'The Literature Review'

#phdchat tweet log - 22nd February 2012

@NSRiazat - Welcome to #phdchat - topic tonight is 'the literature review'. Please use the hashtag so your tweets are included in the wiki archive. :)

@NSRiazat - The key to a good literature review is knowing the purpose of it - a historical background to the research, an overview of (1/3) #phdchat

@LBA_OX12 - Much reading @ this early stage- can't see the focus yet. Trying 2 work out when 2 start writing. Anyone else like this? #phdchat #phdchat

@NSRiazat - ...the current context, a discussion of theories/concepts underpinning research and relevant terminology and definitions... (2/3) #phdchat

@NSRiazat - ...to show how the terminology will be used in context of own research....(3/3). Wish I had known this beforehand! :-) #phdchat

@planetchampion - I called my Lit Rev The Engine when writing. It drives the research + justifies gap -without it there is no PhD No uniqueness #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @LBA_OX12 - was in the same place in the early stages of PhD. It becomes clearer as the work evolves over time. #phdchat

@CET47 - @LBA_OX12 I was like that at the beginning as well. im now a year into my PhD and everything is much better. #phdchat

@RichJ23 - @NSRiazat I spent a while just reading papers without a sense of direction. Focus one of the most important aspects of research #phdchat

@planetchampion - You can put terminology into a glossary. Don't bore your examiner! Lit Rev tells a strong story Why What's gone before. Why Unique #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @LBA_OX12 ~ whatever read in the early stages and not used in the thesis can be saved for other papers, articles and blogs. #phdchat

@LBA_OX12 - @NSRiazat Thx. It's as clear as mud @ present #phdchat #phdchat

@respros - @LBA_OX12 Enjoy and embrace the chaos I say. I was like that for at least a year before things started to settle down. #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @RichJ23 ~ yes agree. Did the same in early stages. Now reading is more focused and targetted but it does take time to get there. #phdchat

@AmandaMichelle - my question on the lit review side of things: HOW do u know when enough is enough & what to in-/exclude esp in terms of objectivity #phdchat

@planetchampion - @respros @LBA_OX12 If you want to do it in 3 years You can't be confused for 12 months #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @LBA_OX12 - hang in there - it does become clearer as you progress through the months. #phdchat

@RichJ23 - @NSRiazat took me 4 months until I really had a problem to get my teeth stuck into - then lit search became interesting. #phdchat

@AmandaMichelle - i'm over here trynna participate in #phdchat like i'm not at internship needing to do work. O_o

@LBA_OX12 - Thx for replies - I've the broad problem - can't narrow it down yet..... #phdchat #phdchat

@planetchampion - @NSRiazat Not unusual!!! Having a strong sense on the contribution makes a whole lot of things easier! :-) #phdchat

@LBA_OX12 - @planetchampion Doing it part-time - started Oct' 11 - #phdchat #phdchat

@ClaretCarly - @RichJ23 @nsriazat I worry about the extent of my literature search & missing papers out. I guess the question is when to stop? #phdchat

@planetchampion - @LBA_OX12 Part-time is really hard! but I did mine around 3 kids as single parent. To do a PhD you have to know your U contribution #phdchat

@planetchampion - @ClaretCarly @RichJ23 @nsriazat Knowing when to stop! That was a question I was asked at my pre-phd interview! any ideas? #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @planetchampion @LBA_OX12 ~ agreed - contribution to new knowledge/analysis is the difference between a PhD and a Masters degree. #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @planetchampion @ClaretCarly @RichJ23 - stopped when same/similar ideas came out in papers/books I was reading. #phdchat

@martin_eve - Copyright and academia; particularly for Ph.Ds http://t.co/aS74w4lK #Copyright #PhDchat #Sussex

@NSRiazat - @planetchampion @ClaretCarly @RichJ23 ~ think you just have to make a conscious decision to stop - it's an endless task otherwise. #phdchat

@planetchampion - @NSRiazat @ClaretCarly @RichJ23 AND Crucially when the same AUTHORS keep reappearing -do you know your audience? #phdchat

@CET47 - I'm afraid of missing something really important in my lit review! its not possible to read absolutely everything! #phdchat

@ClaretCarly - @NSRiazat @planetchampion @richj23 True, there is only so much time! #phdchat

@planetchampion - Also have to keep an eye on the lit throughout -an examiner will look at submission date and refs v carefully! #phdchat

@NSRiazat - Anyone used http://t.co/1P3NFwpS (Consortium of University research Libraries - COPAC) as a resource? #phdchat

@planetchampion - @CET47 Very understandable -it's why Authors are the key -you can search for their new work more easily -check their refs etc #phdchat

@Judiebbrell - #phdchat Hi Just catching up on tonight's chat - been doing kids pick ups!

