Gillian Lazar Hotseat | Academic Writing Skills and Reviewing the Literature.

Open for questions

Posted by Hamish Scott-Brown at Oct 25, 2010 07:52 AM

Good morning,
The hotseat is now open for discussion so please leave any questions for Gillian by clicking the 'add comment' button above.
Each new questions or subject can be created by a new 'add comment' button' If you wish to comment on Gillian's responses and connecting to the thread, use the 'reply button...this will help to keep all the threads connected

Hamish

Open for questions

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 01, 2010 05:29 PM

Hello everybody,

Just to say hello to all of you, and welcome!

I'll be around now popping in regularly for the next few weeks to answer any questions or comments relating to academic writing or English language development. In particular, I am happy to focus on writing a literature review, as this is something many of you need to do in the coming months. Please view my powerpoint presentation (see link above) which will give you the basics, before posting your comments or queries/

Look forward to meeting you online,
Gillian

Open for questions

Posted by Jessica Jacob at Nov 01, 2010 10:57 PM

Hello Gillian,
It's good to have you online again with us. I have a difficult task with my lit review. much of my research is reflective through obsevations, articles, dvds, and websites. I am concerned about how to put that literature into my writing and the reference? I'm not sure if I am/have done it correctly. I have be looking at the harvard referencing resource our site offered, but I am still unsure of what I am doing.

Open for questions

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 04, 2010 01:48 PM

Hi Jessica,

Good to meet you online again - hope all is going well!

It is good to see that you are looking at the doc about the Harvard referencing. Remember that there is also one available on the Learning Resources website at: http://www.lr.mdx.ac.uk/helpsheets/study_skills/hum.pdf

What you need to think about is how to integrate your reflections and the literature that you have been reading. At MA level, this is really crucial in that you need to move beyond the personal subjectivity of your own reflection and use this as a springboard for analysis, often drawing on sources such as articles, dvds, websites, etc in order to do this. Perhaps it may become a little clearer is I give you an example of how in practice somebody might do this? Imagine that this is a piece of writing based on reflection:

During the observation, it seemed as if a number of pupils seemed to have difficulties in following instructions due to problems of acoustic processing (See observation 2 in Appendix 2). According to AUTHORS' NAMES (date of journal publication) this can be due to ...................................... If this is the case, then a possible classroom strategy might be to.................................. (AUTHOR NAME, DATE OF PUBLICATION). In my experience, such a strategy can only be effective if.......
.......However, the website of the XXXXX foundation (Web address) suggests that............. which might be an effective way of targeting specific pupils. These seems to offer one possible solution, although.............

The aim here would be to link your own ideas, reflections and experience with useful sources. Note that:

- the text moves from your reflection to relevant sources, and back again as appropriate
- you only include authors' names and the dates of publications of books in the actual text
(Likewise, for DVDs and websites you only include essential information in the actual text)
- full bibliographic details come at the end of your assignment
- you have the option of quoting directly in your text (exactly what somebody has said verbatim) or paraphrasing (rephrasing what they said in your own words, but keeping the ideas the same) or summarising (shortening what somebody has said to key points only)

Does this help at all? Please let me know what else needs clarification.

Best wishes
Gillian

Open for questions

Posted by Jessica Jacob at Nov 05, 2010 06:35 PM

Oh, Thank you.
That does clearify things more. Still scarey to try them out, but slightly more confident to go for it.
It is so good to have you on board with us. Thank you for your help.

best,
Jessica

Open for questions

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 05, 2010 06:48 PM

Hi Jessica,

It can feel scary getting going, but I'm sure that confidence will grow and grow.

Have a nice weekend!

Gillian

Open for questions

Posted by Magdalena Klonowska at Nov 03, 2010 01:27 PM

Dear Gillian

I ve read your presentation and have no questions so far. However, I want to thank you as I found it realyy useful.

Thank you.

Open for questions

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 04, 2010 01:48 PM

Thanks Magdalena - pleased you found it helpful! Do ask any questions if you need to in the future.

Gillian

Open for questions

Posted by rgreen2 at Nov 04, 2010 11:06 AM

Welcome back Gillian to MA Inclusive Education. Your new power point is extremely helpful and I'm sure that everyone is going to enjoy meeting up with you here and finding out a bit more about how to write a pertinent literature review. Keep the questions coming!

Ruth

Open for questions

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 04, 2010 02:06 PM

Thanks Ruth! Nice to be back again.

Gillian

Open for questions

Posted by Jessica Jacob at Nov 05, 2010 06:48 PM

Hello Ruth,
good to see your comments. I was wondering, could I email you some of my work? so far I've sent them to Paull Morall. The feed back was very helpful. I was wondering if you'd like look at the academic writig?

best,
Jessica

Open for questions

Posted by rgreen2 at Nov 10, 2010 12:46 PM

Dear Jessica, Much as I would like to look at your work as Paul is your tutor it is best that you ask him those questions. His feedback is brilliant and will provide you with everything that you need .

Keep in touch here too.
Ruth Green

Open for questions

Posted by Jessica Jacob at Nov 20, 2010 03:46 PM

thank you Ruth. His feedback is great, I wasn't sure if you needed to see the work too like last year with Pauline.
Hope all is well.

best,
Jessica

Literature review query

Posted by Rebecca Smith at Nov 03, 2010 01:58 PM

Hello Gillian
I too found your Powerpoint presentation really helpful. My main concern at the moment with writing the lit. review is that although I have plenty of reading about the general issues linked to my research I can't find any which link to what is a pretty specific focus on the impact that a project has on trainee teachers' understanding of the general issues. Is that clear? It seems clearer in my head than when I see it written!

