Hello,
The tab for Social Work 608: Advanced Research contains specific information on the steps involved in the research review process. The steps are labeled to assist you in planning your research strategy.
The other tabs for the Social Work Research & Support Guide contain information that will help you locate resources for your research.
Please review your assignment as you complete research on your topic. Your assignment may require different steps or limit the use of particular materials in your research.
If you have any questions, please contact the Social Work Librarian.
Qualitative research focuses on non-numerical data, including interviews and/or observations.
Quantitative research focuses on measurement and analysis using data from surveys or experiments.
Literature reviews are designed to do two things: 1) give your readers an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic or idea and 2) demonstrate how your research fits into the larger field of study, in this case, social work.
Taken from Purdue University OWL : Social Work Literature Review Guidelines.
Selecting a Topic:
State your topic as a question. What do you want to know about your topic? Brainstorm your topic and how you can research different aspects of your topic.
Creating a strong question will help focus your research.
Develop research questions about your topic:
Identify keywords and phrases to search for information.
Keywords are search terms that relate to your topic. Use keywords and phrases to search the databases and catalogs.
You may need to refine your search topic, based on early searches for information.
You may consider increasing or decreasing your topic parameters depending upon the amount of resources you locate.
If your topic is too broad, you will find too much information--which can make writing a focused paper difficult. If your topic is too narrow, you will not find enough information. It can be a balance to find a working topic--this is why research and clear research questions are important in the research process.
Background Information:
Background information can provide the history on a topic.
Background sources include reference materials (encyclopedias, textbooks, dictionaries, books, almanacs, etc.).
Background materials can provide terms to help you search for information--phrases and keywords.
Scholarly Articles:
Scholarly articles can be located in library databases and Google Scholar. Searches can be limited to specific information, including particular authors, full-text, and publication dates.
Depending upon assignment restrictions, DVD's and websites may provide useful for information.
Websites, DVD's and Additional Sources:
Depending upon your assignment or research, you may be able to use sources not considered scholarly. Check the assignment requirements for the types of sources allowed.
Evaluating Information:
Sources should be evaluated to determine if they are suitable for the assignment. Sources can be evaluated using the following criteria:
Currency--does the material fall within the required date frame? Is the material (especially medical) out of date? Is currency a component of your research question?
Relevancy--is the material relevant to your topic? Reading the article abstract can help you determine if the article is relevant to your topic.
Authority--what are the author's credentials? Does the author have the knowledge/expertise to write on the topic? What is the author's academic or institutional affiliation?
Accuracy--does the article contain current or historical information on a topic? Is a bibliography or list of references available?
Bias--is bias apparent in the article? Does the author attempt to sway the reader in a particular direction of thought? Is the author trying to persuade readers on a particular idea or focus?
A literature review is an analysis of the available scholarly material on a topic. The literature review incorporates the literature into a cohesive evaluation of the information available on a topic.
Literature reviews should provide a critical commentary on the topic; synthesizing the collected material. .
Literature reviews can be organized by the following:
Alphabetical: Author's last name.
Chronological--by date of publication.
Methodological--focused on the methods of the researcher.
Trend--if particular trends are available on your topic.
Thematic--organized by theme or subtopic or particular issues within the topic.
Literature reviews should contain an introduction, body of information, and a conclusion.
Introduction:
Defines the topic of the review and central theme of research questions.
Summarize the research on the topic.
Body:
Decide on organization of body.
Summarize resources rather than quote.
Weave the resources together in the body, what do they have in common, how do they differ. Connect the resources rather than reporting on each one separately.
Conclusion:
Summarize the current literature.
Discuss areas where additional research is needed.
