Matthew Jones

Way to start #writing my #thesis literature review?

A #PhDstudent recently asked me: How do I start #writing my #thesis literature review?

First, recognize something: you are NOT yet an expert in the field, and that’s okay! The purpose of writing the literature review is to help you become an expert.

Second, a painful truth: This is not something you can rush, and you will have to iterate on it many times over months and years.

Here’s my advice.

Start slowly and methodically.

Ask your advisor to give you one paper that she/he thinks is “great” in your field.

PhD students — 10 things to do in the first year of your PhD.

Read the paper thoroughly. I mean really read it, taking notes on things like:
✏️ Introduction. How do the authors quickly narrow the scope to the “important” and “new” stuff in field? Or is the Intro too broad and meandering?
✏️ Objective. How do the authors identify a knowledge gap and how do they propose to solve it?
✏️ Methods. What do the authors do in the paper? How do they validate their findings?
✏️ Discussion. How do the authors link their data to prior #literature? How do they push beyond reporting #data to discuss its importance?
✏️ Conclusions. What do the authors say it all means by the end? Are you convinced by the evidence?
✏️ Writing. Is the writing clear? What is working/not in terms of the writing for you?
✏️ Structure. How is it organized? Beyond headings, what information is contained in each paragraph?
✏️ References. How do the authors use citations? How are they leveraging prior knowledge?
✏️ You. What don’t you understand from the paper? What do you need to discuss with someone more knowledgeable in the field?

After you read this first paper, discuss it with your advisor or more senior lab mates.

Are you about to start writing your PhD thesis?

Now, go find 2 papers that this first one cites, and 2 papers that cite this first one (all 5 from different authors).
Do the same exercise with these 4 papers (it will go faster the more you do!) AND then – critically – ask yourself:
✏️ How do these 5 papers, together, advance a common idea?
✏️ Why are these papers within the same “citation family” – why are they citing each other?
✏️ Is there something contradictory between the papers? Or are the findings aligned?

Have another conversation with your lab group to talk about the group of papers.

As you continue to read papers, keep the following in mind about literature reviews:
🔍 This is about synthesizing knowledge in the field (hence the second exercise).
🔍 We want to avoid writing things like “Lab 1 did this” and “Lab 2 found this” and “Lab 3 did this.” It lacks depth and evidence of critical thinking.
🔍 We want to tell a scientific story, showing how ideas in the field have evolved over time. Citations are used to support this… but it needs to be our analysis.

And… NEVER copy/paste stuff from a paper into a document. There’s a good chance you’ll forget you did this, and then accidentally end up plagiarizing someone else’s work!

FAQ

Some frequently asked questions about writing a literature review for a PhD:

• What exactly is a literature review, not only for a PhD but also for a research paper or any other type of study?
  Literature review is a critical summary of all the research and knowledge that has already been done on a certain topic. In a PhD thesis, it is an important part of the research process for the researcher to evaluate and synthesize what is already known about the topic in order to set the stage for their own study.
• Why this is important in a PhD thesis?
  This is important because it helps to show how important the research problem is, shows how well the researcher understands the field, and finds gaps in what is already known that the researcher’s study can fill.
• How do I select a topic for my literature review?
  This is a really good question. Your literature review should be about a topic that is closely related to your research question or problem. It should also be a well-known topic with enough research already done on it.
• How do I organize my literature review in the time of writing?
  There are different kinds of structure, just like there are different ways to format. Like, it can be done in a certain way, like using a chronological, thematic, or methodological structure. The writing should be clear, brief, and well-organized, and it should have a strong argument or main theme that runs through it.

Writer: Jillian Goldfarb
Associate Professor of Biological & Environmental Engineering,
Cornell University

𝟏. 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Many PhD students struggle to narrow down their research topic to a concrete research gap. Learn how to perform a gap analysis. Read more secondary studies. Make sure that you don’t end up doing something that already exists.

𝟐. 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬: Understand how your supervisors work. If they expect something in a written form in each meeting, make sure to follow accordingly. Learn what are the best ways to communicate with them and clarify expectations.

𝟑. 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬: Certain skills and habits are quite common across all types of research. For example, how to read a research paper, how to be consistent, and how to do a literature review are basic skills/habits for a PhD. Develop them as early as possible.

𝟒. 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫: This will really help you in the confirmation of your candidature if you have a paper published or at least submitted. Try to publish as soon as possible. If it happens, it will give a big boost to your confidence level.

What makes you an excellent PhD student??

𝟓. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡: The early you understand the importance of your mental and physical health in your PhD, the better it is for you. Don’t think that if you never exercised before, you don’t need it in your PhD either. You do need it.

𝟔. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬:  Once your gap research a matured level, start identifying and following the most relevant researchers, conferences, and journals. This will help to be updated and understand the expectations.

𝟕. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: Within 6 months or so into your PhD, start reflecting on what skills I am lacking. These skills could include networking, collaborations, presentation, and so on. Start developing them from there on.

𝟖. 𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡: Some students take too much teaching load right away. Don’t do it. It will impact your PhD progress. Once your PhD path is laid out, then you can teach in the later years.

𝟗. 𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲: Some students start in a very relaxed way – oh I have a lot of time. Start it with a full swing as later you might not be as energetic as you might be at the start. The first year is the most crucial year. Start it well and your life will be easy later.

𝟏𝟎. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟: At the start, most of the PhD students are directionless – what to do, what’s going on, days are passing by and I am not doing anything. Learn how to find your way forward right from the start.