Tag Archives: literature work

what’s all this reading about then – starting the PhD

When you begin the PhD you will be told to read, and read a lot. But you’ll find not any old approach to reading will do. It’s a particular kind of reading that’s expected. So it’s important to get a … Continue reading

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#litreview. Defining – It’s your ‘take’

Most of us work in occupied research territories. Other researchers have been around at least some of the things that we are concerned with. Their work offers particular interpretations and perhaps ‘evidence’ that may – or may not – be … Continue reading

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#LitReview – Getting to structure, part one

If you are about to start reading for your doctorate, or are already in the reading phase, then you know that you are reading in order to: refine your research question, locate your work in the field, identify your potential … Continue reading

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getting to grips with new literatures

Over time all researchers build a knowledge base about their key interests. A large part of this knowledge is a core set of literatures. They/we do need to keep up to date, but they/we can rely on – and use … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, Endnote, literature mapping, literature review, literature reviews, note-taking | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

starting the PhD – digging in to the reading

Most people begin their PhDs by reading. That’s because planned research needs to build on what’s already out there, using what’s been done in order to spell out the expected contribution to knowledge. There are various ways to start getting … Continue reading

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putting the search into research – starting the phd

Getting through a doctorate requires a finely honed information practice. You have to become pretty good at summarising, synthesising and categorising ‘stuff’ – otherwise known as ‘the literatures’.  But you also have to keep track of what you’ve read, and … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, keywords, literature review, literature reviews, research, searching, starting the PhD | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

starting the phd – comparing and contrasting papers

Wondering how to bring some of those texts you are reading together? Working with literatures always requires you to summarise, then compare and contrast various aspects of a text. This is a little exercise I often ask people to do right … Continue reading

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working with literatures – love the uncertainty

I am frequently asked by doctoral researchers about reviewing literatures. As they talk, I often get a strong sense that their questions are accompanied by feelings of inadequacy.My guess is that they feel they ought to have more of a … Continue reading

Posted in doctoral research, literature mapping, literature review, literature themes, metaphor, uncertainty, wonder | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

mapping the literatures – noting. #acwrimo work in progress

I have been asked many times to talk about my own noting practices. So now seems like as good a time as any. What do my notes look like for this literatures work? The caveat I must make here is … Continue reading

Posted in blogging, blogging taxonomy, literature mapping, literature review, literature themes, note-taking | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments