On-Line Lesson

DH450 : The Class : Introduction : Literature Review : On-Line Lesson

On-Line Lesson

Reviewing the Literature/ Identifying Resources

Why is a review of existing literature necessary?

To be sure someone has not already answered your research question. You can build on what is already known.
To learn from others mistakes. Someone may have tried to answer your research question and run into problems that you will need to address before you continue.
To gain valuable insight into the design of your project. You can see what methods others are using and get ideas and information that will help you develop and evaluate your project or program.
To see how others use theory as a basis for a project.
To document that a problem or question exists and that your project will contribute to the body of knowledge.
You may determine that the problem you are attempting to solve is not of great importance to the field and that another area of study would make a greater contribution.
To help guide your selection of health priorities and or research questions.

How to get started with a literature search

Become friends with your local librarian. Even if you live in an area without a university/college library, the public library can provide you with assistance in the search process and in acquiring the material you need.
Learn to use the Internet to obtain information.
Learn to search the databases through the NAU library, the National Library of Medicine. Using the right strategy and key words in searching the computer databases is critical.
Become familiar with the Index to Dental Literature
Learn what journals are on site and the procedure for obtaining articles that are not on site (interlibrary loan)
Learn how to obtain full-text copies of the articles you need.
Learn how to post your topic on the DH Net to see if other researchers are working in the same area and can provide you with information.
Learn how to contact health departments, agencies, insurance companies, Chamber of Commerce etc. to gather demographic data.
As you acquire articles that relate to your project pay close attention to the bibliography section to obtain additional primary sources.
Learn how to use lay information (newspapers, magazines advertisements) to cue you to topics of interest to the general public.

Computer Data Bases

Use the following link to get to the NAU Cline Library Index Page
Select a topic on the left side of the page

Or go directly to Health Science Indexes (includes Medline OVID, PsycINFO)

Or go directly to Education Indexes (includes ERIC)

Primary and Secondary Sources

Try to find primary sources.
Primary sources are reports by the individuals who actually conducted the research.
They are called "research articles"
Don't rely too heavily on secondary sources.

Secondary sources are summaries by someone other than the researcher.
Someone, who read the primary source, rephrased or summarized it.
It is possible that the reader could introduce bias or misinterpret the original source

Examples of secondary sources include:

Review articles
Textbooks
Encyclopedias

Types of Research Articles

Research articles

Reports by the individuals who actually conducted the research.

These articles have a "methods" or "materials and methods" section, and a "results" section.

Ex: test new theories and hypotheses, evaluates program interventions, compares various strategies and methods

Review Articles

Someone, other than the researcher himself, reads the research on a given topic, then summarizes and critiques it.

Case Study

A report of a single case or patient situation (such as one patient who was treated with a new therapy)

Descriptive

Reports of a correlation or relationship between variables (other than cause and effect) or description of results of a survey. Epidemiological research (identifies rates of disease , describes demographics of population, prevalence of disease etc.)

Parts of a Research Article

Introduction and literature review

Background and justification for research

Cites other similar or related studies

Methods and materials

Describes exactly how the study was conducted

Very important section for the new researcher and for the critical reviewer

Results

Tells about the data, or numbers that resulted from the study.

Discussion

An important section for the new researcher

The researcher tries to explain reasons for the outcome of the study

Relates outcome of this study to others

Explains problems, suggests ideas for future research

A good way to get ideas for research to be conducted

Summary and conclusions

Too often, the only section read

Can be misleading without reading the entire article

References

Very important in reviewing the literature

The author may reference articles that you would like to obtain and read in full

Organizing the Material

The literature review should allow the reader to see what problem you are trying to solve, what information has already been published on this topic (both pro and con), any theoretical framework that will be incorporated, and what you hope to accomplish as a result of the research.

Use the professional journals in your field as a guide.

Obtain articles from several journals that publish research articles. Examples: Public Health Reports, Journal of Dental Hygiene, Journal of Dental Education, Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Journal of Periodontology. Read the articles carefully to determine what references they included in their introduction and how they organized the review of the literature. Can you determine a flow to the literature review?

Introduce the topic or problem

Review past research that is relevant to the problem; a historical, descriptive review

Point out unanswered problems, weaknesses or shortcomings

Show how your study will fill in the gap or answer the question raised

End with the purpose of your study

How long should the review be? How far back should I go in my search for references?

Unless there is a classic article that is critical to the topic area try and limit your review to the last five years. The review should be long enough to provide a solid foundation from which to judge the merit of your research project. The goal of your literature review is to demonstrate that your project is relevant, original, helpful and timely.

How should I organize my references?

Follow the format used in the journal in which you wish to publish your study. Obtain a copy of that Journal's Authors Guide.

Or use APA Style

Help with citations

Beware These Common Errors Made by Students when Reviewing the Literature

Don't carry out a hurried review in order to get started with the research

Don't rely too heavily on secondary sources

Don't concentrate solely on the results; there is valuable information in the methods section

Don't forget to define your topic/problem limits

Too broad: there is too much literature to read it all

Too narrow: Don't forget peripheral articles that could help

Ex: If studying a chlorhexidine toothpaste and there are not many articles, look at studies comparing other toothpastes to see methods, indices, success criteria etc.

Once you have finished the lesson you should:

Go on to Identify Article Type
or
Go back to Literature Review

E-mail Tricia Moore at Tricia.Moore@nau.edu
or call (520) 523-4012