Literature researching
Mapping the Literature
Once you are satisfied that your review of the literature contains a significant number of resources, the production of a map showing the topography of the field is an extremely valuable way to encapsulate the field and will be useful in the final write up of the report or thesis. Using graphical representation will help you gain a much clearer view of the main influences on research in the chosen field.
Having developed keywords and phrases during the progression of the initial review of the literature, a widely used technique to help map the literature is to use a relationship tree or network diagram. The purpose of such diagrams is to show how the research topic has been informed by the antecedent literature over time. Often it is useful to start by using a diachronic approach (i.e. One which maps the progression and changes in the literature over time) to show the links between key works. It is not necessary to include every source – indeed the ability to identify the most salient and seminal works pertaining to the research is a key measure of the quality of a doctoral thesis. Having conducted citation searches the construction of a citation tree should be relatively straightforward – the example shown below is simply an indicative one to show how such a tree is presented.
Figure 3.7 Illustration of Citation Tree
©2005 Supply Chain Management Institute. Site Design: S Croom