Graduate student writing: Complexity in literature reviews

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore Master’s students’ literature reviews to better understand the literacies required for engaging in complexity in this genre and to inform graduate student pedagogy.Design/methodology/approachIn this qualitative study, data were collected in the form of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Studies in graduate and postdoctoral education 2018-05, Vol.9 (1), p.58-74
Main Author: Badenhorst, Cecile M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations
Discipline
Genre
Graduate students
Knowledge
Literature reviews
Longitudinal Studies
Plagiarism
Qualitative research
Student writing
Thinking Skills
Undergraduate Students
Writers
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore Master’s students’ literature reviews to better understand the literacies required for engaging in complexity in this genre and to inform graduate student pedagogy.Design/methodology/approachIn this qualitative study, data were collected in the form of student literature review papers (23 drafts and 23 final versions) from students attending a research seminar course in an all-course Master’s program. All papers were analyzed for citations patterns, genre awareness and levels of complexity.FindingsResults highlight the nature of complexity in this genre – that this complexity is underpinned by discursive issues such as “truth”, “claims” or “facts” that often mislead novice academic writers, and recognizing that knowledge contested in academic contexts is important to understanding and teaching students about complexity in writing.Originality/valueOne of the most challenging writing tasks graduate students face, is the literature review. Literature reviews require sophisticated conceptual maneuverings. Despite being analytical in nature, many students find it difficult to engage with the layers of complexity required in this genre. How do we make the complexity in literature reviews more visible and accessible? The argument in this paper is that understanding the nature of complexity in literature reviews can enhance writing processes and intentional explicit pedagogy.
ISSN:2398-4686
2398-4694
DOI:10.1108/SGPE-D-17-00031