How to write a literature review

怎样写文献综述

What is a literature review?

文献综述是什么？

 The aim of a literature review is to show your reader (your tutor) that you have read, and have a good grasp of, the main published work concerning a particular topic or question in your field. This work may be in any format, including online sources. It may be a separate assignment, or one of the introductory sections of a report, dissertation or thesis. In the latter cases in particular, the review will be guided by your research objective or by the issue or thesis you are arguing and will provide the framework for your further work.
   文献综述的目的是告诉读者（或导师），你已阅读并较好理解了一些公开发表的文献，这些文献与你所在领域的某个主题或问题有关。 这些文献可以是任何形式的，包括在线资源。文献综述可能是单独的任务，也可能是报告、学位论文的引言部分。对于后一种情况（论文引言），文献综述的进行由研究目标或你论证的问题或论文指导，并为进一步的工作提供框架。

 It is very important to note that your review should not be simply a description of what others have published in the form of a set of summaries, but should take the form of a critical discussion, showing insight and an awareness of differing arguments, theories and approaches. It should be a synthesis and analysis of the relevant published work, linked at all times to your own purpose and rationale.
  有一点很重要，你要明白你的综述不应简单的以一系列总结的形式描述他人已发表的文章，而应该采用批判讨论的形式，展现出深刻见解，意识到不同的论点、理论和方法。 综述应是相关文献的综合与分析，并时刻与你自己的目的和理由相连。

According to Caulley (1992) of La Trobe University, the literature review should:

根据 La Trobe 大学的 Caulley (1992) 文献综述应该:

• compare and contrast different authors’ views on an issue
  比较和对比不同作者对同一个问题的看法

• group authors who draw similar conclusions
  将得出相似结论的作者分组

• criticise aspects of methodology
  在方法论层面进行评论

• note areas in which authors are in disagreement
  注意文章作者有不同观点的地方

• highlight exemplary studies
  突出具有示范性的研究

• highlight gaps in research
  突出研究中的缺陷或空白

• show how your study relates to previous studies
  说明前人的研究如何与你的研究相关联

• show how your study relates to the literature in general
  说明你的研究如何与所看文献的相关联（不准确）

• conclude by summarising what the literature says
  总结文献内容

The purposes of the review are:

文献综述的目的：

• to define and limit the problem you are working on
  定义并将正在研究的问题限制在一个合理的范围

• to place your study in an historical perspective
  将你的研究放于历史的视角

• to avoid unnecessary duplication
  避免没有必要的重复工作

• to evaluate promising research methods
  评估有前景的研究方法（找到我们能用的好的方法，或者给我们提供思路）

• to relate your findings to previous knowledge and suggest further research
  将你的发现与之前的知识联系起来，指导进一步的研究

 A good literature review, therefore, is critical of what has been written, identifies areas of controversy, raises questions and identifies areas which need further research.
  好的文献综述对所写内容至关重要，会确定争论所在的地方，提出问题并确定需进一步研究的领域。

Structure of the literature review

文献综述结构

 The overall structure of your review will depend largely on your own thesis or research area. What you will need to do is to group together and compare and contrast the varying opinions of different writers on certain topics. What you must not do is just describe what one writer says, and then go on to give a general overview of another writer, and then another,and so on. Your structure should be dictated instead by topic areas, controversial issues or by questions to which there are varying approaches and theories. Within each of these sections,you would then discuss what the different literature argues, remembering to link this to your own purpose.
  综述的总体结构主要取决于你的论文或研究领域。你要做的是分类并比较和对比某一领域不同作者不同的观点。 你不能仅仅描述作者说了什么然后对另一个作家做一个总体概述，等等。综述的结构应该由主题所在领域，有争议的问题或具有不同方法和理论的问题决定。

 Linking words are important. If you are grouping together writers with similar opinions, you would use words or phrases such as:

• similarly, in addition, also, again

  连接词很重要。 在分类有相似观点的作者时，你可使用下面这些单词或短语：

• 类似地，除了…之外，也，同样

 More importantly, if there is disagreement, you need to indicate clearly that you are aware of this by the use of linkers such as:

• however, on the other hand, conversely, nevertheless

  更重要的是，如果存在不同观点，你需要用下面这些连接词清楚的表明你意识到了这些分歧：

• 但是，另一方面，相反地，然而

 At the end of the review you should include a summary of what the literature implies, which again links to your hypothesis or main question.
  综述的最后应该包括对文献暗示的总结，该总结同样与你的假设和主要问题相关。

Writing the review

文献综述写作

 You first need to decide what you need to read. In many cases you will be given a booklist or directed towards areas of useful published work. Make sure you use this help. With dissertations, and particularly theses, it will be more down to you to decide. It is important, therefore, to try and decide on the parameters of your research. What exactly are your objectives and what do you need to find out? In your review, are you looking at issues of theory, methodology, policy, quantitive research, or what? Before you start reading it may be useful to compile a list of the main areas and questions involved, and then read with the purpose of finding out about or answering these. Unless something comes up which is particularly important, stick to this list, as it is very easy to get sidetracked, particularly on the internet.
  首先需确定你要阅读什么东西。 你将会有一个书单或者指向有用的已发表的文献的范围，请务必使用这些辅助资源。在此基础上，对于具体的论文或者其他特定的一些材料，更多的需要自己选择决定。因此，尝试和确定你的研究的范围很重要。（回答两个问题）你的目的到底是什么，你需要寻找的是什么？在你的综述中，你是否正在研究理论、方法论、政策、定量研究或者其他什么问题？在开始阅读文献之前，可先编写一个清单，清单上记下主要范围和涉及的问题，然后带着这个目的去读，去找寻相关资料和回答那些问题。除非遇到某件特别重要的事情，则坚持使用这个清单，因为在互联网时代很容易分散注意力。