@ai1sa - several layers to litR: the question, gaps to explore, method to use, how informs analysis, & conclusions= Very iterative process #phdchat

@martin_eve - Apologies, that copyright link was borked. #phdchat

@planetchampion - First thing the examiner will look at will be the refs section Make sure it is PERFECT and you have read everything in it! #phdchat

@martin_eve - Copyright and academia; particularly for Ph.Ds. Fixed link! http://t.co/k9ZaeclD #phdchat

@NSRiazat - #phdchat - http://t.co/BlFyTfrb - also worth a look but is not up to date. Still some useful sources. #phdchat

@planetchampion - @ai1sa That sounds like a description of a year 1 report to me -not a lit rev for a thesis? #phdchat

@NSRiazat - Extracting and synthesising the main points, issues, findings to the strict word limit is a challenge at times. #phdchat

@CET47 - @ai1sa @planetchampion I agree i think that sounds very like what I had to put together to transfer to 2nd year. #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @planetchampion @ai1sa Lit rev can include several discourses, though? Sometimes I have a hard time keeping mine separate! #phdchat

@planetchampion - @NSRiazat ALWAYS worry about the word limit AFTER you have got the story right.... #phdchat

@NSRiazat - Also used Excel mindmaps to make links between papers and academics from literature review reading to make it flow better. #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - How about defining a puzzle, anyone else had troubles with that? I find it really difficult! #phdchat

@ClaretCarly - @RichJ23 @nsriazat @LBA_OX12 My supervisor suggested I write a review paper in 1st yr, really helped to focus my reading #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @planetchampion - wrote 'freestyle' in Yr 1/2 and now cutting & editing the most useful and relevant sections now I have more data #phdchat

@planetchampion - @LottaFriedner @ai1sa Discourses on method + analysis in a methods chap will keep clarity in your writing #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @NSRiazat That's a nice idea, I'll try that! #phdchat

@Janshs - What's #PhDChat topic?

@planetchampion - @LottaFriedner @ai1sa You need to be crystal clear on your unique contribution which isn't usually a new method? #phdchat

@planetchampion - @NSRiazat When do you think you will finish? #phdchat

@planetchampion - @ClaretCarly @RichJ23 @nsriazat @LBA_OX12 You should read and then write; read and then write etc all the way through! #phdchat

@RichJ23 - @NSRiazat @planetchampion @claretcarly ... I found it very useful to start with papers which themselves are a review. #phdchat

@ai1sa - @LottaFriedner yes, lit review for me separated the discourses so i could locate gaps- which was tied heavilly to a method of study #phdchat

@planetchampion - @ai1sa @LottaFriedner That sounds excellent! Getting logical coherence all the way through is a huge challenge! :-) #phdchat

@ai1sa - more than one way to skin a cat or to use literature in a phd #phdchat

@Judiebbrell - I agree not much being said about pro bill - cos there is no pro bill! #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @Janshs ~ the literature review #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @ai1sa How was that tied to the method? My discourses are separated by topics and ontological premises more than by methods. #phdchat

@Judiebbrell - sorry wrong chat - jumping between nhssm debate #phdchat

@planetchampion - @ai1sa RE:more than one way to skin a cat or to use literature in a phd But only a few if you want to do it in 3 years #phdchat

@ai1sa - @LottaFriedner am studying change, & my methodology actor-network theory is a 'theory' of translation/change, so addresses the gap #phdchat

@Janshs - @NSRiazat ok sounds good #PhDChat

@ai1sa - @planetchampion I am in my eigth year PT. A longterm study of change and use of emergent technology. #phdchat

@ai1sa - some fields (mine) the literature was not present at the start of the field, so it is not a linear process #phdchat

@planetchampion - @ai1sa Ailsa I'd be interested to know which 'emergent tec' you've been following #phdchat

@ai1sa - @planetchampion use of SMS messaging for counselling #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @ai1sa Yes, I know my area, theory and empirics, I want to contribute to more knowledge about it but hard to force it into a puzzle #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @germankiwi Right! But I start from a theory, can't study empirics before I have defined the problem... #phdchat

@LBA_OX12 - Ggap in lit in my area, so trying to mine lit to see what's around & impinging #phdchat #phdchat

