Writing Resources
The purpose of the literature review:
- What?
- assess and explain what is known about a subject and what is not known about a subject.
- This is what we know:
- Summarize current research related to your topic.
- This is what we don't know:
- Identify voids or gaps in the research surrounding your topic.
- This is what we know:
- assess and explain what is known about a subject and what is not known about a subject.
- Why?
- discover the value, importance, and pertinence of researching your topic.
- How?
- identify appropriate methods to evaluate and examine your topic.
Information adapted from The Doctor of Nursing Practice Project (2020), K. Moran, R. Burson, and D. Conrad.
How to conduct a search for literature.
- Identify the problem and construct a question.
- What is the problem and how might we go about solving the problem?
- Choose the appropriate database.
- Develop your search strategy.
- Keywords
- Asterisk
- Quotation marks
- Boolean operators vs. none
- Limiters/filters
- Subject headings
- Citation chasing
- Conduct the search.
- Evaluate the results.
- Peer reviewed
- Primary vs. secondary
- Grey literature
- Documents produced by government institutions, academic institutions, businesses, and organizations that are not controlled by commercial publishing.
- If necessary, refine your search strategy.
Information adapted from The Doctor of Nursing Practice Project (2020), K. Moran, R. Burson, and D. Conrad.
| Year of Publication | Publication Information (Author, Title, Journal) | Objective of Research | Research Design/Methodology | Sample Size | Results/Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Kwee, et al., Metabolites and diabetes remission after weight loss. Nutr Diabetes. | identify biomarkers predictive of type 2 diabetes remission and amount of weight loss in individuals with severe obesity | targeted, quantitative mass spectrometry-based metabolomic profiling pre and post-intervention | 324 | identified circulating baseline biomarkers associated with diabetes remission |
| 2022 | Kermansaravi, et al., Current Status of Metabolic/Bariatric Surgery in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: an Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Obes Surg. | systematic review and meta-analysis intend to evaluate the efficacy of metabolic/bariatric surgeries (MBS) in patients with type-1 diabetes mellitus | literature search and meta-analysis | 27 primary studies comprising 648 subjects | MBS acceptable and durable effects of bariatric surgical procedures |
Information adapted from The Doctor of Nursing Practice Project (2020), K. Moran, R. Burson, and D. Conrad.
- APA Citation Help
Get help with citing your sources in APA Style. - Chicago/Turabian Help
Find resources to help you cite your research according to Chicago/Turabian Style - MLA Citation Help
Find resources to help you cite your research according to MLA Style. - STM Citation Help
Get help with citing your sources in the School of Theology & Ministry Manual of Style.
Zotero is a free resource to help researchers collect, organize, and cite resources.
For more information:
Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's words or ideas and claiming them as your own.
Plagiarism is theft and has serious consequences in the academic world as well as in the professional world, so it is important that you understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
When you use someone else's words, word for word, and do not use quotations and a citation to identify that these words were either spoken by or written by someone else, this is plagiarism. This is the most blatant form of plagiarism, but there are other practices that also constitute plagiarism. When you restate in your own words someone else's words or ideas, but do not cite the information or give credit to the person who originally had this thought, this is also considered plagiarism.
Plagiarism is not limited to words. It is important that you also give credit to artists and photographers for any images that you may utilize in your work, be it included in a research paper or a class presentation.
Did you know that you can also plagiarize yourself? Recycling your own written material to fulfill the requirements of another class is considered plagiarism. If you want to expound upon previous research that you have conducted, contact your instructor prior to beginning the assignment to see if you might be able to use your former research as a basis for, not a replacement for, your current assignment.
Direct Quote – using someone else's words, word-for-word.
Using someone else's words, word-for-word, is acceptable only if you include quotation marks and citation information.
If you do not use quotations and a citation to identify that these words were either spoken by or written by someone else, you are plagiarizing!
Use direct quotes sparingly and make sure your quotes have purpose.
When you do choose to include a quote, you should also always include your analysis of the quote.
Don’t end your paragraph with a quote. Always add your interpretation of the quote that is of equal or greater value than the original thought.
Paraphrasing – restating in your own words someone else’s words or ideas.