 A good literature review needs a clear line of argument. You therefore need to use the critical notes and comments you made whilst doing your reading to express an academic opinion. Make sure that:
  一篇好的文献综述要有清晰的论点。因此需要用你在阅读文献时的重要笔记和评论来表达学术观点，请确保以下几点：

• you include a clear, short introduction which gives an outline of the review, including the main topics covered and the order of the arguments, with a brief rationale for this.
  用清晰、简短的引言，说明综述的大纲，包括所综述的主题、论点的安排顺序，并作出简要说明。

• there is always a clear link between your own arguments and the evidence uncovered in your reading. Include a short summary at the end of each section.
  在你的论点和阅读时没有覆盖到的论据之间要有清晰的联系，在每一部分结尾要有一个简短的总结。

• you always acknowledge opinions which do not agree with your thesis. If you ignore opposing viewpoints, your argument will in fact be weaker.
  在阅读文献是你总会遇到和你的论文有分歧的观点，如果你忽视不同观点，你的论据将是不充分的。

 Your review must be written in a formal, academic style. Keep your writing clear and concise, avoiding colloquialisms and personal language. You should always aim to be objective and respectful of others’ opinions; this is not the place for emotive language or strong personal opinions. If you thought something was rubbish, use words such as “inconsistent”, “lacking in certain areas” or “based on false assumptions”! (See Guide 1.21)
  你的综述应该用正式和学术的风格写作。使用清晰简洁的语言，避免口语或口头禅。你应该始终以客观和尊重他人观点为目标，这不是使用情绪化语言和激烈地表达个人观点的地方。如果你认为某些东西是有问题的，用一些言辞比如“不一致的”，“某些地方缺乏”或“基于错误的假设”！（见指南1.21）

 When introducing someone’s opinion, don’t use “says”, but instead an appropriate verb which more accurately reflects this viewpoint, such as “argues”, “claims” or “states”. Use the present tense for general opinions and theories, or the past when referring to specific research or experiments:
  当介绍某人观点时，不要用“说”，而是用合适的动词，该动词能准确的反应这些观点，比如“认为”，“声称”，“宣称”。关于时态，说明主要观点和理论时用现在时，说明特定的研究和实验用过去时：

Although Trescovick (2001) argues that attack is the best form of defence, Boycott (1969) claims that …
虽然 Trescovick (2001)认为进攻是最好的防守，但 Boycott (1969)宣称…

In a field study carried out amongst the homeless of Sydney, Warne (1999) found that …
对悉尼无家可归者的实地调查中，Warne (1999)发现…

 And remember at all times to avoid plagiarising your sources. Always separate your source opinions from your own hypothesis. making sure you consistently reference the literature you are referring to. When you are doing your reading and making notes, it might be an idea to use different colours to distinguish between your ideas and those of others. (See Guide 1.13).
  并且你要时刻记住，避免剽窃他人成果。 要总是对文献中的观点和你自己假设做区分，并确保始终参考的是你所指的文献。当阅读和做笔记时，可以用不同的颜色来区分你的观点和他人的观点。

Final checklist

最终清单

Here is a final checklist, courtesy of the University of Melbourne: (Home : Library)
这是墨尔本大学提供的最终清单：(Home : Library)

Selection of Sources

资源选择

• Have you indicated the purpose of the review?
  是否明确了这篇文献综述的目的？

• Are the parameters of the review reasonable?
  综述的范围是否合理？

• Why did you include some of the literature and exclude others?
  为什么用这部分文献而不用其他的？

• Which years did you exclude?
  排除了哪些年份的文献？

• Have you emphasised recent developments?
  强调了最新进展吗？

• Have you focussed on primary sources with only selective use of secondary sources?
  是否专注于一手资源，选择性使用二手资源？

• Is the literature you have selected relevant?
  所选文献是否相关；

• Is your bibliographic data complete?
  数目数据是否完整？

Critical Evaluation of the Literature

文献评价

• Have you organised your material according to issues?
  是否根据问题组织材料？

• Is there a logic to the way you organised the material?
  组织材料的方式的逻辑是否合理？

• Does the amount of detail included on an issue relate to its importance?
  问题涉及的细节数量是否与问题的重要性相关？

• Have you been sufficiently critical of design and methodological issues?
  对设计和问题方法是否已充分论证？

• Have you indicated when results were conflicting or inconclusive and discussed possible reasons?
  在结果冲突或不确定时是否明确指出并讨论可能的原因？

• Have you indicated the relevance of each reference to your research?
  是否表明每条引用与你研究的相关性？

Interpretation

说明

• Has your summary of the current literature contributed to the reader’s
  understanding of the problems?
  对现有文献的总结是否有助于读者理解问题？

• Does the design of your research reflect the methodological implications of the literature review?
  你的研究的设计是否反映了文献综述的方法学意义？

Note

特别指出

• The literature review will be judged in the context of your completed research.
  文献综述将根据你完成的研究进行评判。

• The review needs to further the reader’s understanding of the problem and whether it provides a rationale for your research.
  文献综述需帮助读者进一步了解问题，以及是否为你的研究提供合理性根据。

  来源：网络/翻译：蔡先生（转载自知乎）

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