ENG 115 Portfolio #3 Research Proposal and Literature Review Overall Goal: Provide your readers an understanding of the evolution of scholarly research on your topic that furthers your inquiry about what others have said about your topic or how they are answering your inquiry question. The Role of the Research Proposal To prepare for the literature review, you will write a Research Proposal that shows your thinking and planning for the literature review. In 3+ pages, it will: Introduce the topic and explain why you are interested in it, what previous knowledge you have about it, what you want to know, why the topic is relevant or important. Present your Inquiry Question (IQ)- what you want to discover about your topic based on a projected review of existing scholarly publications (literature review). • Provide a list of subject headings and keywords Start by creating a list of keywords you used related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you're interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search. List relevant resources that you have searched/wish to search (databases, journals etc.). Find these through looking at the databases and journasl organized by topic or title. (See also Research Databases Help and Readings in Moodle, and on our LibGuide.) • List at least 8 possible sources which look promising in alphabetical order. Explain briefly why they look promising. In MLA works cited format. (This is a brief annotated bibliography) Realistically, about 50% of the sources you find that look interesting you will not use for the final literature review; as you read and scan through sources you will focus your topic, and no longer need all of these sources you found-- the proposal gives your credit for this research process. As you start reading these sources for your literature review you should choose the best examples of an approach or theory you have found; decide which texts are most representative of the field and area to which you have narrowed your research and keep those for the final literature review. ● Real Time schedule ( your plan over time for completing the literature review) • Discuss possible problems you may encounter, are starting to encounter, and what steps you will take to accommodate or eradicate them. Ask for help here too--what do you need assistance with? Who will you ask for assistance? 1 ENG 115 Portfolio #3 Research Proposal and Literature Review The Role of the Literature Review Your literature review gives your readers an understanding of the evolution of scholarly research on your topic that furthers your inquiry about what scholars are writing about your topic or how they are answering your inquiry question. In your literature review you will: • Write 5-8 pages . . use a minimum of 4 sources (not including our class readings) survey the scholarly landscape on your topic 。 possibly provide some historical background, origins 。 significant authors or research that made an impact on your topic о provide a synthesis of the issues, trends, or concepts in current research conclude with your revised inquiry question you wish to answer and/or possible next steps for research The literature review is NOT an annotated bibliography. Nor should it simply summarize the articles you've read. Literature reviews are organized thematically or topically and demonstrate a synthesis of what you find significant regarding the research scholars are publishing on your topic that answers your inquiry question. Basics of Literature Reviews A literature review is a written approach to examining published information on a particular topic or field. Authors (you) use this review of the literature to create a foundation and justification for their further research or to demonstrate knowledge of the current state of a field. This review can take the form of a course assignment or a section of a longer capstone project. Students often misinterpret the term "literature review" to mean merely a collection of source summaries, similar to annotations or article abstracts. Although summarizing is an element of a literature review, the purpose is to create a comprehensive representation of your understanding of a topic or area of research, such as what has already been done or what has been found. Then, also using these sources, you can demonstrate the need for future research, specifically, your future research. 2 ENG 115 Portfolio #3 Research Proposal and Literature Review The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time). For each source you should consider which of these questions are relevant and try to answer them. They can also help you develop your proposal sources : What question or problem is the author addressing? What are the key concepts and how are they defined? What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach? What are the results and conclusions of the study? How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge? ☐ How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research? Literature Review: Purpose • • For your reader: О Overviews your chosen topic or field Demonstrates your depth of knowledge Can show a gap that for further research focus For yourself: ○ Supports and guides your starting research Promotes analysis and critical reading Can help you find a gap for your research focus Literature Review: Method Identify themes, debates, and gaps To begin organizing your literature review's argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you've read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for: 3 ENG 115 Portfolio #3 Research Proposal and Literature Review . Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time? Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature? • Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree? Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field? Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed? This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show where your own research would contribute to existing knowledge. There is usually no required format or template for a literature review. However, there are some actions to keep in mind when constructing a literature review: 1. Include an introduction and conclusion. As a stand-alone paper, give some background on the topic and its importance, discuss the scope of the literature you will review (for example, the time period of your sources), and state your objective (answering your IQ). What new insight will you draw from the literature? If necessary, include references to the pioneers in the field in the beginning. The introduction should give a broad view of the topic you researched and the types of sources you discovered, showing in general what the literature discusses about your topic. Discuss your method of searching, and summarize the kinds of sources you found (this is where you might use some of your material you prepared in the Proposal!). In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance. Offer closure by discussing the overall implications of the literature or make suggestions for future research based on the gaps you have identified. 2. Body. The Body will explain any patterns of organization you observed and specific common terms and vocabulary. What kinds of sources did you find, what did writers tend to focus upon, or what were the range of issues on this topic? Summarize the predominant themes the literature (your sources) focused upon. Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach. As you write, you can follow these tips for each section: 4 ENG 115 Portfolio #3 Research Proposal and Literature Review A. Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the thesis, main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole (Ch 5) B. Analyze and interpret: don't just paraphrase other researchers-add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole ("What this seems to mean is.....") C. Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources D. Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts based on the themes or topics. 3. Avoid direct quotations. Just like in an annotated bibliography, you will want to paraphrase or summarize all of the material you present in a literature review. This assignment is a chance for you to demonstrate your knowledge on a topic, and putting ideas into your own words will ensure that you are interpreting the found material for your reader. Paraphrasing will also ensure your review of literature is in your authorial voice. 4. Organize by topic or theme rather than by author. When compiling multiple sources, a tendency can be to summarize each source and then compare and contrast the sources at the end. Instead, organize your source information by your identified themes and patterns. This organization helps demonstrate your synthesis of the material and inhibits you from creating a series of book reports. • Chronological • О The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. 。 Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred. Thematic If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. о For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and ec • Methodological 。 If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods, you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example: Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research ■Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship 50