Literature review query

Posted by rgreen2 at Nov 04, 2010 11:15 AM

Hi, Its essential to do just what you are doing which is to read around the subject and then close the circle more and more tightly around what it is you are exploring. If there is little there then you have possibly found a worthwhile gap to investigate but be very wary of claiming that there isn't much 'out there' unless you are really sure that to be the case! Delve a little deeper and from another angle perhaps in your search.
Show through your literature review exactly what has been written and define from that the area that appears at present to have missing gaps. Hope this helps.
Ruth

Literature review query

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 04, 2010 01:53 PM

Hi,

Just to say that I completely agree with Ruth - keep going around the subject, following any leads that come up (e.g. in the bibliography of a book that you have read). I guess this is what research often means - slogging detective work which some days gives you no leads, but other days is very positive. I'm sure that after a while it will all start to fall into place.

Also, as Ruth says, the purpose of the literature review is ultimately point out where the gap might be. You can then say that the purpose of YOUR research is to try to fill that gap a little.

Hope this helps! If after more reading around the subject, it is still not falling into place, please get back to us for further discussion.

Gillian

Literature Review

Posted by Matthew Aruna at Nov 03, 2010 10:29 PM

I do like your powerpoint presentation on literature review, I would appreciate if you can email me a copy as I was unable to upload it. Thanks. My email address is matthew_aruna@msn.com

Literature Review

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 04, 2010 01:54 PM

Thanks Matthew. Will email you the ppt right now!

Gillian

Literature Review

Posted by Ian at Nov 05, 2010 07:51 PM

The sound track is not e mailable at the moment. I will place a link to the slides in the page above

Notation

Posted by Christina at Nov 04, 2010 12:15 AM

I have looked at your powerpoint and found it helpful.I am relatively new to writing literary review and have been reading lots of literature but am unsure how to create a bibliography.What does it look like ? How do you show internet links in a biography
Any advice would be appreciated .

Notation

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 04, 2010 02:05 PM

Hi Christina,

Thanks for this - pleased that the ppt was helpful.

Your question about creating a bibliography is very important. Unfortunately, I have to dash off to teach now, so I'll be answering in full tomorrow. I'm sorry about this.

In the meantime, you may want to access some documents that we have on writing bibliographies, etc according to the Harvard system.

If you go onto Oasisplus (are you familiar with this?), then go to Learner Development Unit, then Writing, then Referring to Sources and finally Referencing FAQs, you will find a helpsheet about this.

Also, Learning Resources has some information, which can be found at:
http://www.lr.mdx.ac.uk/helpsheets/study_skills/hum.pdf

Take a look at both of these, and I'll be back tomorrow for a longer discussion!

Gillian

Notation

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 05, 2010 06:56 PM

Dear Christina,

There are two key aspects to writing a bibliography:

1. Keep records of every source that you collect and use. Otherwise, you may need to go back to try to find them again at a later stage, which can be very frustrating. Once you have collected them all, you will need to arrange them alphabetically in order of authors' surnames.

2. You need to follow the conventions used for ordering the different sources in the list. For example, with books, we would do it this way:

Kirkpatrick, A. (2007) World Englishes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The title of the book should be in italics or underlined, but notice the order:

Surname of author, initial, date of publication in brackets, title of book, full stop, Place of publication, colon, publisher.

This is the basic form and most other references are variations on this. When you have time, please could you have a look at the referencing information I have suggested above and then get back to me? This information will also help you with referencing websites, etc.

Hope this helps!
Gillian

Hi Gillian

Posted by Christiana Kefala at Nov 04, 2010 02:14 PM

Hi Gillian! Your presentation was indeed very useful and i think the structure part will be really helpful later on in the year. My focus is to try to answer a debate that has been going on for years in Greece: do private schools lead to better academic achievements than public schools. I have been reading and reading and most articles seems to suggest that the sector as such plays no significant role. However, I have found no articles relating to the greek reality, so would it be fair to complete a literature review on the topic for other countries but then go on with my dissertation to re test for Greece?
Also, when reading an article, the literature review of that might have conclusions from other authors that clash with what the researcher finds, can i still incorporate the other views?
Thanks a lot,
christiana Kefala

Hi Gillian

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 05, 2010 06:33 PM

Dear Christina,

Nice to meet you online again.

You ask two interesting questions.

1. If you cannot find any articles relating to Greece, that opens up an interesting gap in the research...which your work can fill. So, you need to say in your literature review that the literature available refers to other countries, but there appears to be very little regarding Greece. However, you do need to be sure about this - have you conducted a really thorough review? I assume you have also searched for articles, et in Greek. These can also be mentioned and referenced in your review. If this does open up a gap, that makes your work even more valid, but potentially a PhD! So, just be careful then to set clear limits about what you can or cannot research in an MA.

2. You can certainly incorporate clashing views. In fact, the more you have, the better your synthesis. This will show that you are considering as many perspectives as possible before reaching your own conclusions, etc.

Hope this helps!

Gillian

Literature reviews

Posted by Fortunato Licata at Nov 04, 2010 09:53 PM

The theme of my disseration is (loosely for now ) to investigate story-telling as a teaching tool within (& outside if necessary) the National Curriculum & to investigate the ability of primary school children to be creative story-tellers using as many media or tools as possible e.g. written & visual texts & stuff like video, oral story-telling, improvisation, drama etc.
I can link & reference my observations & experiences fairly closely with the literature having done it (more or less ok in Yr 1 & 2) but how do you incorporate video or sound files into Year 3 as I believe the final hand-in needs to be bound into a single document - in Year 1 & 2 we could include CD-Roms or memory sticks with attendant evidence (static images are ok as I can scan or photograph work).

