Tag: Find it at Lincoln

13 steps to literature review success

Daren Mansfield / / Study Skills

CapturestepsIn this blog post I want to outline the process of conducting a literature review on a chosen topic, such as ‘buyer behaviour and ethical purchase intentions’. My main advice whilst carrying out this type of research is to be open-minded and explore ideas as though it’s the first time you have come across this topic.

 

 

 

 

 

Literature searching and the art of reviewing literature 

  1. Allow yourself time to browse the library catalogue (library.lincoln.ac.uk > resources > Library catalogue…) http://catalogue.library.lincoln.ac.uk/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=
  2. Search for relevant material on your chosen topic.
  3. Search for ‘BA marketing’ for instance as this will bring up undergraduate dissertations. (282 titles matched)
  4. Search Find it at Lincoln on the Library webpage (on Find it at Lincoln you can ‘add to folder’ which makes it easier to collate your research, and send it via email then save on your student drive, memory stick, et al).
  5. Search the Advertising and Marketing Library subject guide: http://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/advertisingandmarketing for relevant databases like Warc.com and ABI Inform using keywords like ‘buyer behaviour and ethical purchase intentions’ (ABI Inform has some 7, 154 results).
  6. Identify key articles, conference papers, quality newspapers (check out the Lexis Library database), and interesting chapters relevant to your topic.
  7. I might amend my searches by adding ‘motivation’ or ‘actual’ to refine my research .
  8. Explore some ideas and focus your reading, BEFORE writing any draft (but be adaptable, open to change as your literature review may veer from its original course).
  9. Critically evaluate what you read; don’t take things at face value, look deeper. It is healthy to question everything but remember to be objective to form a balanced opinion.
  10. Look for ‘chains’ (they will make the structure easier) when you design the essay plan. How does one piece of research or set of ideas influence the next? Use a mind map or flow chart if necessary.
  11. Write brief notes about the development of the research over time
  12. Note the key 5-10 pieces of research that most influenced the subject. Briefly chart how each piece of research influenced others in the chain.
  13. Identify how your research will follow on from previous research. Will it add to knowledge about the topic or methods? Add this to your introduction.

(indebted to Stella Cottrell’s ever popular Study Skills Handbook, 2008). Making study easier. Incidentally, Stella’s now PVC for Learning, Teaching and Student Engagement at the University of East London.

For a more detailed overview of a literature review I found it a pleasure to read the University of Leicester’s Student Learning Development webpage on Doing a Literature Review. http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/literature-review which contains invaluable advice on structure, editing, remaining focused, amongst other gems. Reviewing literature can be overwhelming and it is a skill in knowing where the boundaries lay (i.e. what to leave in, what to leave out) and is a cause of many a student headache so it’s worth to remember the valuable advice from Rudestam and Newton (1992:49) when they said to ‘build an argument, not a library’.

References

Cottell, S. (2008). Study Skills Handbook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rudestam K. & Newton R. (1992). Surviving your dissertation. London:Sage.

 

 

 

5 easy steps to a successful essay plan

Daren Mansfield / / digital learning

You may be wondering how to can plan an assignment using our library resources? There is an easy way to design an essay structure using our library search engine, Find it at Lincoln. Using themed searches 5 or 6 times (depending on the length of your assignment) you can email relevant journal articles and save them on your student profile. These folders could become the main body of your assignment, with each folder representing a paragraph. Your introduction would simply be an explanation of what you are going to cover, whilst your conclusion is the summary of your reading.

How to locate databases on the new Library website

Daren Mansfield / / Library Information

By way of explanation, I’ve produced a step-by-step guide on how to find resources, such as business databases, on the new Library website. It’s a slightly different approach than last academic year, but it is easy to use and should enhance your research.

Simply go to the website address at:

http://library.lincoln.ac.uk/

On the right hand side of the screen you will see ‘Find it at Lincoln’

Within this box you can either search for research material such as journal articles and books, or just search the library catalogue (just tick the box underneath the search box). If you want to search specific resources then select ‘more resources’ below the search box. On the left hand side of the screen you will see ‘Resources’:

 

 

 

From the Resources section you will be able to search for a journal title (via the electronic journals a-z) or investigate databases, such as FAME or Mintel, by following the relevant links.