. Critical literature review
A critical review of literature to address a
research question.
Word limit: 7500 words
Learning outcomes
The main learning outcomes are:
Skills in knowledge and
understanding
KU1: Key concepts, theories and methods relevant to
the study of cognitive, social, forensic and counselling psychology,
demonstrating a systematic and critical understanding, much of which is at the
forefront of the field.
KU2: A critical understanding of both the primary
theories plus a range of specialised theories, concepts and principles relating
to the complex interrelationships between theory and research, and related
policy and practice in the field of psychology with a particular focus on the
implications for applying psychology to everyday and professional contexts.
Cognitive skills
C1: Define, critically examine and construct
arguments in relation to concepts, theories and evidence in cognitive, social,
forensic and counselling psychology and demonstrate originality in the application
of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established
techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge
in the discipline.
C2: Independently select, interpret and evaluate
different forms of evidence and methods, and demonstrate an ability to
critically evaluate methodologies associated with the subject, and, where
appropriate, propose new hypotheses.
C3: Interrogate cognitive, social, forensic and
counselling psychology at an advanced level, to enable independent evaluation
of evidence, method, research and policy and demonstrate a conceptual
understanding that enables the student to critically evaluate current research
and advanced scholarship in the discipline and apply knowledge to new or unfamiliar
environments within a broader (multidisciplinary) context.
C5: Critically and independently review the
existing research evidence in a specific subject area, and evidence a
comprehensive understanding and use of a range of specialised skills, techniques
and practices applicable to their own advanced scholarship.
Key skills
KS3: Effectively use research evidence (numerical,
textual), from diverse sources (academic, secondary material), and from
different media (print, electronic, verbal) in a sophisticated and critical
manner.
KS4: Develop and display an advanced ability to
learn through reflection, feedback and peer-to-peer review, using appropriate
scholarly language, and apply in various situations; and evidence the capacity
to work with others to achieve joint outcomes, playing an active role in
facilitating effective social interaction, influencing and/or leading as
appropriate, and resolving potential conflict situations before they arise.
Practical and/or professional
skills
P1: Independently plan, conduct and manage a
sequence of work and projects to meet agreed deadlines.
Part 1 of the dissertation portfolio consists of a
critical literature review to address a research question (with up to three
sub-questions) on the topic you submitted for TMA 05. Your literature review
must:
·
identify, describe and compare
studies in a specific area of research relevant to your research question
·
critically evaluate those
studies
·
relate them to your research
question in order to reach an answer or conclusion.
Although this list suggests a straightforward,
linear sequence of tasks, in practice you will almost certainly have to move
backwards and forwards in a less tidy, more iterative process. It will be very
important to allow enough time to do this.
For example, your initial research question and the
literature searches you conducted for TMAs 05 and 06 will indicate the focus
for your literature search. However, when you conduct the main search you may
have difficulty finding enough recent relevant sources or, alternatively, there
may be too many sources to be manageable. You may also find that your initial
question has been answered by previous researchers. You may need to redefine
key terms and concepts. To proceed, you will therefore need to modify your
initial question. This is an entirely normal part of the development process.
Your final list of sources should provide a reader
with a fairly clear indication of your chosen topic and area of psychology. As
you conduct the search, make notes on what you are doing. Your final review
should include some account of a systematic (not random) search process
although it can also indicate necessary changes of direction, for example, when
you modify the research question.
You are expected to demonstrate a critical, analytic
understanding in assessing the literature. You will begin to critically
evaluate the studies as part of the search process. For instance, you need a
good number of high-quality sources. Check the PROMPT criteria but, ideally,
most of your sources will be recent articles from refereed psychology journals.
Of course, being critical does not mean judging the
material you review as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. (If you are unsure about this, look
back to the TMA 06 notes and to Week 38 for more guidance.) Being critical in
academic terms generally involves:
·
Being aware of the limitations of
the research (because all research has specific and therefore limited aims).
What is not considered or investigated in the research you discuss? A good way
to begin thinking about this is to look at the initial definitions of phenomena
and concepts, and perhaps also the methodology (see Weeks 9 and 21, and your
previous work on TMA 06). It may also be relevant to look at the date of the
research and think about how it might have been superseded by other research
and also by social change.
·
Recognising the possibility of
an alternative perspective (paradigm) and interpretation, with
different underlying premises and values.
·
Recognising the ‘real
world’ implications and even the political nature of supposedly
neutral academic positions. This is one of the concerns of critical
psychologists who have looked at how psychological knowledge can be used and
mis-used. A good way to begin thinking about this is to ask who (or what) is
being presented as the cause of a problem.
As already noted, in seeking an answer to your
research question, you may find that the initial question was unanswerable and
needs to be refined (the sub-questions can be useful here). Your aim, finally,
is to produce a contribution to existing knowledge, taking forward psychology
thinking and research.
In addition to finding the literature, critically
evaluating it and using it to answer a research question, you need to write up
your review and findings in a well-structured report. You are expected to move
beyond a simple description of the literature to present an argument utilising
the literature on the topic you choose. The starting point of this argument
will be your research question. This argument may or may not refer to a gap in
the literature. Where there is a gap in the literature, you need to make this
clear to your reader by the way you construct your argument.
Structuring your literature
review
Your literature review is a long document so you
will need to plan it carefully, then write the parts separately, probably with
several drafts of each.
The recommended structure for your literature
review is as follows:
·
An introduction, in which you
set out the main vantage point from which you examine the literature. Here you
should:
o introduce your research question (and
sub-questions) and the related topic, and explain why this topic matters
o explain how you have selected the research you are
focusing on
o briefly explain how you have organised the rest of
the literature review.
·
The main body, in which you
present your critical evaluation of the literature. Here you need to group the
literature you review in sensible ways and describe, compare and then evaluate
each cluster of studies. This involves explaining why each study is relevant to
your topic as well as pointing out the key differences and similarities between
them. You should also adopt a critical approach to both individual studies and
the overall findings across this cluster of studies.
·
The discussion, in which you
draw conclusions from the main body to arrive at your ‘answer’ to the research
question you posed at the beginning. This section should also include:
o a ‘Further research’ section in which you formulate
thoughts or questions for future research exercises
o an ‘Implications for practice’ section in which you
talk about what your conclusions logically lead to – for example, in terms of
recommended changes in practices.
·
The references, correctly
formatted following Cite Them Right (CTR). (The references are not included in the final
word count for the EMA.)
Please note that the DD803 EMA does not involve
primary research, such as collecting original data, and no additional marks
will be awarded for conducting any form of data collection and analysis. If you
are unsure about what primary research is, contact your supervisor.
The assessment of EMA 01
To assess EMA 01, the markers will consider:
·
the literature (e.g. quantity,
quality, connectedness)
·
the search process (a
transparent, systematic process)
·
the summary of the literature
(well-structured; critical and analytic, not descriptive)
·
your assessment of the literature
(coherent, clearly communicated)
·
the research question and
argument.
There will be an additional small mark for the
writing style and for referencing (CTR). Remember that assignments (or sections
of assignments) exceeding the word limit by more than 10 per cent will
automatically be marked down by 10 percentage points.