Paraphrasing is an effective way to incorporate the thoughts and ideas of others that support your research. To paraphrase is to put into your own words the thoughts and ideas of others. Remember, even though these are your own words, since the idea or thought originated from someone else, you must cite your source!
Paraphrasing can be difficult for students because, typically, the original author has stated his or her thoughts so eloquently that we feel incapable of accurately representing the meaning of their words if we change the dictation of their thoughts. However, to fully incorporate other's words, thoughts, and ideas, you must be able to tell in your own words why this idea applies to your research.
Tips for paraphrasing:
Being able to properly paraphrase requires having a firm grasp of your topic. To avoid inadequate paraphrasing, make sure you understand what you are reading and/or researching. This may require speaking with your professor about the text or it may be as simple as making sure you are reading enough of the text to truly comprehend what the author is discussing.
Paraphrasing means to put an idea into your own words, which will include incorporating your own syntax. Changing only the words of the original text and not the sentence structure is not true paraphrasing.
Some ways to avoid improper paraphrasing:
Avoid copying and pasting information into your paper unless you plan to use the text as a direct quote. Remember, direct quotes should be used sparingly and with purpose.
Avoid looking directly at the original source text when writing your paper.
It is better to read the original text, lay it out of eyesight and then try to explain in your own words what you just read.
Think of paraphrasing as a phone call to a friend. Your friends don’t want you to read your textbook to them, they want to hear in your own words what you have been studying. Try to explain it to them; this is paraphrasing.
Citations help us to avoid plagiarizing another person's words or ideas.
A citation provides the opportunity for your reader to locate your sources if they would like to learn more about your subject.
A citation proves that the ideas you have are supported by others in the academic community which lends validity to your paper.
A citation notifies the reader of your paper:
Who – who wrote or spoke these words or ideas originally? Who originally created this picture or graphic?
Where – where (in what source) did you locate these words, ideas or images?
More specifically, to cite a source is to provide your reader with the following information:
Author’s or Creator’s Name
Title of Work
Publication Information (Publisher, Date and Place of Publication)
Page Number(s) if applicable
Medium of Publication
In-text citations are especially important. It is not enough to simply list at the end of your paper the list of your references. You must cite the quoted or paraphrased section as soon as it appears in your paper.
Citations vary depending on citation style which often varies by discipline. However, some rules remain constant across disciplines:
You should always cite a direct quote or paraphrased passage.
You should always provide either in-text citations, end-notes or footnotes. Providing only a bibliography or reference page is not acceptable.
Take a moment to review the flowchart below to see if you are guilty of plagiarism. You might be surprised!
How can I make sure the reader is following my thought processes?
The purpose of this document is to help you as a writer use your words wisely. Using introductory phrases and transitional words and phrases will help your writing be clear, concise, and interesting to the reader. Please see the lists below to learn more.
Introductory Phrases
When writing, often one needs to tell the reader what the author of a research article or book has stated. To keep the reader from either becoming lost or bored from repetitive beginnings, add diverse introduction phrases. In the table below, a list of introductory phrases has been compiled for your use.
NOTE: When phrases such as “states that…” - “comments that…” or “asserts that…” are used, a direct quote should follow. Be sure to provide the page number, immediately following the quote, where the quote can be found.
Introductory phrases for quotes and paraphrasing authors’ writing(s):
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According to Smith (1887) . . . |
Smith (1887) concedes that … |
Smith (1887) points out that …
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As Smith (1887) states . . . |
Smith (1887) concluded that …
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Smith (1887) possets that …
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Conversely Jones (1889) tell of … |
Smith (1887) contends that …
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Smith (1887) proposes that . . .
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Moreover, Smith (1887) identified … |
Smith (1887) criticized “X” …
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Smith (1887) rejects the idea that …
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Smith (1887) agreed that . . . |
Smith (1887) debates that …
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Smith (1887) remarked that . . .
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Smith (1887) asserted that . . . |
Smith (1887) describes this as …
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Smith (1887) says that . . .
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Smith (1887) asserts that . . . |
Smith (1887) focuses on …
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Smith (1887) stated that . . .