I have a love\hate relationship with ICT - love it when it works - hate it when it doesn't (which is most of the time at the moment) so I don't want to waste time battling the ICT gremlins to find the final thing is dull because nothing moves as it were

Fortunato Licata

Literature reviews

Posted by peta griffiths at Nov 05, 2010 03:00 PM

thanksyou very useful and clear

could I also have copy of powerpoint
email d.j.mansfield@blueyonder.co.uk

I would appreciate some guidance on good authors to read re dyslexia

Peta Griffiths

Literature reviews

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 05, 2010 06:42 PM

Hi Peta,

Pleased you liked the ppt - I shall email it to you.

I am really sorry but I am not the person to ask about good authors to read re dyslexia. As I am an academic writing specialist, this is my area of speciality. Can anybody else make some recommendations for Peta?

Thanks
Gillian

Literature reviews

Posted by Margaret Pitre at Nov 06, 2010 03:21 PM

Hi Peta,

If you have access, the Middlesex Library has about 3 shelves of books on dyslexia. I happened to come across them as my thesis also deals with SEN children. Unfortunately I have been focussing more on autism specifically and so haven't got any names to hand. The authors should be available by doing a subject search in the library catalogue.

Hope this helps!
Mags

Literature reviews

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 05, 2010 06:38 PM

Dear Fortunato,

I think you are investigating a fascinating area - storytelling is the stuff of life for me!

You have asked quite a technical question, and I am not sure that I have the answer. Ruth, would you or Ian be able to give some advice here? Could video files or sound files be emailed to you as part of the project? Or perhaps there would be a way for Fortunato to upload them onto a shared web space? Does anybody else have some good technical solution to this problem?

So, we may not have the answer now, but we will defeat the gremlins!

Gillian

Literature reviews

Posted by Ian at Nov 10, 2010 07:16 PM

Although dissertations are usually in book form, where appropraite we encourage other media. One solution is an attached video/cd rom for example which is releted to in the text.

However, the video must contribute to the masters criteria and not just be"material" A disertation has 3 major componets a. a litertaure review showing knwoledge of the field and analysis/evaluation b. methodology and procedures of research c. Findings data and analysis of the data.

What the video contribute here then?

PS (I cant link story telling as a teaching tool with "creative story telling by pupils using ICT")

PPS I can see a good set of cd rom/multi media examples of chidrens work which is usedd as data for analysing their ability to tell stories in cd rom/multi media forms)

Literature reviews

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 12, 2010 11:41 AM

Thanks Ian!

Gillian

Literature Review presentation

Posted by Beverley Barnaby at Nov 05, 2010 04:49 PM

Just to say that the presentation is very useful and clear.

Literature Review presentation

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 05, 2010 06:56 PM

Thanks!

Gillian

a couple of questions

Posted by Margaret Pitre at Nov 06, 2010 03:30 PM

Hi Gillian,

I also would like to thank you for your presentation as I am so far behind in my research and was utterly clueless about how to write a lit. review. Your powerpoint was a godsend as I had a lit review confused with an annotated bibliography!!

I just had a couple of questions for you,though. Firstly, I am slightly unclear as to which person I should be writing in. I know that academic writing is usually in third person, however I am unsure how to do this when I need to relate to my own classroom experience and then use that to critique what I have read. Is first person ok or should I try and word it into third person anyways?

Secondly, I know that there isn't a definite number of sources to read and this will affect the length of a lit review. However,I am just wondering if there is any guidance you can give me as to a general wordcount/page number that would be appropriate? My dissertation looks at using music to help raise enjoyment and achievement in SEN and EAL children and so I will have lots of areas to cover in my review (SEN, EAL, benefits of music teaching/creative approach, different learning styles). I am worried that I will end up saying too much or, conversely, not going into enough detail for each subject for fear of going over a possibly non-existant word count.

Any help you could give me about these areas would be much appreciated!
Mags

a couple of questions

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 08, 2010 03:08 PM

Dear Mags,

Thank you for your two very useful questions - I am sure many other students share these concerns.

1. Use of the first person in academic writing.
This is sometimes quite a contentious issue in academic writing. Generally speaking, it is often felt that academic writing aims to be 'objective', impersonal and unbiased and so avoids the use of the first person, i.e. 'I'. It can do this in a number of ways, such as:

a) the use of the passive voice, as in 'This issue will be explored' rather than 'I will explore this issue'
b) the use of references to other writers, rather than solely the writer of the assignment, as in Jones (2007) claims that....etc

On the other hand, reflective writing is often based on personal subjective experience and so you may intuitively feel that the use of 'I' makes sense here. But it is important to remember that your reflections should not remain at the anecdotal level of a purely descriptive 'diary entry' - they should be more analytic, which involves holding them up to the scrutiny of wider scholarly research and linking them to your reading, understanding of theory, etc.

So, I would say that it is probably okay to use the first person in a limited way when you are referring to personal reflections, but that you should do so sparingly, in order to make your writing sound more objective and personal. It it doesn't sound too awkward, try to use the passive voice where you can.

Some of this, though, is a matter of personal preference, so perhaps Ruth can confirm here what she feels about this? Ian and Ruth, is it okay to use the first person or do you have a complete ban on it?

Secondly, with regard to the word count for your literature review, we need to check with your lecturers here. I normally think that a lit review should be approcimately a fifth of the total word count. Ian and Ruth, do you perhaps have any guidelines here that you would like the students to stick to?

