Literature Surveys: A Methodological Approach

13/08/12

Challenge the future Delft University of Technology

Literature Surveys: A Methodological Approach Dr. R. (Raymond) G. Hoogendoorn

2 Literature Surveys: A Methodological Approach

Outline

•  Problem description;

•  Description, research questions and objectives;

•  Text plan;

•  Design a search plan;

•  Execution of the search plan;


Problem description

•  First you have to establish what the problem actually is;

•  So… identification of the problem along with the magnitude of the problem;

•  In this phase you also already have to think about your target audience!!

•  And already think about some secondary conditions (language, format etc.);


Problem description2

•  A problem description is important as it guides us in the literature search;

•  By studying the state-of-the-art, we can therefore note that:

•  There is a noticeable gap in the results; •  When the results of several inquiries disagree; •  When a fact exists in the form of unexplained information;

•  That knowledge indicates that there is something we don’t know;

•  We become aware of a problem when we ask ‘why’ a fact is so;

•  Science does not only consist of knowledge, but also of systemized knowledge;

•  Unsolvable problems:

•  Unstructured problems: problem which intend is unclear and the domain to which they refer is too amorphous; it is impossible to determine what the relevant observations would be…

•  Inadequately defined terms and operational definitions;


Problem description3

•  The topic of a literature survey consists of the general construct you are going to research;

•  General form of a problem description:

I investigate [TOPIC]

because I want to know [GENERAL QUESTION]

in order to [OBJECTIVE]


Operational definitions

•  In the problem description you should provide operational definitions;

•  The main functions of a good definition are: •  To clarify the phenomenon under investigation; •  To allow us to communicate with each other in an unambiguous manner;

•  This can be dealt with through the operational definition of the terms;

•  An operational definition is one that indicates that a certain phenomenon exists and does so by specifying precisely how the phenomenon is measured.


Research questions

•  You continue with formulating a research question (including sub questions) / hypotheses;

•  Criteria of research questions / hypotheses:

•  Must be testable; •  Should be in general harmony with other research questions / hypotheses; •  Should be parsimonious: Occam’s razor; •  Should have logical simplicity: logical unity and comprehensiveness; •  Should be coherent with the problem; •  Should be expressed in a quantified form; •  Should have a large number of consequences and should be general in scope;


Types of research questions

•  Types of research questions:

•  Descriptive: determination without connection to consequences;

•  Explanatory (what is the cause of…..);

•  Evaluating: investigates whether something meets certain requirements;

•  Advising;

•  Prescriptive (which procedure has to be followed in order to…);


Pitfalls in formulating sub questions

• The sub questions should together answer the main research question;

• The sub questions should form a logical constellation with the main research questions;

• The sub questions may not introduce new problems or terms!


Research objectives

•  The research objective often represents the relevance of the research to be conducted;

•  Always mention the scientific and practical relevance explicitly!

•  Example:

I investigate the applicability of the Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska et al.)

because I want to know: whether this model is applicable to aggressive driving [RESEARCH QUESTION]

in order to acquire insight into the boundary conditions of this model. [OBJECTIVE]


Pitfalls research objectives

•  Possible pitfalls:

•  Mixed up topic and material;

•  No research objective is provided;

•  The research objective is too broad: the objective is too far away from the research question….

•  The research objective is too narrow: the objective and research questions are almost identical;

•  The research objective is not relevant for the intended audience;


So… summary of requirements

•  A literature survey should contain a research objective and at least one main research question / hypothesis;

•  The objective represents the scientific and / or practical relevance of the survey;

•  The research question is specific; it provides a direction for the research to be conducted;

•  The main research question is divided into sub questions (see previous requirements);

•  The research questions contain terms which are known in the scientific field;


Text Plan

From these research questions is it easy to derive a general text plan! Example: Question:

What is the relationship between the incidence of car-accidents and an aggressive driving style? General text plan: Discuss the scientific literature with regard to the relationship between the incidents of car-accidents and an aggressive driving style.


Design a search plan

•  First you have to figure out what the requirements are of the result of the literature survey;

•  Within which scientific disciplines must be searched?

•  What kind of publications do you need?

•  What is the maximum age of the publications taken into account?

•  Do you only consider domestic publications or also international publications?

•  Next you determine the keywords you are going to use with your search;

•  For this you use the research questions (and sub questions) as a basis!


Design a search plan2

•  Use a thesaurus to generate synonyms!

•  Report the used keywords in your report (under research method);

•  What kind of sources do you need?

•  Can you name some examples of possible sources?


Design a search plan3

•  Main types of literature:

•  Books;

•  Articles;

•  Repons (research reports);

•  Conference proceedings;

•  Official and legal publications;

•  Reviews;

•  But also: Discuss with fellow students / colleagues!


Execution of the search plan

•  Search management is important;

•  Use an electronic database to store the results of your search;

•  E.g. EndNote, BibDesk (LaTeX);

•  Next you evaluate and analyze, and further process your text plan!

•  In other words: you are going to determine which publications are useful!

•  Use the general text plan to structure the found publications;

•  Add general summaries of the relevant pubs to the text plan;


Execution of the search plan2

•  Use search engines, such as:

•  Scopus;

•  Google Scholar;

•  etc,.

•  The number of citations are important!!!


Reporting

•  The elaborate text plan is the basis for your literature survey;

•  You start with writing a raw concept of the report;

•  You take those parts of the summaries from the text plan you need to answer the research questions;

•  It is more than just a copy – paste of the text! Interpret!

•  Wait a couple of days an look at it again critically;

•  Next transform the raw concept to structured text; take care that the train of thought is clear!

•  Have the structured text proofread by a fellow student / colleague!

•  Finally transform this structured text to a text with the required lay out. Insert the necessary tables and figures;


Questions?

Contact information: Dr. R. (Raymond) G. Hoogendoorn Delft University of Technology Civil Engineering and Geosciences Transport and Planning [email protected]


Thank you for your

attention!!

Contact information: Dr. R. (Raymond) G. Hoogendoorn Delft University of Technology Civil Engineering and Geosciences Transport and Planning [email protected]

Literature Surveys: A Methodological Approach

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