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Smith (1887) believes that . . . |
Smith (1887) indicates that …
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Smith (1887) strongly argued . . .
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Smith (1887) claimed that . . . |
Smith (1887) insisted that …
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Smith (1887) suggested that . . .
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Smith (1887) claims that . . . |
Smith (1887) maintains that …
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Smith (1887) takes the view that …
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Smith (1887) commented that . . . |
Smith (1887) notes that …
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Smith’s (1909) results suggest that …
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Smith (1887) observed that …
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Transitional Words and Phrases
In addition to the introduction of an author’s writing, it also can be easy to fall into the proverbial trap of repeating one’s self for starting a new idea or even continuing without sounding repetitive in the process.
To make it easier to view the words and phrases they have been separated into categories that identify the type of phrase(s):
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in the first place. . . |
Equally … |
Moreover … |
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not only ... but also…. |
Identically … |
Correspondingly … |
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as a matter of fact… |
Uniquely … |
As well as … |
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in like manner… |
Again … |
Additionally … |
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in addition … |
Once again … |
Likewise … |
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Coupled with… |
Comparatively … |
Furthermore … |
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In the same fashion… |
Equally important… |
By the same token … |
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Together with … |
Similarly … |
In the light of … |
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First, second, third … |
In the same way … |
|
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As a result . . . |
For |
Consequently … |
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Under such circumstances …. |
Thus |
Therefore … |
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In this case … |
Uniquely … |
Accordingly … |
|
For this reason … |
Because the … |
Concluding that … |
|
Henceforth … |
Then … |
Possibly causing … |
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As can be seen . . . |
After all … |
Overall … |
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Generally speaking … |
In fact … |
Ordinarily … |
|
In the final analysis … |
In summary … |
Usually … |
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All things considered … |
In conclusion … |
By and large … |
|
As shown above … |
In short … |
To sum up … |
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In the long run … |
In brief … |
On the whole … |
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Given these results … |
In essence … |
In any event … |
|
As has been noted … |
To summarize … |
In either case … |
|
For the most part … |
Altogether … |
All in all … |
|
At the present time . . . |
After |
Further … |
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From time to time …. |
Later |
Prior to … |
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At the same time … |
Until … |
During … |
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As long as … |
Since … |
Meanwhile … |
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Finally … |
Then … |
Occasionally … |
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In the event that . . . |
If |
In case (of) … |
|
Granted (that) …. |
Then |
Provided that … |
|
For the purpose of … |
Unless … |
Given that … |
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With (this / the) intention … |
When … |
Only / even if … |
|
With this in mind … |
Whenever … |
So as to … |
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In the hope that … |
Because of … |
Due to .. |
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In order to … |
While … |
Inasmuch as … |
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Seeing / being that … |
Lest |
Owing to … |
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In view of … |
Since |
So that … |
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In other words . . . |
To be sure … |
In fact … |
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For one thing …. |
Including … |
In general … |
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In this case … |
Namely … |
To explain … |
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For this reason … |
Truly … |
To clarify … |
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That is to say … |
Certainly … |
Such as … |
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As an illustration … |
Markedly … |
For instance … |
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With attention to … |
Expressively … |
To point out … |
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By all means … |
Frequently … |
With this in mind … |
|
To put it another way … |
Significantly … |
To emphasize … |
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although this may be true . . . |
But |
Although … |
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In contrast …. |
Still |
Despite … |
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On the other hand … |
However … |
Instead … |
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After all … |
Unlike … |
Notwithstanding … |
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In reality … |
Or … |
Occasionally … |
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Be that as it may … |
Albeit .. |
Regardless … |
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On the contrary … |
Even though .. |
Nevertheless … |
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At the same time … |
Besides … |
Otherwise … |
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Different from … |
As much as … |
Conversely … |
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Subordinating |
Correlative |
Coordinating |
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In contrast …. |
Still |
Prior to … |
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On the other hand … |
However … |
During … |
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After all … |
Unlike … |
Meanwhile … |
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In reality … |
Or … |
Occasionally … |
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Be that as it may … |
Albeit .. |
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On the contrary … |
Even though .. |
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At the same time … |
Besides … |
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Different from … |
As much as … |
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