Mags, you will certainly have a lot of areas to cover in the review. I think that you may find that you end up with a large amount of material, which you then need to prune. This may mean providing very brief summaries of the broad areas you mention, while providing fuller summary and synthesis of more specific areas that are directly relevant to your work. Reading and researching may mean that you first get an overview of the whole field, but that your final review concentrates on a narrower area.

Hope this helps!

From a rainy London,
Gillian

a couple of questions

Posted by Ian at Nov 10, 2010 07:36 PM

I normally say that in an 18000 word dissertation the three importnat parts are

1. Literture review where you show in dpeth knowledge
2. Research methodology and procedures (methods) where you show research knowledge and skills
3. Findings, data description, analysis, discussion etc. where you show a variety of things but conclude with new insights and perspectives

Each of these are 1/3rd or 6000 words

You top and tail with an Introduction (inclsuding needs analysis and prof auto) and Conclsuion of 1000 words each

If that does not add up to 18000 either my maths is useless or they are rough!

peer support

Posted by Morag Scally at Nov 13, 2010 09:31 AM

Hi Mags, just read your comment on here, I think our area of research will crossover, maybe we could share ideas for literature review?

Mine is a case study of creating an inclusive rock band with teens from a SEN school working with those in a mainstream.

I'll look out for you on conversation threads.

xxMorag

Hello

Posted by Mihaela Alexandru at Nov 07, 2010 08:21 AM

Hi Gillian,
Thank you for the powerpoint presentation, it is great to refresh my memory and pick up some useful ideas. I am doing my first module and, as I am at the very beginning, I just started reading and getting an idea about what I want to focus on my research (Early Years, maybe planning for different ages and abilities). Therefore I have no questions at the moment but I have read all the posts from the other students and I have found some really good ideas.
I hope you will stay around for a while.
Have a lovely week,
Mihaela

Hello

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 08, 2010 03:12 PM

Thanks Mihaela. I'll be around with you for five weeks until the 3rd December. So do post any questions, suggestions, etc before then.

Gillian

Dates of references used in literature review

Posted by Lisa Gibbons at Nov 07, 2010 01:24 PM

Hi Gillian

Thank you very much - I, like other people, found the PowerPoint and audio very helpful. I just had a question which relates to the dates of the references used. Should the majority of the literature reviewed be in the last 5 years for example, and would you be marked down if references were not very recent (unless of course the work was very influential)?
Thanks, Lisa

Dates of references used in literature review

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 08, 2010 03:19 PM

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for this.

You've asked a useful question. It is hard for me to give an exact figure for relevant sources. Sometimes, there is very important or significant work in a particular field that goes back twenty years or more that you may want to mention. Occasionally, there is major research in the past that is highly significant, but which is not followed up by later research. So, I wouldn't like to make a rule about this. But, it is true to say that if there is recent work in a field that you do not mention, you will be marked down. So, do make sure that you try to include all of the most recent research and that you do not rely on work from the past only, unless it is highly significant or influential.

Regards
Gillian

literature review

Posted by Jacqueline Schembri at Nov 07, 2010 03:53 PM

Hi Gillian

Thanks for being back again. I have seen the powerpoint presentation and I found it very useful too. My main concern when writing a literature review is the critical analysis of documents and other sources of information. I find this quite confusing. I would really like to write a good literature review for this year's dissertation but I always find this task quite difficult. My focus for the dissertation is about writing skills - teaching students particular strategies which can help them improve their expressive writing. I have found a number of journal articles related to this topic. However I shall ask the Middlesex library for any related books or e-books.

Thanks

Jacqueline

literature review

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 08, 2010 03:54 PM

Dear Jacqueline,

Nice to hear from you!

Yes, a good start is to ask the library for related e-books and books.

In terms of analysis, it may be helpful to think of researching your lit review in stages:

1. Reading and summarising the literature: At this stage, you are aiming to accurately report the views and findings of different writers. This is more of a descriptive exercise, in that you simply try to understand exactly what people are saying.

2. Analysis: At this stage, you ask questions about what you have summarised. Can you find any shortcomings or weaknesses in the views expressed? Are these views contradicted by other writers you have summarised? If so, how? Do you feel that these views have validity when applied to your own experience or research? If so, why? If not, why not?

Your final literature review should summarise all the key literature in a particular area, but you should also try to suggest where any shortcomings, differences or perspective, etc may lie.

What do you think?

Gillian

literature review

Posted by Jacqueline Schembri at Nov 08, 2010 04:50 PM

Hi Gillian

Thanks a lot for the information. I will try to follow your suggestions as much as possible. I'm sure I will have many other questions to ask you as go along and get involved more in the process but for now your suggestions help a lot.

Thanks again

Jacqueline

Bibliography

Posted by Celeste Aucamp at Nov 07, 2010 04:56 PM

Hi Gillian
Your PP was very usefull. I just have a question about the bibliography. I know it needs to be in alphabetical order by the author's name, but what if it is a document by for instance Every Child Matters or OFSTED that does not show the auhtor's name?
Celeste

Bibliography

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 08, 2010 03:56 PM

Hi Celeste,

Good question.

If you don't have the name of the author, then simply follow the title in alphabetical order, so 'Every Child Matters' would come under the letter e.

Gillian

What is relevant?

Posted by Joy Geary at Nov 10, 2010 12:23 AM

I too found your pp useful. I am quickly becoming aware that using other people's bibliographies and links in google scholar give me too much information. I am researching 'time-out' intervention for managing anger.I am not based in a classroom but manage behaviour and welfare in a school. It is too easy for me to go off on a tangent or read a whole book which is interesting but totally irrelevant!Is this a common problem for beginners?

