Savvy Researcher Workshop Series

Topic: What is a Literature Review

Time: 15h00-16h30

Venue: Ulwazi Training Room 

Description

Writing a review of the relevant literature is a key component of many kinds of research texts. In this interactive workshop, we will demonstrate a number of strategies that model a viable approach to the complex literature review (LR) task. This session will provide an overview of the literature review and its place in a research project, thesis or dissertation, and demonstrate some strategies and resources for finding the information you need using UCT Libraries. Although the LR can be a daunting task, especially in heavily-researched areas, there is a silver lining; students typically emerge from the process as experts in their chosen fields of specialization.

Savvy Series 

The Library's Savvy Researcher workshop series brings information professionals and university experts together with postgraduate students to explore topics related to research and academic success. Some workshops are tool-based, some focus on particular library resources, and others are topical, but the primary goal is to help postgraduate students understand and use the Library efficiently and effectively.

Research life cycle

• This series has been structured to follow the phases of the research life cycle.
• The specific model is based on one developed by John Unsworth in 2000.
• The model consists of five phases (main phases in the life of a research project) and has been adapted to reflect the library resources, services and facilities in each phase of research.

The Research Life Cycle, adapted from John Unsworth’s “Scholarly primitives” published in 2000

1.     Discover refers to getting an overview of the resources, training opportunities, materials and forms of assistance the Library offers to support your research project.

2.     Gather refers to resources, skills and strategies the Library provides for you to find information sources.

3.     Create includes ways the Library supports annotation, “writing up”, working collaboratively, and compliance issues (copyright, avoiding plagiarism, etc.).

4.     Share refers mainly to publishing, identifying suitable journals in which to publish, choosing between Open Access and commercial publishers, and preserving your research in the institutional repository.

5.     Measure refers to determining the value or impact of your research contribution.