Literature reviews are tricky to write and some are very boring to read. The most boring ones are those that list each item, one after the other, like entries in a book catalogue.
Before I throw out my old clothes, or turn them into cleaning rags, I cut off the buttons and put them in a jar. You never know when you’re going to need a spare button. After many years of doing this, I have quite a collection.
Writing a literature review is like describing my button collection. I could do that by picking up each of the hundred or so buttons in turn and describing them all individually. Bor-ing! Even if you lasted the distance, you probably wouldn’t remember too much of what I’d said.
Now, if I’d sorted them into some sort of pattern, that would be more interesting and more memorable. The biggest group are the tiny round plastic ones which have probably come from old shirts. This suggests that shirts are my most common article of discarded clothing. Similar in some ways to this group are the large round buttons which probably came from coats. The larger size may indicate the need to hold thicker fabric or that they were subject to larger forces. Another group again are the ornate buttons, some of which are made from a combination of materials and many of which have looped shanks on the back. And so on.
Before I throw out my old clothes, or turn them into cleaning rags, I cut off the buttons and put them in a jar. You never know when you’re going to need a spare button. After many years of doing this, I have quite a collection.
Writing a literature review is like describing my button collection. I could do that by picking up each of the hundred or so buttons in turn and describing them all individually. Bor-ing! Even if you lasted the distance, you probably wouldn’t remember too much of what I’d said.
Now, if I’d sorted them into some sort of pattern, that would be more interesting and more memorable. The biggest group are the tiny round plastic ones which have probably come from old shirts. This suggests that shirts are my most common article of discarded clothing. Similar in some ways to this group are the large round buttons which probably came from coats. The larger size may indicate the need to hold thicker fabric or that they were subject to larger forces. Another group again are the ornate buttons, some of which are made from a combination of materials and many of which have looped shanks on the back. And so on.
Image from Global b2b (2008) http://www.global-b2b-network.com/
In writing your literature review, think of ways you might organize the readings, rather than just reporting each one in turn. Has an issue been investigated from a range of theoretical positions? Using different methodologies? Considering different aspects? In a range of different contexts? What are the similarities and differences of these different approaches? What are their relative strengths and weaknesses? How do the approaches support or challenge each other?
As you organise your literature review, think of my button collection.
Kerry O'Regan
Learning Adviser
Kerry O'Regan is our special guest blogger for this month. Kerry has had a long history of working with engineering students - firstly at the Institute of Technology and then the University of South Australia and Adelaide University. Kerry mentioned in her recent presentation to Engineering Research Methods students that she completed a Masters Thesis looking at women in engineering. She also has a keen interest in online teaching and learning.
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