[MUSIC]. Hi, I'm Yenn. And I'm here with, Simon. In the previous video, we were saying that research is not just about reading a lot. However, reading is still such an important element of doing research. So this week we asked our contributors about what they think about the points of doing a literature review, and the values of a good literature review. Simon. >> Thank you. I think what we took away from the interviewee's comments with regard to literature reviews and their value. Was only how many of them talked about being part of a conversation. A number of them used a metaphor of pulling a chair up to a table. A roundtable discussion of the states of the issue that you're interested in. The one that's flowing out of your research question. Listening to other people's point of view is one part of a literature review. And in that sense, understanding where the different people around the table and their point of view. But equally what one needs to be, mindful of to make a real contribution is your own question. And in this sense the research question and literature review are intimately related. So that's not merely knowing what else is going on in the conversation, but being able to articulate and formulate your own point of view. In this sense your research question is a gateway into that conversation but in itself needs to be re-articulated and reformulated each time someone else speaks a the table. I mean this can be a very dynamic environment, but equally just being aware of those different lines of conversation is something that's important in understanding the literature. As such, the literature review is not just about reading mountains of books in dusty university shelves. It's about being part of this broader dialogue. Equally, understanding that your research question is a means into that conversation. Posing a question is often a way to grab people's attention, but only if that question's a meaningful one. So, Yenn. >> The metaphor of a fancy dinner party is something I always talk to when I'm doing my literature review or, or when I'm helping students doing theirs. So, we have prepared snippets following this, as well as a videos. Watch as man, watch, watch them as many as you'd like. And think about them in the light of tasks set for this activity and continuing discussion in the discussion forum. [MUSIC]. >> And it's taught me to be a lot more flexible in my literature review. As I, as I go along. As I, as I'm doing more readings. And, and, you know? Analyzing and sort of summarizing what, certain authors or scholars have said. >> So a literature review for me is the back story, or the setting for your story that you want to tell. And also you have to prove to the reader, and also for yourself, and your examiners. That there is a gap and you need to show where the gap is and then you fill in a bit of the gap as your contribution. And so, it's the same with the movie if you will. >> From a practical point of view for, for students undertaking dissertations or something like that, the research the literary review also shows that you have researched your field with insight. So you know your stuff, you've read all the main authors in the area. You've looked at the key debates and the key ideas. And you can convince someone that you've, you know about this issue. >> Understand the debates that you're going to be entering into. As well as sort of framing how other people have approached the question or topic that you're going to answer and see if maybe your approach or your methodology might be one that's slightly different that could add to the understanding of any given topic. >> Because it's where you, in effect, pull a chair up to a table. And engage with those notable scholars and, and, and researchers and writers who have addressed your question. >> That, that should be really one of the beginning, or the starting point for wanting to do a literature review, to figure out: where am I in relation to what has been done already. >> I think a literature review, that the actual, the terminology misrepresents to students what a literature review, what's required of them. Because I, I don't think you're just reviewing the literature, what you're really doing as a researcher is situating your work within the literature, and identifying gaps and problems with that literature. >> And just being in conversation, instead of being so insular and isolated in what we write and what we say in our research. Because ultimately, I think research, even if there are moments when it feels solitary, it does go back out into the world. So the more we engage throughout our process, I think, the better it can be translated for other groups of people, and not just academics. >> I think a literature review, I mean, I think all academic research is essentially about having an ongoing conversation with scholars around the globe who are working on the same issues. So a good literature review, the value of it is that it ensures that one can have the conversation meaningfully. That is to say, that one has a deep enough understanding of other's work, vis-a-vis the particular research area or question. And can therefore engage with them critically and robustly. Because without that I don't really see how we, how you could pretend, how you could even, you know, claim to move your field forward or, or make a contribution.
