Nicolle Bourget (nicolle.1bourget@royalroads.ca) is an Associate Faculty member in the School of Business at Royal Roads University, Victoria BC Canada; Debora Linehan (deb.linehan@royalroads.ca) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Business at Royal Roads University, Victoria BC Canada.

Rationale

Students are often required to prepare a research proposal as part of a graduate research course. A key element of any research proposal is a formal literature review; however, some students have indicated this is the first time they have been asked to do a formal literature review.

A literature review is a complex task consisting of multiple steps including an evaluation of sources, the technical aspects of searching for sources including google and library searches, mapping of concepts and frameworks, and, finally, writing the review (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Jesson & Lacey, 2006; Rewhorn, 2018; Rowley & Slack, 2004).

However, before any of these steps can be performed, students must first identify key terms relevant to their research topic. A key term can be a single word, a group of words, or a phrase that is used as a search term with tools such as library catalogues or Google Scholar. Key terms can be challenging to identify, “not just because they combine old and new methods and meanings, but also because they figure in ordinary speech as well and crop up in different disciplinary contexts” (Bru et al., 2016, p. 2). These key terms will direct the literature search, be reflected in the research question, determine the materials to be read, be used in library and google search engines, and structure the final literature review (Efron & Ravid, 2019; Winchester & Salji, 2016).

Students often will research only the primary idea within their research topic. For example, a student recently wrote a research proposal exploring why customers shop at thrift stores. The literature review focused solely on thrift store branding. The work would have been strengthened by adding in any of the following: customer motivation, donor motivation, recycling behaviour, perception of shopping in thrift stores versus brand new, or the concept of thrift. Students are not generally experts in the fields in which they are writing, and so may not be able to deconstruct a research topic in such a way as to identify relevant key terms. In a study of 70 postgraduate students who were asked to identify their challenges with literature reviews, 71% of the students identified that they were not “able to detect which reading materials is relevant” and 55.7% did not “know where to focus” (Hei & David, 2015, pp. 142–143).

When students have difficulties and ask instructors for support, an instructor or supervisor may provide a key term or an author as a starting point (Rewhorn, 2018). Or the student may be referred to the university librarians. However, I have found it is useful to walk the students through a short exercise to help them understand the core principles. This learning activity will provide a technique that students can use to identify these key terms. There are three key ideas that I want students to grasp:

• research can be messy and that is perfectly normal;
• different researchers have different worldviews and therefore individuals may have different perspectives on what the key terms should be; and
• how to perform the first step in the literature review: identifying key terms.

The exercise provides another tool for students to put into their research toolbox. Students will be able to identify materials from other subject areas that might be relevant and to search for sources “conventionally and imaginatively” (McMenamin, 2006, p. 133).

The exercise assumes this is the first step in a diverge, converge and repeat approach to performing a literature review. Students begin by creating a broad list (diverge) of key terms for the searches. After performing this exercise, students will be ready to  review the literature and narrow down (converge) what specific topic areas are relevant for their research. Then students explore the topic areas more broadly (diverge), before refining the specific key term concepts (converge).

Overview

The exercise can be done in class or online and assumes students can be put into groups for the work. Students will perform group work and then present results back to the class. The exercise takes approximately 40 minutes. This includes: the introduction and instructions (5 minutes); student work (10 minutes); presentations (15 minutes); and debrief (10 minutes).

Prior to beginning this exercise, I ask the student to identify a possible research topic. This research topic is not used within the exercise but having the topic allows students to draw parallels from the exercise to their own work. Students should have read material on how to create a literature review so that they have a basic understanding of the steps and why they are creating key terms. Specifically, students should understand the role of the literature review, whether it be to identify similar research or situate a theoretical framework.

In preparation for the exercise, I prepare research topics for the students. Sample topics are provided below. The research topic description should be broad but clear enough for the students to get a grasp of the topic. In this exercise, one research topic is required for every two groups. If there are six groups in the class, there should be three research topics. Prior to the class, I analyze the research topic and create a sample list of key terms. This allows me to guide the discussion after the exercise. I also prepare a sample topic for demonstration purpose. An example is provided below.

Execution

The exercise begins with the following steps.

1. I begin by explaining why identification of key terms is important within the literature review. I demonstrate the exercise to the students.
2. I explain the exercise to the students, noting that each group will present back a list of key terms and recommendations for the next steps.
3. The students are put into groups and each group is provided with a short research topic description. The same topic will be provided to two groups. If there are six groups, three topics will be required. For example, a sample topic could be:

The number of fluent speakers of Indigenous languages is declining every year. Indigenous peoples are using technology to teach language. Is technology helping students to learn and therefore increase the number of fluent speakers?

