PHP594: Research Topics

Lesson 3 Reviewing the Literature: Road Map

A foundation of any scholarly project is having a good understanding of the literature related to the topic of the scholarly paper. A literature review is "a synthesis of the literature on a topic" (Pan, 2008, p.1). It provides background to the project and helps the researcher refine the topic of the project.

To Read

• Textbook Chapter 3: Reviewing the Literature
• Textbook Chapter 30: Citing
• Textbook Chapter 31: Writing Strategies
• Textbook Chapter 32: Critically Revising
• Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association as needed.

To View

Video Length: 21:08

• An Initial Literature Review PowerPoint® Presentation (You can also access the presentation by selecting the Activities link in the course menu and then selecting the Lesson 3 Reviewing the Literature Activities folder. Click on the An Initial Literature Review PowerPoint® Presentation link to download the file.)

To Do

In this lesson you will complete the following activities:

1. Complete and submit an Annotated Bibliography that also includes a Topic Summary

Lesson 3 Reviewing the Literature: Activities

Assignment #3: Annotated Bibliography & Summary

Note: This is a one week assignment.

Each student is to create a modified annotated bibliography (AB). Note that the assignment is for a "modified AB." The reason for the word modified" is because the entries are to be presented in a research format. The AB must be related to the topic/program you noted in Assignment #2 and have a minimum of eight (8) entries. [Note: For students completing a research project or systematic review this is an initial review of the literature. Your final research paper for this course will need to include at least fifteen (15) entries. For students conducting a program evaluation or creating a program plan this activity is to get you familiar with the literature related to your project and will be included in select sections (e.g., introduction/rationale/purpose) of your paper as needed. Your paper will not include a separate related literature section.] For each of the eight (8) entries for this assignment you must provide:

• An APA bibliographic citation (see Publication Manual of American Psychological Association)
• An annotation written as if it were a related literature entry in a research paper (see example below).

Each entry must include authors' names, year published, problem of the study, the study participants, the research methodology used, and the important findings (see the example below, the parts are noted in red).

In addition to the entries, you must write a 1-2 page summary of what you learned about your topic (not each entry). This summary should follow the the eight entries in your annotated bibliography.

Submit your annotated bibliography to the Annotated Bibliography Drop Box located in the Lesson 3 folder.

Example of Annotated Entry for a Scholarly Article (red ink denotes parts)

Example entry: Andersen and Urban [authors] (1998) [year published] examined the use of mammography by breast cancer survivors [problem studied].  A prevalence sample of 485 breast cancer survivors who lived in rural communities was identified using data from a previous study (Stoddard et al., 1998).  Of those 485, 62 (13%) where ineligible for the follow-up study. Of the remaining 423, 351 (83%) were interviewed for this study and 248 were included in the analysis.  In a telephone survey [methodology], participants were asked about their use of mammography, their diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, and factors that impacted their use of mammography.  Results of the study showed that 30% of the participants had not received a mammogram in the preceding year, and 28% had not received a mammogram in the previous two years.  In addition, breast cancer survivors in this study were more likely to get a mammogram if they were told to do so by their physician and if their original cancer had been detected with a mammogram [important findings presented in last two sentences].

Example of Annotated Entry for a Government Report (red ink denotes parts)

Example entry: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [author] (2012) [year published] released a report on the status of adult [participants] vaccination coverage in the United States for 2010 [problem studied]. To determine the status, the CDC anaylzed data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and compared them to the results of the 2009 data [methodology]. Those data analyzed included rates for pneumococcal, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, herpes zoster (shingles), and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, as well as tetanus antigen-containing vaccines (including tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccine [Tdap]). Further, the data were analyzed by selected characteristics (age, vaccination priority group, and race/ethnicity). The results showed that compared to the 2009 adult vaccination rates increases in coverage were observed only for Tdap vaccination for persons aged 19-64 years, zoster vaccination among persons aged >59 years, and >1 does HPV vaccination in women 19-26 years, while coverage for the other vaccines was unchanged [important findings presented in this last sentence].

Please refer back to the course syllabus for the assignment due date.

Lesson 3 Reviewing the Literature: References

1. Pan, M. L. (2008). Literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd ed.) Glendale, CA: Pryczak Publishing.