研究生学术英语写作教程Unit 3 Reviewing Literature

Unit 3 Reviewing Literature
Objectives:
- Learn how to formulate a research problem
- learn how to cite other people‟s previous work
- Try to be critical and related in your reviewing
- Avoid plagiarism
Contents
- Reading and discussion: sample introduction and elements in literature review.
- Language focus: tense in citation and citing verbs
- Writing practice: information prominent citation, author prominent citation, and weak author prominent citation
- Literature reviews related to your research
- No plagiarism
- Classroom extension: literature review of the social effects of tourism on developing countries
1.Reading Activity
1.1 Pre-reading Task
A literature review is not just a summary of what you have read. It focuses on a specific topic of interest to you and includes a critical analysis of relationship among different opinions and then relates this review to the work of your own. It may be written as a stand-alone paper or to provide a theoretical framework and rationale for a research study to become a part of the introduction section, especially in term papers or journal articles. However, in a thesis or dissertation it will be an entire chapter.
Read the sample introduction below and think about the following questions:
What is the purpose of writing a literature view?
What elements does an introduction include?
How do we relate other people‟s previous work to our present research?
How do we cite other people‟s previous work?
1.2 Reading Passage
Introduction
The poor have traditionally t aken the brunt of the blame for causing society‟s many problems including, more recently, environmental degradation. There is a general consensus that poverty is a major cause of environmental degradation. For example, in one of the conclusions of the Bruntland Commission Report, which incidentally has been accepted as the blue print for environmental conservation, it was explicitly stated that poverty is a major cause of environmental problems and amelioration of poverty is a necessary and central condition of any effective programs addressing the environment. Following similar lines, Jalal (2010), the Asian Development Bank's chief of the environment department says, "It is generally accepted that environmental degradation, rapid population growth and stagnant production are closely linked with the fast spread of acute poverty in many countries of Asia". The World Bank joined the consensus when in the 2011 World Development Report, the Bank explicitly stated that, “poor families who have to meet short term needs mine the natural capital by excessive cutting of trees for firewood and failure to replace soil nutrients ” (World Bank 2011).
However, there has been a rising trend in the economic literature which disputes the conventional theory and argues that simple generalizations of this multi-dimensional problem are erroneous and that a more complex set of variables are in play (Leach and Mearns, 2012). These studies point to demographic, cultural, and institutional factors as important variables in the poverty-environmental degradation nexus. An intricate web of factors plus the existence of feedback loops from environmental degradation to poverty makes the process of identifying causality links,
if any, between environmental degradation and poverty a difficult exercise. However, these studies have been few and isolated and it is interesting to note that until recently, there has been very little in-depth coordinated empirical research in the economics of environmental degradation-poverty causality relationships.
This brings to the purpose of this study. Both poverty and environmental degradation have been increasing in many developing countries; hence there is a pressing need first to evaluate and analyze the poverty-environmental degradation nexus, and second, to prescribe policy options to mitigate or eradicate these two problems.
The primary objective of the paper is to analyze critically the existing literature on the poverty-environmental degradation nexus and try to make "some order out of the chaos" inherent in this complex and difficult subject. For this paper, our analysis is limited to the following four main natural resources which are under serious threat of degradation in many developing countries: i) forests; ii) land; iii) water; and iv) air. Biodiversity is excluded at this point because the preliminary literature search found only scattered and inconclusive information. However, it should not be inferred that biodiversity is less important than the four resources chosen; indeed it is an area which needs particular attention in the future.
Once the natural resource sectors have been identified, a cause, impact and feedback analysis is carried out. In this manner, we hope first to identify the main agents and the degree of their contribution towards the destruction of the environment and second, the incentives or motivating factors encouraging their unsustainable activities. The impact and feedback analysis should highlight the main impacts arising from the degradation activities and the socio-economic effect these impacts have across the various income groups in the economy.