Hello Joy

Posted by cheryl yeo at Nov 10, 2010 06:26 PM

Thanks for asking this question. I felt the same way. I am good at reading. I feel like enlighted yet overwhelmed with too much to sieve through; like what is useful to include in the assignments. I am a 'beginner' as well. Working on SEBD. I had a sneak peep at your folders, wow you are doing so well. Regards, Cheryl

Hello Joy

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 10, 2010 09:01 PM

Hello Joy and Cheryl,

What you both describe is a common problem, even for non-beginners! There are two ways of thinking about it:

1. One view is that going off at a tangent is partly what research and study is about. It is a chance for you to genuinely educate yourself about different areas - it is fascinating, absorbing and allows you lots of opportunities for lateral thinking. So, go with it...

2. Another view is that there just isn't enough time to do this, and you need to be more focused. If that is the case, then:

a) can you skim and scan research articles, books, etc to see whether they are truly relevant before you start to read? In journal articles, for example, abstracts give you an overview of the text, so reading abstracts tells you whether you need to read further. In books, scan the table of contents, index, etc to decide how relevant they are.

b) do you need to narrow your google searches, etc by thinking more carefully about what search words you put into the search engine?

Which way of thinking is best for you, and at what point in the assignment writing process?

Remember that the image of the sieve is important - research is about gradually sifting through what is relevant to your assignment. It takes time and you need to make decisions about what is relevant, but it is a normal part of the process.

Happy reading!
Gillian

Thank you Gillian

Posted by cheryl yeo at Nov 12, 2010 02:53 PM

I find your advice most useful... helping me to sieve through 'must read now' and 'interesting however read later' pile. I am just starting so everything is overwhelming. However Sonia Burnard, my tutor has been helpful so hopefully I am heading the 'ok' direction. Have a good weekend! Cheryl
p.s I definitely find your suggestion to Nell (in regards to translation) very useful... I will bear that in mind and check with Sonia. My biggest problem is mis-understand the translation... I am relying upon verbal translation and explanation on State documentation and policies. So naturally, I am very nervous over misquote.

Thank you Gillian

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 16, 2010 11:07 AM

Dear Cheryl,

Pleased you are heading in a good direction!

I am interested in your comment about misunderstanding translation and misquote. This can be complicated. Something important to bear in mind is that there may not be exact translation equivalents for terms like IEP, SEN, OFSTED in the other language, as these concepts may not exist in the same way in Hungary. If so, you may want to provide a gloss or footnote for your reader explaining that the term that is used translates literally as xxxx, but functions differently that in the UK context. If necessary, you could even include a short appendix at the end glossing and explaining key terms in the Hungarian educational system, which may not have exact equivalents in the UK.

Would this help?

Gillian

Material in a foreign language

Posted by Nell Foster at Nov 10, 2010 03:33 PM

Hello Gillian
I am working in a European School in Belgium and although most of our documents are available in English, there are some policies that are only in French. I may also need to refer to IEPs etc written in French. What is the standard procedure here? Do I need to translate the whole document? (I am really hoping the answer is no!) Or can I simply refer to the document and paraphrase? Is there a convention for indicating that the material being quoted has been translated?

Many thanks

Nell Foster

Material in a foreign language

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 10, 2010 09:24 PM

Dear Nell,

This is a really interesting question.

My view is that you shouldn't need to translate whole IEPs, etc into English unless the whole document is crucial to understanding your assignment. In this case, perhaps put the original + translation in an appendix to your assignment. Otherwise, you could just translate the relevant section into English, ensuring that the meaning is as close to the original as possible. This is then a direct translation, rather than a paraphrase. You would then say in brackets after this: my translation. If you put this in your assignment, it would be best to put the translation into quotation marks, as it is actually a direct quote of a translation.

Another alternative for longer documents is to summarise from the original so that you include key points only. In that case, I think you should indicate to your reader where the information came from by referencing the document in the usual way. You could say (to give the reader clarification about your method here):

'Some key aspects of the policy as mentioned in the original document in French (Authors of doc: Date of publication) are........'

Finally, there is the paraphrasing option where you loosely translate the original, but in that case I wouldn't go for quotation marks.

Hope this hasn't muddied the waters further. Please check with you tutor that they are happy with these possible solutions.

Gillian

Hello Gillian

Posted by cheryl yeo at Nov 10, 2010 06:21 PM

Dear Gillian,

Thanks for the ppt, it was useful and helpful.

For the 1st assignment, I am supposed to create Audit and Analysis Section. In it, there are various tasks to complete. Example – to write a professional autobiography. Hence it is like creating one’s own Professional development Portfolio. Do I refrain from using ‘I’ in the audit as I seen you advising other student in previous comments? And how should I re-phrase? Is there any good online reference(s) you could recommend to show examples on how to write a Self Professional Analysis?

Also, you mentioned you could / would review student’s draft or written assignment? How and in what mode could I submit draft to you? Not for proof reading … (however I think my grammar could use a bit of help!) but guidance on how to write and answer my ‘to-do’ better.

I often find myself using redundant words or restating the same objective / goals using other words. Are there good guideline / online reference on how to spot key word(s) from question(s) and answer staying to the point? I hope I am making this clear. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you. My email is cherylyeo25@hotmail.com should you prefer to email me some useful links. Cheryl
p.s I do look forward to your reply to Nell's question on foreign language. Likewise, I have language barrier. Nothing is translated or available (in English) for State documentation, in Hungary.

