6 Oct 2009: Lit Reviews & Grants

SO WHAT? WHY DO I CARE?

scope and sequence.
choosing the right blocks, but arranging them the right way and filing in the mortar (story) the best way possible.

Lit review is also a narrative (it mirrors & scales the outline I posed in my one page intro)
Write for an intelligent non-specialist; your spouse should be able to read it.

more nepal.
more focus.
i should know more about my topic than anyone else in the world.

Get to the hook quicker.
Entice, tantalize the reader.
Prepare the reader for the main point earlier; everything builds to the main point.
Avoid filler
Make the intro 1 page; keep it concise.
Include only what relates.
Embed everything in context.

The world's knowledge is a public good.
How do we sustain giving things away for free and take it to scale?

WHAT IS MY CADENCE?
direction, inevitability, progression toward the last (pinnacle) chord
lit review follows this same orchestration (outline) of points
strategic planning and editing, find the right quotes, give appropriate commentary
commentary on what is missing

avoid "no literature exists on this" - unless you can show your search and why you never found it
(transparency, terms, databases) - explain process fully

Pres. Kim Clark's forum address

If you feel personally tied to the topic, take on a less formal voice.
Add more personal.
Focus more on the hook.

Justin Johansen: next Weds 8am, 351
Open courseware for BYU Independent Study pays for itself

Rich Sudweeks: Research Synthesis
USU Open Courseware Lit Review course
ocw.usu.edu

Create a story with the lit review
Find a narrower topic to find relevant articles/books for my lit review

Why?
Support your argument.
Create context
Establish timing on the stage.
Provide validity.
Show that you are informed/qualified.
Show where the holes are.
Demonstrate that you fill a gap.
Critically evaluate existing work. (So what?)
Make purposive choice under constraint.

Clear organization is not necessarily clear argument. Need a narrative.
Keep it interesting.

What is the story?
100,000 literate Pakistani women, but no libraries or reading material to continue:
"What about us?"

If I don't care, why should the reader care?

Researcher subjectivity.
Life impact map.
Depending on audience & what am I accomplishing?

Oct 27 (Kennedy Center)

Three cups of Tea