Welcome to the library guide for your STEM Education research class with Dr. Joe Shane. This guide includes key education databases that you will need to use, an array of resources concerning Action Research, a variety of help tools for conducting and writing a literature review, and detailed citation assistance for many style formats. Please feel free to contact me at any time - Dr. Kirk Moll, kamoll@ship.edu for additional assistance. See my profile on this page for additional contact info or to schedule an appointment.
The Wiley Handbook of Action Research in Education
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The SAGE Handbook of Educational Action Research
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The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research
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The SAGE Handbook of Action Research
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Action Research for Educators, 2nd ed.
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Action Research for Teacher Candidates
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Integrating Teaching, Learning, and Action Research
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Teacher Action Research
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Finding empirical research articles is a critical skill for graduate students. The best way to identify whether or not an article is an empirical research study is to examine the source directly and confirm that it has the key elements of such a study. A typical empirical study will have the following five sections, with the terminology sometimes varying. Sometimes introduction and literature review will be merged; sometimes either section might not be labeled. Sometimes a separate conclusions section may be added.
Absolutely necessary are the three core sections: methods, results, discussion. Some of the typical variants are listed below. If these three components are not found in the article, it is NOT an empirical study.
To give you some examples of writing a literature review and an article analysis matrix to keep track of the themes of your articles, I have created a partial literature review and corresponding analysis matrix to demonstrate. My topic is the special education early intervention program called First Step to Success (FSS)
Mastering synthetic writing is key to a successful literature review. Use these resources to learn how to analyze the articles you want to use for your literature review, keep track of common themes using an article analysis matrix, and how to convert the notes in the analysis matrix into a piece of synthetic writing.
Think of working on your literature review as a multi-step process:
Create a matrix by listing the articles you want to analyze in the top row of the matrix, and the major themes in the far left column. You will then review each article to see what themes are covered in that article. Check the appropriate boxes for what themes are discussed in each article. When you are done, you will be able to easily see which articles share common themes, and where there are gaps in the research regarding coverage of certain concepts.
| Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3 | Article 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marital Status | X | X | ||
| Education | X | X | X | X |
| Professional Culture | X | X | ||
| Technical vs. Social Work | X | |||
| Investment Strategies | X |
What does this example matrix tell you? What themes are well covered in the literature? Which are lacking? What do the different articles have in common?
It may be beneficial to add additional columns (for more articles) or additional rows (to include a place to record each study's research method, findings, or limitations). The more work you do on the front end, thoroughly analyzing various aspects of each article, the easier it will be to pull it all together in the end for your literature review.
A literature review is not the same as a research paper. The point of a literature review is to synthesize the research of others without making a new argument or scholarly contribution. A literature review is also not an annotated bibliography. You should not write about each study you are reviewing in turn, but instead write synthetically to highlight the current state of the literature.
Key Points to Consider:
The sites below offer a range of considerations and steps for writing the literature review.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Seventh ed.)
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields. Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication. It guides users through the scholarly writing process--from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication. The seventh edition is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work. The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing. All formats are in full color, with a new tabbed spiral version Improved ease of navigation, with many additional numbered sections to help users quickly locate answers to their questions Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers New chapter on journal article reporting standards that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style New chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, and legal resources More than 40 new sample tables and figures Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process Guidelines that support accessibility for all users, including simplified reference, in-text citation, and heading formats as well as additional font options