1.3 Reading Comprehension
1.3.1 List different opinions on poverty and environmental degradation
nguage Focus
2.1Tense in citation
Present tense - Authors mostly use the present tense verbs to show their opinion on another person's research, relate what other authors say or discuss the literature, theoretical concepts, methods, etc. However, the simple past and present perfect are also possible verb forms in this case. Look at these examples in the present tense: ∙Nelson (1995) remarks
∙Jones (2005) stresses
∙Morison (2000) advocates
∙Zhang (2007) claims
∙Zhambhi (2008) argues
Past tense- When you use the past tense, the reporting verb often occurs as an integral citation. In other words, citations with past tense verbs and named researchers as subject seem to have the discourse role of providing particulars for recounting events, results found or a preceding generalization or the basis for a claim, etc. In the example below, the citation reports the results of a single study.
Carlson and Benton (2007) found that as they increased the participants‟stress levels, the results of their performance deteriorated.
Common verbs in the past tense are: investigated, studied, compared, analyzed, found, and examined.
Present perfect - The present perfect tense can be used to state that the research results are recent, expressing what has been found over an extended period in the past and up to the present to highlight the direct relevance of previous studies to the writer's own research. Look at the following example:
Although the results of pervious studies showed that further research was warranted in this area, recent studies have demonstrated that educational methodology is now moving in a new direction (Jones, 2007; Karstal, 2008).
2.1.1 Check the sample introduction and complete the following table.
2.2Citing verbs
It is important that you learn how to cite information in a correct way. There are certain conventions to follow when citing someone‟s work. Words like “say”,“tell”, and “ask” are normally used in oral conversation s but are not appropriate in formal academic writing. The following table illustrates some appropriate words to use for reporting the work of others.
Verbs for saying
Jalal (1993) claims
believes
thinks
assumes
indicates
notes
remarks
states
shows
points out
that …
More V erbs for saying
Jalal‟s (1993) study suggests
considers
hypothesizes
concludes
comments
emphasizes
illustrates
proposes
establishes
maintains
that…
Verbs responding to others’
opinions
The analysis of the Jalal‟s report accepts
admits
agrees
doubts
that …
denies
argues
comments Verbs for saying a second time
Jalal (1993) further/additionally asserts
explains
confirms
maintains
advocates
that …
Poor patterns show that the writer has a mere grasp of the literature:
Jalal (1993) says that …The Asian Development Bank (1992) states that … Leach and Mearns (1995) argue that …
Better sample shows some critical thinking and sentence variety:
Jalal (1993) reports that his study of …shows …The findings are supported by the Asian Development Bank (1992) replication of … Although both these studies focus on …. They have ignored … According to Leach and Mearns (1995), …
2.2.2 Read three extracts on the issue of poverty and crime. Use the verbs above to cite opinions on poverty and crime.
3. Writing Practice
3.1 Using references
Use citation to develop your own argument.
Below are examples of parts of paragraphs using three different citation methods (The references cited have been invented for demonstration purposes only). These
methods can be called information prominent, where the focus of the sentence is only on the information being presented; author prominent, where the name of the author of the information is given prominence in the sentence; and weak author prominent, where the ideas of author(s) are given prominence, but authors‟names do not appear in the main part of the sentence. Observe how the different methods contribute to the way in which the writer‟s argument is developed.
Information prominent citation
Shrinking markets are also evident in other areas. The wool industry is experiencing difficulties related to falling demand worldwide since the development of high-quality synthetic fibers (Smith, 2000).
This is the default style in many areas of science. However, there are two other options, which should also be part of a writer‟s repertoire, for use when appropriate. Author prominent citation
Shrinking markets are also evident in other areas. Smith (2000) argued that the wool industry was experiencing difficulties related to falling demand worldwide since the development of high-quality synthetic fibers. However, Jones et al. (2004) found that industry difficulties were more related to quality of supply than to demand issues. It is clear that considerable disagreement exists about the underlying sources of these problems.
Weak author prominent citation
Shrinking markets are also evident in other areas. As Smith (2000) pointed out, the wool industry is experiencing difficulties related to falling demand worldwide since the development of high-quality synthetic fibers.
3.1.1 The following is a chart describing people living on less than 1.25 dollars.
Look at the following chart and practice citing these figures by using three different types of citation.
