Creating a Research Space

Which of these is an example of the most common mistakes made in reviewing research literature?

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem.

• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem.

• Uncritically accepting another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis.

• All of these.

Answer explanation

See page 12 of the course manual.

A ______ statement indicates to readers the kinds of ideas and evidence that will be explored in the essay body that follows. 

• Thesis statement

• Purpose staement

A ______ is a sentence that summarizes the specific topic and goals of a document. It typically gives the reader an accurate, concrete understanding of what the document will cover.

• Thesis statement

• Purpose staement

Your goal at this stage is to explain the current state of scholarship in the field and answer the question, “Why is this general research area important?”

• Establishing a Research Territory

• Establishing a Niche

• Occupying the Niche

Your goal at this stage is to explain how your research addresses the need you identified and list your specific research objectives, questions, or methods.

• Establishing a Research Territory

• Establishing a Niche

• Occupying the Niche

Your goal at this stage is to prepare your audience to understand how your research relates to the background you have given, highlighting gaps/problems in current knowledge that justify or explain the need for further investigation.

• Establishing a Research Territory

• Establishing a Niche

• Occupying the Niche

Previous studies of __________ have not examined...

Such studies are unsatisfactory because...

One question that needs to be asked, however, is...

Research on __________ has mostly been restricted to _________ so...

• Language for Establishing a Research Territory

• Language for Establishing a Niche

• Language for Occupying the Niche

The purpose of this literature review is to...

This study aims to...

The evidence collected from this study demonstrates...

This review outlines/examines...

• Language for Establishing a Research Territory

• Language for Establishing a Niche

• Language for Occupying the Niche

__________ has been extensively studied...

Interest in __________ has been growing...

Recent studies have focused on...

__________ has become a major issue...

• Language for Establishing a Research Territory

• Language for Establishing a Niche

• Language for Occupying the Niche

Ideally, your literature review should be based on the research project topic that you studied at the end of last semester, as you will already have some familiarity and first-hand experience with research in this area

• Yes!

• No.