Hello Gillian

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 12, 2010 11:56 AM

Dear Cheryl,

Thanks for questions, and I am sorry if it has taken me a while to respond.

1. With regards to your question about Audit and Analysis. I think that as you are creating your own professional development portfolio it feels natural to use 'I'. However, I wouldn't overuse it. So, perhaps you could mix the use of 'I' with the use of the passive voice, for example? This might strike the right balance between doing what comes naturally, and sounding sufficiently professional/academic. Perhaps check with your tutor, though, that they are happy with this.

I'm sorry but I don't know of any good models of Self Professional Analysis, but your tutors might! Does anybody else know?

2. I do review drafts of written assignments, but unfortunately at the moment I am so busy that I cannot do this now until January. However, I will check with my colleagues in the Learner Development Unit and get back to you soon - I am sure that we will be able to do this for you. However, as you say, we do not proofread although we can give advice about how to become a good proofreader. We usually have a 30 minute slot to review somebody's work, before sending it back to them with comments. So, you'll appreciate that:

- it is helpful if you send us very precise questions of your concerns so that we can focus on those areas in the short time that we have
- we can only look at a limited number of words in that time

3. With regards to spotting key words from questions and staying on the point, we have many useful ideas about this on our Oasisplus module. Do you have access to Oasisplus? If so, please log on and you should get a module called 'Learner Development Unit'. If you go to the homepage of this module and click on Writing, you will see many docs on 'Analysing Questions', 'Stages of essay writing', etc which should help with all of this. If you do not have access to Oasisplus, please let me know, as all Middlesex students should have access! I will also email you a list of useful websites for academic writing.

4. Hope that my answer to Nell's question helped with the situation in Hungary. It is fantastic seeing so many of you accessing documentation in other languages.

Hope this helps and will get back to you re sending drafts.

Gillian

Hello Gillian

Posted by cheryl yeo at Nov 15, 2010 09:44 PM

Thanks Gillian for your very helpful and useful advice!

I also rcvd your notes on websites, which I will look into. I will try to log on Oasis and see what I can find from there. Yes, appreciate your answers to Nell’s question.

I feel more secure in processing and recording the translation into my documents. Just feel very rusty in writing essay, thesis, etc. Being so out of touch from studying days, narrative reports, etc. Maybe I will get into the feel of ‘it’ once get through Unit 1. Thanks again! Cheryl

Hello Gillian

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 16, 2010 11:21 AM

Hi again Cheryl,

Well done for persevering with all of this, and I am sure that the rusty feeling will start to wear off. I find that writing is always a bit of a struggle, even if one does it regularly.

With regards to one-to-one feedback on drafts, I have now spoken to my colleagues Margaret Wagstaff and Amanda Stewart, who work with me at the Trent Park campus of Middlesex University. They are happy to receive drafts of your work, but you (and anybody else who wishes to consult with us!) needs to follow these guidelines:

1. You need to register and book online for a 30-minute tutorial, by going to
http://www.24-7.mdx.ac.uk/ldu/AWL/tutorials.htm Please book ONLY with Margaret Wagstaff or Amanda Stewart.

2. When you book, you need to say in the Notes that you are a distance learner, and which course you are doing.

3. A day before the scheduled tutorial, please email your work to the tutor, saying the time and date of the slot you have booked. Please also include clear questions or thoughts about what you would like feedback on, e.g. overall structure, grammar, etc. Please do not send more than 2000 words max at a time. If you have booked a tutorial with Margaret Wagstaff, please email M.Wagstaff@mdx.ac.uk. If it is Amanda Stewart, please email A.Stewart@mdx.ac.uk

4. Margaret or Amanda will spend 30 mins looking at the work and writing comments using the comment function in word before sending it back to you.

Please note that it is helpful to give us clear guidelines as to what your main concerns are, as we will only have 30 mins to look at your work.

Hope this helps!

Gillian

Many thanks!

Posted by cheryl yeo at Nov 19, 2010 08:29 PM

Hi Gillian,

Sorry for not replying sooner. I have been working really hard on the remaining 'tasks' on my 1st unit before the 1dec deadline. A big thank you, you have been most helpful and I am grateful for all your advice. I will register online, once I get my research, findings and literature in place... get the 'final' draft done before I book anyone of them. Been wonderful corresponding with you. Hope you have a lovely weekend! cheryl :)

Many thanks!

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 24, 2010 09:23 AM

Hi Cheryl,

Good luck with the remaining tasks, and when you are ready do book yourself an online tutorial!

Best wishes
Gillialn

Summary in Google Docs

Posted by Anthony Skip Basiel at Nov 11, 2010 02:50 PM

Hello everyone -
Please find a Google Doc compiled file of this conversation at
https://docs.google.com/fil[…];hl=en&authkey=CLjMvJEF
yours
Dr. Anthony 'Skip' Basiel

Summary in Google Docs

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 12, 2010 11:57 AM

Thanks Skip - very useful to have this in another format!

Gillian

Quick Question

Posted by Samuel Fox at Nov 12, 2010 01:19 PM

Dear Gillian

Thansk very much for your power point on how to write a literacy review. I have found it very useful in clarifying the topic.

If possible ydou be able to clarify what is acceptable to add to a literature review. My research area is Literacy; and therefore documents like Ofstead reports, lesson observations, School improvement plans, school documents are also a significant source; but i am not aware if they are valid or how to referece them.

