Telling a Research Story: Writing a Literature Review

Description

Telling a Research Story: Writing a Literature Review is concerned with the writing of a literature review and is not designed to address any of the preliminary processes leading up to the actual writing of the literature review. This volume rep resents a revision and expansion of the material on writing abstracts that appeared in English in Today's Research World. This volume progresses from general to specific issues in the writing of literature reviews. It opens with some orientations that raise awareness of the issues that surround the telling of a research story. Issues of structure and matters of language, style, and rhetoric are then discussed. Sections on metadiscourse, citation, and paraphrasing and summarizing are included. The authors' commentary on the text is available online. Acknowledgments Contents General Introduction to the Volumes Introduction to the Literature Review Volume Orientations Why Review the Literature? Types and Characteristics of Literature Reviews Check Your Literature Review Knowledge Scholars before Researchers Typical Advisor Critiques of Literature Reviews How Can Order Be Imposed on the Literature? Choosing Areas to Include in the Review Getting Started on the Literature Review Describing the Selection Criteria for Literature in the Review Meta discourse Citation Patterns Integral and Non-Integral Citations Citation Verb Tense and Aspect Reporting Verbs Ambiguity in Citations Drafting, Redrafting, and Redrafting Again Taking a Stance toward the Literature Constructing an Original Discussion of Previous Work: Using Your Own Words Some Strategies for Paraphrasing Careful Use of Synonyms Summarizing Criteria for Evaluating Literature Reviews Some Final Thoughts to Consider References