Application of literature maps and literature matrices for quick and effective literature reviews
What is a literature review, and why do we need a map?
A detailed and comprehensive literature review constitutes an integral part of academic and industrial research. It helps to explore a specific research problem and possible solutions from different perspectives.
Literature reviews also help to find research gaps in current areas of research. Indeed, they involve a great deal of reading and comprehending the ocean of available research documents. In the overall structure of a literature review, there should be a logical flow of ideas. Each paragraph should have a clear theme around which related ideas are explored and developed.
Newby asserted that It is crucial to represent the different views and any conflicting research findings present in the literature (Newby, 2014). There is a danger of selective referencing by only including literature sources that support the researcher’s beliefs and conclusions and disregarding alternative views. This is dangerous because it is possible that the researcher could miss critical ideas and findings that could take the research in new and exciting directions.
Consequently, writing a literature review can be rather labour-intensive and confusing if the author tries to do it in an unstructured way. A literature map can be helpful for this purpose since it enables researchers to visually represent their themes and how they could relate to one another (refer to Figure 1).
What is a literature map?
Cresswell suggested that it is a two-dimensional diagrammatic representation of information where links are made between concepts by drawing arrows (which could be annotated to define the nature of these links; Cresswell, 2011).
How does a literature map solve the problem?
A literature map may be handy in
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understanding the critical issues, proper methodologies and research findings in the literature,
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organising the flow of ideas using a structured document.
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Understanding the relationships between different studies and groupings according to similar findings or methodologies.
How does one prepare a literature map?
We can use the organisational hierarchy model to prepare a simple and effective literature map. This can be done using pen and paper or with the Google drawing app.
Follow these steps:
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Write your main topic in a text box at the top.
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Decide on a few important subtopics related to the main topic, and write them down below it.
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For each subtopic, decide on a few crucial points of research and one by one, write them down below the relevant subtopic, as shown in Figure 1.
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Search Google Scholar or your favorite publication repository for good research articles pertaining to each point and record the primary author's name and the year of publication.
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Download those articles and save them in your Mendeley library or at your desired location.
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You may need to spend a reasonable amount of time preparing this map. Once it has been finalised, the map can be used to conduct a planned and structured literature review.
Figure 1: A typical literature map.
However, this is not the end of the story. It is just a start. Based on the needs of your study, different types of literature maps can be used:
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Citation mapping;
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Concept mapping;
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Feature mapping;
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Topic-tree mapping;
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Content mapping; or
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Taxonomic mapping.
Other than manually constructing a literature map, tech-savvy researchers can explore the following tools to generate their literature maps:
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Scite; and
What is a Literature matrix, and how can it be useful?
Once the literature map is ready, the team can start their literature review by selecting papers one by one. Using Google Docs or Google Sheets can be helpful in the collaborative writing of a literature review by employing a literature matrix. This matrix can be used to analyse and comprehend a particular journal article in the context of the research problem and to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology and any resulting findings. This document will also enable the team to explore how key themes and concepts in the article link together.
Table 1 can be converted easily to a Google Docs or Google Sheets worksheet for straightforward entering of the necessary information. Depending on the requirements, more rows and/or columns can be added.
Since this is a collaborative document, work repetition or decision-making delays can be avoided. Editing and suggestion tools can be used in this type of collaborative document.
Table 1: A typical, simple literature matrix
| Article Title | Research Problem | Methodology | Main Findings | Research Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
By using literature maps and literature matriices in a collaborative ecosystem (Google or Microsoft), compiling literature reviews can be fun and a great learning experience.
Activities To Do:
- Develop a literature map on a topic of your choice.
- Prepare a literature matrix based on one research article selected for the literature map developed as part of activity No 1.
- Share your 3 significant challenges encountered while preparing your literature map.
- Share your 3 significant challenges in preparing the literature matrix of activity No 2.
- Which software or platform has your team followed for better collaboration on research projects?
Please share your thoughts in the comment below. You can also discuss and share your literature map or matrix in the AuthorAID discussion forum or email the author at priy.dwivedi@gmail.com or priydwivedi@nu.edu.om. Dr. Dwivedi can also support research teams in developing a fully functional research project collaboration using Google Workspace.
Bibliography:
Newby, P. (2014). Research Methods for Education, second edition (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315758763
Creswell, J.W. (2011). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Sage publications. pdf
https://www.meshguides.org/guides/node/400
https://www.enago.com/academy/literature-mapping-5-most-recommended-tools-to-use/
Dr. Priy Dwivedi is an Assistant professor in the College of Engineering, National University of Science & Technology, Oman. His research interests include wastewater treatment and waste to valuable products. He is an author, research trainer and public speaker. He is currently researching and writing about improving the learning experience of university students through a 'system thinking' approach.