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Postgraduate Education & Support
If you have started studying at postgraduate level you probably already have good undergraduate-level skills, but these will be developed further and assessed more stringently in postgraduate study.
APPROPRIATE READING MATERIALS
Text books
Professional journals
Academic journals
Text books can present a focused view of a key issue. In producing a text with a specific theme, the author has drawn on a range of sources and synthesised these into a set of coherent arguments. Text books often highlight the key features of lengthier pieces of work, and also provide you with the full bibliographic references of the primary material.
Academic journals
Professional journals
Academic journals
Academic journals are a favoured source of academic information. They usually offer a more current view than do text books, and have credibility due to the process of peer review, under which journal articles ('papers') submitted by researchers are evaluated by experts in the field before being published.
Professional journals
Professional journals
Professional journals
Professional journals are produced by the bodies that oversee practice in a range of professions, for example institutions such as CIPFA, CIPD, RIBA and the BMA. These journals uphold the standards of the profession, and checks are made on the credibility and the authenticity of the information being presented.
If you are totally new to a particular field of study, find out our courses about the tips for your research reading.
literature review guide
Step 1: Define your research scope
Step 1: Define your research scope
Step 1: Define your research scope
- What is the specific research question that your literature review helps to define?
- Are there a maximum or minimum number of sources that your review should include?
Ask us if you have questions about refining your topic, search methods, writing tips, or citation management.
Step 2: Identify the literature
Step 1: Define your research scope
Step 1: Define your research scope
Start by searching broadly. Literature for your review will typically be acquired through scholarly books, journal articles, and/or dissertations. Develop an understanding of what is out there, what terms are accurate and helpful, etc.
If you need help figuring out key terms and where to search, contact us.
Step 3: Critically analyse the literature
Step 3: Critically analyse the literature
Step 3: Critically analyse the literature
Key to your literature review is a critical analysis of the literature collected around your topic. The analysis will explore relationships, major themes, and any critical gaps in the research expressed in the work. Read and summarise each source with an eye toward analysing authority, currency, coverage, methodology, and relationship to other works.
Step 4: Categorise your resources
Step 3: Critically analyse the literature
Step 3: Critically analyse the literature
Divide the available resources that pertain to your research into categories reflecting their roles in addressing your research question. Possible ways to categorize resources include organization by:
- chronology
- theme
- methodology
- theoretical/philosophical approach
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