@ai1sa - @LottaFriedner ahh: deciding on thesis direction from post doc directions=overwhelm the small space=just one part of the puzzle #phdchat

@EnricoCoiera - New BMJ blog summarises my experience so far with twitter for research #hcsm #originoftheses #phdchat http://t.co/iJoIHsjm

@germankiwi - @LottaFriedner Mhm. Maybe there is a Puzzle in the theory? maybe be in form of a oaradoxon? #phdchat

@germankiwi - @LottaFriedner Paradoxon i meant of course #phdchat

@LBA_OX12 - @LottaFriedner So how have you defined or come up with a puzzle? #phdchat #phdchat

@ai1sa - @LottaFriedner i invested most of 2011 re-tailoring my literature sections to suit the findings i have space for in the phd #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @germankiwi oaradoxon? A paradox? That's what I'm after! :) Need to do lit rev to find it, though! #phdchat

@ai1sa - my recalcitrant lit review helped hugely by the ch putting the octopus in the jar in Kamler and Thompsons http://t.co/nhkcn52X #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @ai1sa I have already changed the topic quite dramatically when I couldn't locate a good q - so have also read a lot I won't use #phdchat

@NSRiazat - 8.30pm brings us to the end of tonight's live #phdchat session - many thanks for valued contributions/following tonight :) #phdchat #phd

@ai1sa - @LottaFriedner i describe how my q morphed over time #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @NSRiazat Thank you! #phdchat

@ai1sa - @LottaFriedner i dont think there's ever anyone who doesnt read far more than will ever see light of day in the thesis :) #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @ai1sa Haha, you're right! That way at least we'll be able to engage with people in different areas! #phdchat

@salma_patel - @ai1sa Thanks, feel free to add it on :-) (Not sure I've got an account there any more) #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @ai1sa Probably a good strategy? I guess you always get to a pt where you have thematerial and just have to choose how to frame it. #phdchat

@lizith - @salma_patel @ai1sa if you mean the #phdchat wiki - your registration doesn't lapse :)

@ai1sa - @LottaFriedner was once told the good phder is the one who knows what to leave out #phdchat

@bennosaurus - Twitter, is there a contemporary counterpart to Kate Millet's Sexual Politics? #phdchat

@salma_patel - @lizith @ai1sa Pleased to hear ;-) #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @germankiwi I am convinced it is. Just afraid not to find it... But I guess that's the nature of it! :) #phdchat

@germankiwi - @LottaFriedner I guess so too. Took me a while to find my puzzle :) And maybe you find a different one while doing the lit review #phdchat

@LottaFriedner - @LBA_OX12 Still working on it! Reality doesn't fit with theory I use, so that's one pzl, but there are other possible theories... #phdchat

@LBA_OX12 - @germankiwi @LottaFriedner Yes, I have the puzzle, can't see the pieces yet... #phdchat #phdchat

@diana_whalen - Busy working on a symposium submission for ABCT 2012 #phdchat #acwri

@imakec02 - Totally off topic (apolog) - but I'm doing a research presentation tomorrow. Any tips for how many images / slides lasting 20 mins? #phdchat

@CET47 - @imakec02 probably about 15 slides for 20 mins, not too much text on the slides and only relevant images eg graphs,tables, maps #phdchat

@ScholarAtLarge - @imakec02 about 17 slides (a bit more than a min to talk about each) (for a 15 min presentation i usually have 12 slides) #phdchat

@srossmktg - TWO HOUR meeting with my advisor. Feel good about the direction of my thesis, but my head's definitely spinning. #phdchat

@David_S_Bristol - On the subject of PhDs - RT @martin_eve: Copyright and academia; particularly for Ph.Ds. Fixed link! http://t.co/Wu42MfHP #phdchat

@David_S_Bristol - Commented incl. qu: Does University hosting prevent publication?RT @martin_eve: Copyright and academia http://t.co/Wu42MfHP #phdchat

@SchulichENGG - Why you should be following the hashtags #MyResearch and #PhDChat > #Engineering + #Science community talks Twitter, http://t.co/zpoEiELv

@strictlykaren - @srossmktg how frequently do you meet with sups? Are you full or part time #phdchat

@NSRiazat - Just reflecting on what a valuable supportive resource #phdchat has become over the year: a resource for PhD students by PhD students. #phd

@NSRiazat - Would like to sincerely thank all PhD students who post on #phdchat for making it such a great resource throughout my studies. #phd

@NSRiazat - @LottaFriedner - mind mapping really helped to see the key themes/arguments and what they meant to my research context emerging. #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @ClaretCarly @RichJ23 @LBA_OX12 - like the idea of a review paper to help focus the teading. :) #phdchat

@savasavasava - @NSRiazat it's been a while! I need to jump into one of the #phdchat meetings soon. I miss them. and I need them!