4. The students are then responsible to walk through the topic and identify nouns and verbs they believe are important, as shown in the example:

The number of fluent speakers of Indigenous languages is declining every year. Indigenous peoples are using technology to teach language. Is technology helping students to learn and therefore increase the number of fluent speakers?

5. The students then examine each identified word and write a brief description of why they identified it as shown in the example below. These are generally framed as questions but may also be comments or other words that come to mind:

Fluent: What does it mean to be? Is there a definition?

Indigenous: How is this different from other languages? What is an Indigenous language?

Declining: How is it measured? Why is it important?

Technology: What kind? Are there examples? How does it work?

Language: What is language? What is unique about Indigenous language?

To Learn: How do people learn? How do people teach language?

6. The students then examine these questions and create key terms to use in their searches.

Fluent: Definition of fluent. Definition of fluent for Indigenous languages. Writing fluency. Speaking fluency.

Indigenous language: What is an Indigenous language? Indigenous language. Heritage languages. Indigenous languages in Canada.

Declining: Counting Indigenous speakers. Indigenous language proficiency scales. Indigenous language usage in communities.

Technology: Technology and Indigenous language. Technology theory. Technology and language case studies. Technology language revitalization.

Language: What is language? Indigenous language. Indigenous language and ways of living. Language and culture.

To Learn: How to learn a language. Indigenous ways of learning. Indigenous languages teaching online. Teaching language.

7. One student from each group will present the suggested key terms and recommendations back to the class.

The following are sample research topics for the exercise; however, I recommend creating topics that are related to the specific program or course.

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were individuals who either strongly believed or did not believe the coronavirus was real. Reactions in some instances seemed to be related to what was being seen in the news and social media.
• Farmers are growing crops that are not used for human food. Instead, crops are used for biodiesel, plastics, alcoholic beverages, ethanol gas, and batteries. Yet there are challenges with climate and land scarcity that have led to food shortages.
• Canadian companies talk about diversity and inclusiveness. Companies report on what they are doing within the company to shareholders and to the governing boards. There is literature stating that diversity and inclusion initiatives make a difference to a company’s bottom line. How do we know what impact these initiatives are having?

Debriefing

I recommend debriefing with the students after the exercise is completed. Suggestions for debriefing include the following:

• Compare the outcomes of two groups doing the same topic.
• Ask students how they went about it, what was easiest to do, and what was hardest to do.
• Ask students how they think the key terms can be used.
• Explain how this relates to the literature review. Ask students how they can apply the activity.

I conclude the exercise as follows:

1. I highlight where the exercise fits into the process of the literature review. For example, researchers use key terms to search for literature and resources on the topic. This is a wide net or a divergent exercise which researchers can use to understand the topic and narrow down their area of interest.
2. I highlight that different results do not necessarily indicate that the answers are wrong. Researchers will identify different key terms based on worldview and life experiences.
3. The students’ next step is to begin a literature search. This activity allows for a seamless transition to the topic of performing searches for the literature review.
4. Once the student begins to review the literature, the student can use other techniques to find additional sources. For example, a review of an article’s reference list could yield additional sources or foundational authors repeated within the literature.
5. Finally, the student should be directed to use the librarian services if difficulties arise.

Reflection

Research is a challenging topic. Courses are generally not long enough to cover all the material and the literature review is often glossed over. Students are expected to learn everything there is to know about research during a course and thus participating in their learning is important.

Students tend to expect more out of this exercise, and it is therefore important to properly situate this exercise into the overall research project.

Note that if given too much time to do the exercise, students overthink what is required and lose focus. Keep the student exercise time short while remembering that a group of five needs time for all five voices to be heard.

Most importantly, take the time to relate this back to real-life research examples and the students’ upcoming assignments. This will help connect the activity to the real world and real research.

References

Bru, S., De Bruyn, B., & Delville, M. (2016). Literature Now: Key Terms and Methods for Literary History. Edinburgh University Press.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. (Fifth). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Efron, S. E., & Ravid, R. (2019). Writing the Literature Review: A Practical Guide. The Guilford Press.

Hei, K. C., & David, M. K. (2015). Basic and Advanced Skills They Don’t Have: The Case of Postgraduates and Literature Review Writing. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 12, 131–150.

Jesson, J., & Lacey, F. (2006). How to do (or not to do) a critical literature review. Pharmacy Education, 6(2), 139–148. https://pharmacyeducation.fip.org/pharmacyeducation/article/view/103

McMenamin, I. (2006). Process and Text: Teaching Students to Review the Literature. PS: Political Science and Politics, 39(1), 133–135.

Rewhorn, S. (2018). Writing your successful literature review. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 42(1), 143–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2017.1337732

Rowley, J., & Slack, F. (2004). Conducting a Literature Review. Management Research News, 27(6), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409170410784185

Winchester, C. L., & Salji, M. (2016). Writing a literature review. Journal of Clinical Urology, 9(5), 308–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/2051415816650133