Thanks for your support

Sam

Quick Question

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 12, 2010 06:38 PM

Hi Sam,

Thanks for this - it is an interesting question. To be honest, I am not absolutely sure how to answer, because I am not sure if a set structure for your whole dissertation is required. Ian and Ruth, do you agree with my comments below?

The documents you have mentioned can certainly be in your dissertation, but they are quite specific to your school particularly. Therefore, I would not expect the literature review to concentrate mainly on these, as it should be far more wide-ranging. It should encompass books, articles, studies, govt docs, etc in a more global way, trying to summarise, synthesise and analyse the different perspectives on literacy relevant to your research. You may well wish to include all the documents you mention, but they should be integrated in one of these ways:

1. Either they should be inserted in your more global discussion as specific instances of what is being discussed. For example, if many different writers point to particular issues with literacy, your school's Ofsted report might be a specific example of this. But the key point is to ensure that you include these docs in relation to the broader context.

2. You could write a number of more global sections summarising the issue, and then use the docs you have mentioned to 'carve out a research space' for yourself, either at the end of the literature review, or at the beginning of your research methodology section. For instance, you might give the global summary of key literature in the lit review and then problematise what is happening at your school in relation to this. The docs you have mentioned could then be summarised to illustrate what the problem is and how your research is an attempt to investigate it.

In terms of referencing, I am not sure if in the field of education there are clear conventions about how to reference school improvement plans, etc. If not, then I would aim to give the authors of the doc (if known or relevant), the title of the doc, the name of the school and the date of publication (again, if known.) If all of this is on school websites, then you can give the web address and date of your visit.

Ofsted reports are govt docs, so could be referenced following this sequence:

Govt dept. Title of report (italics), date, govt dept If you have got the doc online, then please also say: (Retrieved online from web address, date of your visit.)

Have a good weekend!
Gillian

thanks

Posted by Morag Scally at Nov 13, 2010 09:47 AM

Dear Gillian

Thanks for a very clear and concise presentation, very helpful
Morag

literature review

Posted by Jacqueline Schembri at Nov 13, 2010 01:21 PM

Dear Gillian

During my dissertation I will be focusing on a specific writing approach (SRSD) which is meant (and has been proven by other researchers) to help children improve their writing. So my question is: should my literature review focus entirely on this approach ?

Jacqueline

literature review

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 16, 2010 11:35 AM

Dear Jacqueline,

Interesting question! I think the answer is that it depends!

It's helpful to think of the literature review as being a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid is the very general area for your topic; in this case, approaches that help children improve their writing. In all literature reviews, you need to give this base as your foundation, in that you at least refer to the overall context for your research. However, the base can take up quite a bit of your literature review, or a very limited amount of it. It really depends I think on how much literature is available on the SRSD approach.

If there is very little available, you may want to spend a fair bit of time in your literature review summarising and evaluating all the other approaches for teaching writing. You might then go on to the literature on SRSD, summarising and evaluating what sources are available on this approach before moving into your own research.

If on the other hand, there is a lot available on SRSD, you might want to include a brief paragraph or two at the begining mentioning other approaches and their possible weaknesses, before moving into a much fuller discussion of SRSD.

Although it is in the field of linguistics, you might want to look at this literature review by Alistair Pennycook:

http://www4.caes.hku.hk/[…]/litex3.htm

It is shorter than your review might need to be, but notice how the first paragraph provides the overall context for the review, before the review narrows itself down to key areas of discussion.

Hope this helps!

Gillian

Early Years literature review

Posted by Hilary Ebden at Nov 14, 2010 12:57 PM

Hi Gillian
I have just watched your powerpoint thank you will revisit it again I am sure. I found the ideas for outline useful. However am feeling overwhelmed by myreading and wondered if you could give me any tips on how to prioritise what to include ?
Hilary

Early Years literature review

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 16, 2010 11:47 AM

Hi Hilary,

Thanks for this - prioritising what to include can seem very difficult at times. Other people have touched on this in this hotseat, so you are not alone. Would any of the following suggestions help?

1. Unless you have a very clear focus to start with in your dissertation, a certain amount of reading around the subject is inevitable in the initial stages. This can sometimes feel overwhelming, but is also a chance for you to take in lots of ideas and review the landscape before honing in on something more specific. But, obviously you need to set a limit to how long you spend doing this.

2. Once you feel a little clearer about your focus, don't read everything. Skim and scan articles, abstracts, indexes, tables of contents, etc to see if something is really 'worth' reading. If not, discard it.

3. Once you have collected your sources, sort them into two piles (I think that Cheryl has suggested this) - the Read Now and Read Later pile. If that doesn't work, then sort into two piles. These could be:

a) Contextual background, but not very specific to my topic (i.e. the base of the pyramid I describe in my message to Jacqueline above). These sources may need to be very tightly summarised to form just a few paragraphs at the beginning of the review.

b) Reading on my specific focus. If you have lots of these, then perhaps you can group these in sub-categories, each one relating to a different issue/concept, etc.

4. As you read, summarise. As some aspects of the reading start to seem less important, you could even summarise your summary. Other aspects may start to seem more important, so you could expand on your summary in that case.

Does anybody else have some tips about how to cope with all the reading, and prioritise better?

Gillian

Early Years literature review

Posted by Hilary Ebden at Dec 05, 2010 06:30 PM

Thanks I know it's common sense but I think I needed it pointed out to me
Hilary

Reiewing the Literature

Posted by ilnegri at Nov 14, 2010 03:48 PM

Thank you that was useful.

Loretta Negri

Reiewing the Literature

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 16, 2010 11:51 AM

Pleased you found it useful, Loretta.