Figure: Poverty headcount ratio at $1.25 a day (% of population)
Created By Swati Revankar from World Bank, 2012 Information prominent citation
Author prominent citation
Weak author prominent citation
3.2 Relating literature to your research
It is easy to write a bad literature review and difficult to write a good one. The main mistake that a lot of people make is to write a literature review that looks like this:
LITERATURE REVIEW
Until recently many researchers have shown interest in the field of coastal erosion and the resulting beach profiles. They have carried out numerous laboratory experiments and field observations to illuminate the darkness of this field. Their findings and suggestions are reviewed here.
JACHOWSKI (2008) developed a model investigation conducted on the interlocking precast concrete block seawall. After a result of a survey of damages caused by the severe storm at the coast of USA, a new and specially shaped concrete block was developed for use in shore protection. This block was designed to be used in a revetment type seawall that would be both durable and economical as well as reduce wave run-up and overtopping, and scour at its base or toe. It was proved that effective shore protection could be designed utilizing these units.
HOM-MA and HORIKAWA (2008) studied waves forces acting on the seawall which was located inside the surf zone. On the basis of the experimental results conducted to measure waves forces against a vertical wall, the authors proposed an empirical formula of wave pressure distribution on a seawall. The computed results obtained by using the above formula were compared well with the field data of wave pressure on a vertical wall.
SELEZOV and ZHELEZNYAK (2009) conducted experiments on scour of sea bottom in front of harbor seawalls, on the basis of the theoretical investigation of solitary wave interaction with a vertical wall using Boussinesque type equation. It showed that the numerical results were in reasonable agreement with laboratory experimental data.
3.2.1 Consider again the purposes of writing a literature review. See if you can answer the following questions about the literature review above:
1. What questions does this literature review answer?
2. What questions doesn't it answer?
3. Which method has the writer used to organize the literature review?
4. Is it a good literature review? Why?
3.3 Avoiding plagiarism
3.2.1 Below are two versions of the same information, adapted from the Introduction by McNeill et al. (2007). Decide which version has the problem of plagiarism and identify where the writer has plagiarized
Version 1:
Russell and Fillery (2006), using a stem-feeding technique, have shown that in situ 15N-labelling of lupin plants growing in soil cores enabled total belowground N to be estimated under relatively undisturbed conditions, but they indicated that the technique was not adaptable to all plants, particularly pasture species.
Version 2:
Russell and Fillery (2006), using a stem-feeding technique, have shown that in situ 15N-labelling of lupin plants growing in soil cores enabled total belowground N to be estimated under relatively undisturbed conditions. However, this technique is not adaptable to all plants, particularly pasture species.
4. Writing Project
Write a literature review for your research by the following steps:
1. Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
2. Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
3. Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
4. Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature
5. Relate the review to your research topic
You are preparing to write an essay ent itled “The social effects of tourism on developing countries”. Read the following abstract and then try to write a literature review relating to the topic according to the above mentioned steps:
Abstract
Tourism is the fastest growing industry internationally. Popular areas of study are the economic, environmental and sociocultural impacts of tourism in developing countries. Very few studies have been conducted on the impact of tourism on the hosts‟ health status. Nowadays, the emergence of new infectious diseases or the
re-emergence of diseases are causing concern and travel is a major contributor to their spread. The objectives of this study were: to review literature related to the topic as a background for future research; to explore if findings from a field trip to Easter Island/Chile and Peru support the hypotheses derived from the analysis of publications; to recommend a range of research topics based on the outcome of this study; and to propose elements of a framework for the assessment of health impacts of tourism. The findings suggest that there are considerable gaps in the current knowledge on tourism‟s health impacts. Potential indirect and direct health impacts have been identified. Workplace health and safety concerns in relation to local tourism employees have been raised. A wide range of research topics has been suggested based on these findings. Finally, elements of a possible framework for understanding tourism‟s health impacts and their interrelationships have been identified.
Sources from: Irmgard Bauer, THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 10, No. 1, MAY …99 11
5. Final Checklist
Here is a final checklist for writing Introduction (including literature review). Use it to check what you have written in the previous task.。