Http://guides.library.cornell.edu/criticallyanalyzing

 

Good information with examples are provided at:

 

Http://www4.caes.hku.hk/acadgrammar/litrev/main.htm

ENDNOTE REFERENCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

 

http://www.deakin.edu.au/library/search/endnote/: EndNote is a widely used reference database that enables you to create your own list of bibliographical references. EndNote is a bibliography/reference list maker that can locate cited works in its databases and build and format appropriate lists automatically. It can be used in conjunction with a word processing package. IT IS DIFFICULT TO SET UP CORRECTLY; PUBLISHERS DATABASE INTERFACES ARE NOT ALWAYS CORRECT; THE VAST MAJORITY OF PAPERS I ASSESS THAT USE ENDNOTE ARE MARKED DOWN DUE TO INCORRECT CITATIONS AND REFERENCES. BEWARE. If you want to use it become an expert, and always proofread your references.

 

Links to Other Sites

Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation

http://www.learnerassociates.net/dissthes/

 – There are English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic versions.

How to Write a PhD Thesis

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

 – There are English, Spanish, and French versions

An extensive list of websites discussing writing and presenting; I have not thoroughly checked and verified the sites, but for those I have, some are excellent, some are useless:

Http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/faculty/xie/advice.htm

THIS SECTION IS PRIMARILY A COMPILATION OF INFORMATION FROM THE VARIOUS, PRESENT AND PAST, SOMEWHAT FRAGMENTED WEB SITES, PRIMARILY FROM CORNELL UNIVERSITY, USED WITH PERMISSION

This guide generally outlines the steps in preparing a literature review. It is assumed that a library search has been performed or is about to be performed.

 

You need to formulate a research question which identifies the topic about which you are going to write. This website provides good advice on choosing and stating a research question: http://www8.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/0/f87fd7182f0ff21c852569c2005a47b7

 

Start the Introduction by Describing the Problem Area. Gradually Shift Focus to Specific Research Hypotheses, Purposes, or Questions.

 

Example: Topic Outline for Introduction

 

1. Effects of societal culture value dimensions on the processes of managerial leadership in virtual teams

a. Effects of high and low scores on dimensions in mono-cultural teams.

b. Effects high and low, and differences in dimension scores in multi-cultural teams.

 

2. Introduction to two types of questions

a. Requests for factual information (who, what, and when)

b. Questions about causation (why)

 

3. Relationship between cultural value dimensions and:

a. Interpersonal communication

b. Task vs. relationship orientation

c. Management of attitude and behaviour toward risk

f. Development of interpersonal trust

The Significance of a Topic should be Explicitly Stated in the Introduction to a Paper, Thesis, or Dissertation.

 

Example: 1. The need to investigate the effects of cultural value dimensions on managerial leadership of virtual teams is important due to their increasing use in modern business practice:

a. The number of companies implementing virtual team projects is increasing (cite reference)

b. Awareness of the effects of cultural value dimensions is not widespread in the literature (cite reference)

c. Specific effects of cultural value dimensions on virtual teams are different than on teams with co-located members

d. There are few education, training, and development programmes defined for this issue.

A Statement of Significance Should be Specific to the Topic Investigated

 

Example: Human resource is one of the greatest resources of this country, and education plays a major role in mainstreaming, nurturing, and protecting that resource. It is imperative that we find, evaluate, and use systems that yield the results that are necessary for the country’s progress

 

Use of the First Person is Acceptable; It Should be Used When it Helps the Smooth Flow of the Introduction

 

Example: I began to speculate on the origins of this problem during my three year’s work as a training and development manager in a multinational company with a highly diverse set of employees.

 

5. The Literature Review Should Be Presented as an Essay -- Not As An Annotated List: however, use headings to organise the paper and to guide the reader; the APA manuscript style guide is a good source for how to use and format headings.

 

Example:

 

History of Purposes of Staff Development

 

 "... as it appeared in Smylie (1993), "Historically, the enhancement function of staff development has not been very successful" (p. 2). Guskey (1986) reports that virtually every major work on the subject in the last thirty years has emphasized its general lack of effectiveness. Indeed, as practiced in most school districts, staff development for the improvement of practice plays a small and ineffectual role in the professional lives of teachers (Hawley & Rosenholts, 1984; Howley & Vaughn, 1993; Joyce, Bush, and McKibbon, 1981).

 

The Literature Review Should Emphasize the Findings of Previous Research -- Not Just the Methodologies and Variables Studied

 

POOR Example: Smith (1995) studied the classroom dynamics of inclusion settings in an intense two-year case study.

 

BETTER Example: Smith (1995) found that the quality of interactions between teachers and students decreased significantly after adopting inclusive strategies. This study is important because, being based on a two-year case study, it is the most intensive study to date of the effects of inclusion on regular and special education students.