Gillian

referencing for non published documents

Posted by Nell Foster at Nov 24, 2010 03:28 PM

Hi Gillian

I was just wondering if you could advise on how to reference documents that aren't actually published. I am thinking of the policy documents that have been drawn up for the group of schools I work in. They all have a reference number e.g. 2009-D343-en-1 and a title, and occasionally there are authors, but usually it is simply 'Board of Governors of the European Schools'. There is often no stated place of 'publication' but I know that the BOG (great acronym no?!) is based in Brussels. Thanks for your previous advice on translations. I am very grateful.

Nell

referencing for non published documents

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 28, 2010 06:19 PM

Hi Nell,

Sorry not to have replied sooner - it's been one of those weeks!

In answer to your question, I would try to follow the conventions of referencing as closely as possible in terms of ordering what information you have available. So, could you do the following?

Authors (if any), Date (If any), Title of document, followed by a reference number (all in italics or underlined) then Board of Governors of European Schools. Then Place of Publication, i.e. Brussels. If you have downloaded this from a website, then please also give the web address and the date you retrieved the document.

The main point is that you want to provide as much information as possible, so if somebody needed to get hold of that document, they would be able to do so.

Best wishes
Gillian

Gillian's last week

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Nov 29, 2010 12:50 PM

Hi everybody,

Just to remind you that I will be available on this hotseat until Friday 3 December, so if you have any queries, comments, suggestions or concerns, please post them up by then!

Thanks
Gillian

Gillian's last week

Posted by cheryl yeo at Nov 29, 2010 07:02 PM

Hi Gillian,

I am finishing up my 1st assignment. Fingers crossed! Just want to express my many thanks for your kind advice and useful help! :) Would you come on, again? And when? Should I need advice on academic writing, who else could I contact? Take care and best regards, Cheryl :)

Gillian's last week

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Dec 01, 2010 10:34 AM

Hi Cheryl,

Good luck for the final stages!

I've really enjoyed working with you all, and may possibly re-appear next year. But in any case, please remember that if you need help with academic writing you can always email me at G.Lazar@mdx.ac.uk if it is a quick question. If you want somebody to look at a draft of work and give more detailed feedback, then please book in for a tutorial as described above.

So, there is ongoing support for all of you while you are doing your courses!

Hope you get to have a good break over the holidays, Cheryl!

Best wishes
Gillian

Literature Review

Posted by nieves vara gonzalez at Dec 01, 2010 12:42 PM

Hello Gillian
Your presentation has been very useful to me and I am following the steps that you mention in the slides. Do you think I should include the literature Review in the Evidence Section or in the Introduction and Orientation Sections? How long should the Literature Review be in relation to the whole assignment?

Many thanks,

Nieves Vara Gonzalez (Gifted Education)

Literature Review

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Dec 02, 2010 11:37 AM

Dear Nieves,

Nice to hear from you on this snowy day (well, in the UK anyway!)

In answer to your question, I would refer you back to Ian's comments in his posting on the 10 November. He said:

"I normally say that in an 18000 word dissertation the three important parts are

1. Literature review where you show in depth knowledge
2. Research methodology and procedures (methods) where you show research knowledge and skills
3. Findings, data description, analysis, discussion etc. where you show a variety of things but conclude with new insights and perspectives

Each of these are 1/3rd or 6000 words

You top and tail with an Introduction (inclsuding needs analysis and prof auto) and Conclusion of 1000 words each."

I have to be honest - I am not sure if the same applies to students doing Gifted Education, so will check with Ruth about this. I'll get back to you soon!

Best wishes
Gillian

Literature Review

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Dec 03, 2010 06:05 PM

Dear Nieves,

Just to say that I have checked with Ruth and Ian, and your tutor will confirm with you where the literature review should go, and how long it should be.

Good luck with it all!

Signing off from hotseat

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Dec 03, 2010 06:13 PM

Hi everybody,

Just wanted to say that it has been very enjoyable for me working with you. I wish you all the best of luck with your academic writing! In my experience, it is not always an easy process, but in the end it is often very satisfying.

Do remember that you are welcome to contact one of my colleagues at Trent Park for a one-to-one tutorial online tutorial if you would like some individual feedback. For instructions on how to do this, please scroll back to my response to Cheryl on the 16th November. For any quicker question, please email me at G.Lazar@mdx.ac.uk

All the best
Gillian

Reminder about Wednesday 8th December

Posted by Gillian Lazar at Dec 06, 2010 09:21 PM

Hi everybody,

I've just popped back again to remind you that my hotseat is ending, but don't forget that on the 8th December you will have a great opportunity to hear Carole Davis exploring literature reviews with you either face-to-face at Middlesex University, Trent Park or online! Please click on 'News', then 'Reviewing the Literature workshop' for more information about this. Carole has sent me this information about about her workshop:

Greetings to you ....The completion of a masters dissertation or project requires commitment, passion and the application of concise analytical thinking. Importantly, it provides a chance to explore, transform and change. I am really looking forward to meeting you on Wednesday 8 December either in person or online to discuss how to review the literature review. Wishing you every success in your work ... Carole "

I strongly urge you all to be there if you can...

Gillian

Reminder about Wednesday 8th December

Posted by cheryl yeo at Dec 08, 2010 09:30 PM

Hello Gillian and Carole,

I obviously 'missed the face-to-face discussion. How doI get online? When I click on weblink to connect... it just sign me in as a guest and nothing. ???? I am planning to do a lit review and would like to get more inputs before I start. So, any assistance or suggestion would be most appreciated! Thanks and hope to hear from you. Thanks again, Gillian! Cheryl :)

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