@NSRiazat - @ClaretCarly @RichJ23 - I also worry about missing a key paper or argument out. Just know I will find day before I submit. :-) #phdchat

@Janshs - @NSRiazat @claretcarly @richj23 probably the day after :)) #PhDChat

@ClaretCarly - @NSRiazat @richj23 @lba_ox12 It certainly helped with early reading & writing, and I'm now close to getting it published #phdchat

@NSRiazat - "@Janshs: @NSRiazat @claretcarly @richj23 probably the day after :)) #PhDChat" (LOL - will happen for sure now hehe.) :)))

@NSRiazat - @savasavasava - please do join us for #phdchat always great to catch up/hear from everyone - will be posting a poll in few days :) #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @ClaretCarly @richj23 @lba_ox12 - Excellent - a brilliant idea for focusing reading early on. I did 'laundry list' initially. :) #phdchat

@ClaretCarly - @NSRiazat @richj23 @lba_ox12 Yes, I'm extremely grateful to my supervisor for the suggestion! #phdchat

@indianscribes - 3 steps to better qualitative research design http://t.co/wIK9z9Va #phdchat via @streamresearch

@XarahC - @NSRiazat trying to catch up on chat: it's amazing how you instinctively develop a sense of focus for lit over a cpl years #phdchat

@PleagleTrainer - Making espresso, bacon and eggs. Imagining Bruno Latour and Pierre Bourdieu engaged in arm wrestling #phdchat #legaled #fb

@NSRiazat - "@Vitae_news Prof Matt Lambon Ralph Uni of Manchester - speaker at #Vitae12 Doctoral Training Centres http://t.co/hXJZf2kX @Uomnews #phdchat

@XarahC - @thesiswhisperer I've made a concerted effort to find the bulk of my literature from open-source channels- less demand less supply! #phdchat

@NSRiazat - @XarahC - agree - developing a literature focus does take time, experimenting with and exploring concepts over first few years. #phdchat

@srossmktg - @strictlykaren Were not doing "by committee" so much as one-on-one with advisor, thenmembers as needed. And Im meeting 3x/wk (FT). #phdchat

@rjfmelis - "@EnricoCoiera: New BMJ blog: my experience with twitter for research #hcsm #originoftheses #phdchat http://t.co/Uq04lDnl" Very nice! Thnx

@EvaAlisic - Wohooo, made my first Instruction Video! Twitter for Academics interested in trauma/mental health: http://t.co/hKscxswr #phdchat #hcsmanz

@EvaAlisic - Twitter for Academics: Instruction Video http://t.co/hKscxswr To share with not-yet-tweeters (via email) #phdchat #phd #research

@NSRiazat - @EvaAlisic - thanks for this link Eva - looks like a great resource. :) #phdchat #phd #research

@zaana - #phd 18month review submitted! & on time! w00t! 30K words, 100pgs w appendices. :D #phdchat #cultofdone #phew

@srossmktg - @zaana 18 month review? That's 3/8 of my program... #phdchat

@laramcpherson - @zaana Kicking goals Zaana! Amazing work! #phd #phdchat #cultofdone #phew

@thesiswhisperer - The academic writers strike - should you sign the cost of knowledge petition? The Thesis Whisperer http://t.co/wHZ7kQAh #phdchat

@ai1sa - I <3 my local librarian Andrew rocks! Hav migrated ENX3 to ENx4 with no tears, all files intact, Just a compressed file, all sweet #phdchat

@ai1sa - @PleagleTrainer who won the latour-bordieu arm wrestling? My money is on Latour. #phdchat

@effectsofNAPLAN - Great post about the thievery of written research @thesiswhisperer: http://t.co/QCUmzIh8 #phdchat #highered

@DaleReardon - What you should do with a paper once it has been published http://t.co/PJX4O0pU #phdchat #highered

@DaleReardon - Thought provoking RT @thesiswhisperer: The academic writers strike - should you sign the petition? http://t.co/ZUN15Y0n #phdchat

@PhillyPhutnotes - Me: Why do you have your sunglasses on in class? / / Student: Because the sun never sets in the land of cool. #phdchat #college