JSGS Workshop: Literature Review Activities
Activity One: Distinguishing between a Silo and Synthesis Approach
Below are two versions of a passage from a student’s literature review on drinking water planning in the North. Which passage uses the silo approach and which has effectively synthesized the evidence?
Version One
Simms and de Loë (2010) surveyed several small rural communities. They visited these communities, where they looked at the water treatment facilities and interviewed those responsible for water safety. They (2010) reveal that water in Canada is under threat in terms of quality. They argue that this is particularly the case in small communities, where infrastructure, capacity and resources are lacking.
Patrick (2011) conducted a study of uneven access to clean water for First Nations. He found that many First Nations have problems with their water supply. Infrastructure is generally poorly maintained and out of date, and there is an over reliance on chemicals. He suggests that the problems that he and others have identified in small remote communities are mainly due to inadequate training, high operational costs, and institutional and jurisdictional barriers.
The Water Survey Agency (WSA) (2012) has conducted several surveys of Saskatchewan water in communities in the North. The agency has found that water systems are not well maintained in rural and remote communities, where services are typically lacking.
Version Two
Providing safe drinking water is challenging for small and rural communities (Simms & de Loë, 2010; Water Security Agency (WSA), 2012; Holmes 2002), particularly for First Nations communities (Patrick, 2011). The WSA (2012) found that small communities often have difficulties meeting drinking water standards because of challenges in maintaining and renewing their systems. In a survey of Northern Saskatchewan communities, Simms & de Loë (2010) had similar findings, identifying limited resources and lack of capacity as the major impediments for rural systems. In related research on northern First Nations communities, Patrick (2010) identified numerous problems plaguing water treatment operations, including improper training, reliance on chemicals for water treatment, high operational costs, poor infrastructure set up, and jurisdictional problems. In the face of such obstacles, it is little wonder that small remote communities have difficulties keeping their drinking water safe.
Activity Two: Identifying Themes
Below is a literature review that a student wrote in a paper that argued that community initiatives in Aboriginal education could help youth to learn about their culture and language, enabling them to develop cultural wholeness and self-esteem. It is easy to see that this student has taken a silo approach to her literature review. What are some themes that she could have drawn out from the paragraphs below to develop a synthesis?
Gunn et al, (2011) reviewed initiatives and approaches to improving indigenous education in Alberta. This review focused on quality programming to keep Aboriginal children in school. Programing focused on incorporating Aboriginal language, culture and history in Aboriginal school systems by involving Aboriginal parents and Elders in meaningful ways.
Ball (2004) examined the First Nations Partnership Program in First Nations’ communities. This program involves partnerships with post-secondary institutions and First Nations to develop a community-based initiative involving Elders sharing IK in the process of teaching and learning.
In 2009, the Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for Research developed a program named Asokan (the Bridge): Teachers’ Work with Elders, (Goulet et al. 2009). This research project explored the concept of Elders working in provincial schools in Regina, Saskatchewan. The focus was building meaningful relationships between teachers and Elders in the school. Goulet et al. (2009) suggest that Elders “help to give Aboriginal teachers and students confidence to express their culture, while providing understanding to non-Aboriginal staff regarding protocols, history, and cultural teachings” (p. 3).
Antone (2003) discusses the impact that the changes in education have had on Aboriginal people. She states, “With the strength of voice and the growth and development in Aboriginal education, there is hope for Aboriginal people to continue to strive for cultural wholeness” (p. 31). She further shares that Aboriginal children need to carry on with traditional knowledge and values with confidence and self-determination.
Roué (2006) suggests that cultural camps have helped troubled students turn their lives around. These cultural camps guide students through a wholistic Aboriginal experience to build confidence and acquire a new autonomy that helps them engage in Mitho-Pimachesowin.
Cooke-Dallin, Rosborough and Underwood (2000) argue that cultural values need to be maintained in First Nations communities and that Elders are the vehicle to maintain and transmit this valuable knowledge. In British Columbia, the Malaspina University’s Child and Youth Care (CYC) program incorporates the teachings of Elders to emphasise the importance of Elders as teachers and role models, relationships, history, cultural relevance and intergenerational transmission. The CYC program practitioners demonstrate competence by focussing on the teachings and learnings from the Elders about family ties, connections with the homeland, language, and current local issues.
