UV9920V1 – Reviewing the Literature: Situating your Study in the Field

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

The course is offered in collaboration with the CLEG research group.

Responsible: Ruth Jensen and Jeffrey B. Hall, University of Oslo, Tina Trujillo, UC Berkeley

This two-day program will address judgments and decisions about literature review, specifically which to engage with and which to ignore in order to situate a study in the field. The first day will focus on mapping the field, locating a debate and writing a summary, and converting the summary to an argument, and a session about different types of reviews. On the second day, we will focus on positioning the paper theoretically and methodologically, and explore how review strategies are applied in different doctoral theses.

We will work in small groups and plenary sessions. Prior to the seminar, each participant may submit a paper in which they locate their project/study in a specific field of research, review previous research in the field to identify possible gaps, and make their own contribution. Feedback on participants’ review papers will be provided during the course and participants can revise their papers before final submission. Feedback will focus on: 

  • how major theoretical and methodological debates are identified 
  • how gaps in their field are located 
  • how the PhD candidate creates the warrant for the study in question and the selected review strategies
  • the composition and quality of writing and argumentation

Learning outcome

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to: 

  • outline the nature of the field(s) relevant to the inquiry and adopt a critical stance
  • identify trends and major debates and locate gaps in the field
  • create the warrant for the study in question
  • identify the contribution the study will make

Admission

PhD candidates at the Faculty of Educational Sciences will be given priority, but it is also possible for others to apply for the course. Applicants must have at least a Master's degree.

Candidates admitted to the PhD Programme at the Faculty of Educational Sciences should apply through Studentweb

Other applicants may apply using this application form

Registration deadline: May 10, 2020.

Teaching

This is an intensive two-day course (10 hours total), consisting of open lectures and seminars. The course will be offered digitally.

Time: June 11-12, 2020

You will find the timetable and literature on the semester webpage for this course.

Program

Examination

1 credit point for participation without paper (80% attendance is required).

3 credit points for course participation (80% attendance is required) and an approved paper (3000-5000 words). 

To obtain the 3 study points, each participant must submit a paper addressing how the participant will locate her/his study in a specific field of research, review research in this field to identify possible gaps, and make her/his own specific contribution The paper might be used as part of the literature review in an article or in the extended abstract (kappe).

Submission deadline for the 1st draft of the paper is June 3, 2020. 

Submission deadline for the 2nd draft of the paper is August 15, 2020. 

Papers are to be submitted electronically in Canvas.

Paper requirements

Language of examination

English, Norwegian

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.

Facts about this course

Credits
3
Level
PhD
Teaching

Spring 2020

Examination

Spring 2020

Teaching language
English