's goal in terms of a clear statement of the problem
c) Research subdivides the problem into appropriate subproblems
d) Researcher posits reasonable hypotheses
e) Data collection directed by the hypotheses and data is organized
f) Interpretation of collected data, which leads to a resolution of the problem, thus confirming or rejecting the hypotheses

General Criteria for Basic Research
1. Universality
2. Replication
3. Control
4. Measurement

Eldredge


Traditionally LIS research has heavily relied upon the case study, program evaluation, and survey researh methodologies in order to answer their questions; however, the past decade has seen professionals branching out into using experimental, observational, and qualitative methodologies.

It must be remembered that no matter what the methodologies researchers might use, what no doubt will remain the same in the future will be the need to match a research method appropriately to the question posed while keeping attentive to issues of validity, bias, and reliability.

Pyrczak Appendix A


There is a tendency for qualitative research to be personal and interactive, which at times forces researchers to address how they overcame their own orientations, biases, and experiences and how they saw beyond their subjective nature.

Quantitative researchers attempt to be objective and distant as it should be dealing with hard data as opposed to more personal topics.


Patton Topics 1-10


Topic 1 Intro to Empirical Research
Empirical approach to knowledge is based on observations.

One of the most fundamental distinctions in scientific research is whether research is experimental or non-experimental.


Topic 2 Experimental vs Nonexperimental Studies
Experimental Studies - researchers give treatments and observe to see if they cause changes in behavior

Nonexperimental Studies - researchers do not give treatments. Rather, they observe subjects in order to describe them as they naturally exist without experimental intervention.

Topic 3 Experimental vs Causal-Comparative Studies
Experimental studies are preferred over nonexperimental studies are preferred when we want to investigate cause-and-effect relationships.

Causal-comparative studies (aka ex post facto study) are nonexperimental studies which have characteristics that (1) we observe and describe some current condition and (2) we look to the past to try to identify the possible cause(s) of the condition.

Topic 4 Types of Nonexperimental Research
Causal-comparative research - see above
Survey or poll - describes attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of a population
Census - a count or study of all members of a population
Case study - one subject of study
Field research - a thorough intensive case study of a group aka ethnographic research
Longitudinal research - repeatedly measure trait(s) of the subjects over a period of time in order to trace developmental trends
Correlational research - interested in the degree of relationship among two or more quantitative variables
Historical research - examine data in order to understand the past

Topic 5 Variables in Nonexperimental Studies
Variable - a trait or characteristic with two or more categories.

All variables have mutually exclusive categories. That is, each subject will belong to one and only one category.

Topic 6 Variables in Experimental Studies
All experiments have at least one independent variable and one dependent variable.

The purpose of experiments is to estimate the extent to which independent variables cause changes in dependent variables.

Independent variable is a stimulus or input variable.
Dependent variable is the response or output that the independent variable causes changes in.

Topic 7 Research Hypotheses, Purposes, and Questions
Research hypothesis - a prediction of the outcome of a study.

A simple research hypothesis predicts a relationship between 2 variables.

Topic 8 Operational Definitions of Variables
Conceptual definitions are found in dictionaries and are perfectly adequate if we merely want to communicate the general topic of our research to someone.

Operational definition - redefining a variable in terms of physical steps is called operationalizing a variable. When we do that we create an operational definition.

Topic 9 Quantitative vs Qualitative Research
Quantitative research is when the results are presented as quantities or numbers (statistics). A quantitative researcher would tend to generalize her results to one or more populations.

Qualitative research is research in which the results are trends or themes that are described in words.  A qualitative researcher would tend to limit his conclusions to individuals who were directly studied.

Topic 10 Quantitative vs Qualitative Research: II
Some research questions inherently lend themselves more to the quantitative or qualitative approach
When little is known about a topic, qualitative research usually should be initially favored.
When the subjects belong to a culture that is closed or secretive, qualitative research should usually be favored.
When potential subjects are not available for extensive interactions or observations, the quantitative approach should be considered
When time and funds are limited, quantitative research might be favored.
When the audience (such as legislators or funding agencies) require 'hard numbers' quantitative research should be favored or, at least, incorporated into a qualitative research project.

Key Concepts: Intro Readings

Connaway & Powell Ch 1

2 Major Types of Research
Basic research - pure, theoretical, or scientific research, is primarily interested in deriving new knowledge and is at most, only indirectly involved with how that knowledge will be applied to specific, practical, or real problems.
It is, particularly if quantitative in nature, usually designed so as to produce new knowledge that is generalizable.
Applied research - emphasizes the solving of specific problems in real situations. Much of library-related research as been applied research. 

Quantitative Research - involves a problem-solving approach that is highly structured in nature and that relies on the quantification of concepts, where possible, for purposes of measurement and evaluations.
Qualitative Research -  focus on observing events from the perspective of those involved and attempt to understand why individuals behave as they do.

Research in the Library & Info field is not very well regarded.  Mostly because it was too heavily based on opinion, as opposed to investigation, to be considered research. Researchers worked in episodes as opposed to a growing large piece of research.  They also didn't build off one another enough.
Basic research is crucial if the field of LIS.  It's important because it is "to solve professional problems, develop tools and methods for analysis of organization, services, and behavior, to determine costs and benefits of our services, and most importantly, to establish or develop a body of theory on which to base our practice."

Wildemuth Ch 1

Evidence-based practice - a type of application of research results that improves the professional practice.
Two things need to happen for the information professions to profit from evidence-based practice:
          1) Effective research studies need to be completed
          2) and their results need to be applied to particular situations and questions that occur in practice.

Williamson Ch 1

Basic research (aka pure, fundamental or theoretical research) is primarily concerned with deriving new knowledge and is only indirectly involved with how that knowledge will be applied to specific, practical problems.

Applied research - concerned with solving specific problems in real life situations (more pragmatic).

Main Elements of Research Projects:
- research questions or objectives. Hypotheses (when appropriate)
- literature search/lit review/theoretical framework
- research design
    * description of sample
    * method of techniques for the research
- analysis of findings
- interpretation and reporting of findings including the conclusion