Activity Three: Identifying Signal Words that Show Similarity
Read the above passage again (Activity One, Version Two). Identify the linking words the student has used that signal to the reader that she is showing how studies are similar.
Activity Four: Identifying Signal Words that Show Difference
Read the paragraph below from a literature review on plant decomposition. Identify the linking words the student has used to signal differencesamong the studies discussed. Please note this is a fictional paragraph used for illustrative purposes only.
Whereas most studies of plant materials have concluded that global warming is slowing decomposition processes (e.g., Keith, 2004; Jefferies, 2009; Sarty, 1999; Thomas & Winters, 2006), a handful of recent studies have found that it is accelerating these processes (Bradley, 2010; Clark & Sorenson, 2007; Donald & Singh, 2012). However, it is difficult to draw conclusions from these studies because the researchers have investigated regions with such different climatic conditions. Clark and Sorenson (2007) studied the tropical rainforests of the Amazon basin, where annual rainfall exceeds 3,000 milometers. In contrast, Donald and Singh investigated plant decomposition in the drylands ecosystem of southern Arizona, while Bradley (2010) investigated decomposition in the Boreal forests of northern Canada. More research will have to be carried out in differing climatic regions before diffinitive conclusions can be drawn on the effect of global warming on plant decomposition.
Activity Five: Identifying CARS Moves in an Introduction to a Paper
The CARS model is widely used in literature reviews, proposals, theses, dissertations and published research papers, but it also works well in introductory paragraphs of essays and term papers. See if you can identify the three moves in the paragraph from a student’s term paper:
- Establishing the research territory
- Identifying the niche
- Occupying the niche
In 1934, a luxury ocean liner by the name of the Morro Castle was en route from New York City to Havana when it caught fire off the coast of New Jersey, killing 137 passengers and crew. The disaster has been the subject of several books and articles. McPhee (1950) blamed the fire and the high death toll on the actions of the officers and the crew. More recently, researchers have attributed the disaster to poor ship design (Atkins & Riley, 1994), inadequate safety procedures (Gordon & Barber, 2003) and insufficient government oversight (Jones, 1998; Perkins & Taylor, 2007). None of these studies appear to have considered the possibility that organizational routines were at the heart of the problem. Using organizational theory, this essay argues that too much focus on formal hierarchy and official responsibilities and too little attention to informal knowledge networks led to the fire and loss of life on board the Morro Castle.
Activity Six: Identifying CARS Moves in a Brief Literature Review from a Proposal
Read the following abridged literature review from a student’s thesis proposal. See if you can identify the CARS moves.
Access to safe drinking water is essential for human health, yet natural processes and human activities often put drinking water sources at risk (AANDC, 2013; Patrick, 2014). Drinking water protection varies greatly across Canada (Wood, C., 2014), but it is particularly weak in First Nations communities. In 2010, 75% of First Nations on-reserve water systems assessed posed a threat to human health (Simms, Lightman, & de Loë, 2010). This situation is ongoing. As of March, 2016, there were 133 short- and long-term drinking water advisories in 89 First Nation communities across the country, with 23 in Saskatchewan alone (Health Canada, 2016). At least 20 of these 23 advisories affect Northern Saskatchewan (Health Canada, 2016).
One way for communities to sustain healthy water is to develop a source water protection plan (SWP), which aims to reduce the risk of waterborne contamination at the water source (Davies & Mazumder, 2003). SWP also makes economic sense for at least three reasons. First, it is less expensive to protect a water source from contamination than it is to remediate after contamination (Job, 1996). Second, investing in natural capital, such as purchasing land within a watershed, is more cost effective than investing in physical capital, such as water treatment technologies (National Research Council, 2000; Chichilnsky & Heal, 1998). Third, SWP reduces water treatment challenges and costs (Gullick, 2003).
Saskatchewan has implemented SWPs in several communities in the south, yet no SWPs are in place on the North. Furthermore, no feasibility studies have been conducted on using SWPs in the North, the region of the country most at risk from unsafe drinking water. The purpose of this project is to fill this need by working with three adjacent northern communities in Saskatchewan -- La Ronge, Air La Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band -- to develop a source water protection plan. This plan, if carried out, will benefit the communities by safeguarding their drinking water supply in the future.
Sources: The paragraphs in all activities except Activity Four are courtesy of former students.
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