organisation of the introduction chapter:

{quote}

" 1. cover the basics: - introduction, or background information, general theories.
- body of review containing the discussion of sources
- conclusions - what have you drawn from reviewing literature so far?

*current situation*
- how will you further your reasearch as a result of the review

- use evidence - writers refer to several other sources when making their point. your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to show what your saying is valid

- be selective : select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. type of infor you choose to mention should relate directly to the review's focus.

summarise and synthesise : summarise your sources within each paragraph

keep your own voice {end quote}

source:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html

"referencing other peoples work is NOT a sign of weakness, in their own work, in fact the opposite is true.

academic literature review:
- coveres a range of sources but is usually a select number of sources because the emphasis is on the argument.

find models: narrow your topic:
you will not be expected to read everything that's out there on the topic!
use current reviews first!!

find focus:
as you read widely but selectively in your topic area, consider, what theories or issues connect your sources together.

do they present one or different solutions?
is there aspect missing?

is there a trend?
raging debate?"

"Problems: what should you do if you find that your idea has already been published by another writer?
* acknowledge the other writer's work. for example by writing in your reference (see also Smith et al 1993). you must not ignore the other authors work, because readers may think you have taken the idea or information without referencing (plagerism) or that you do not have a good idea of the literature in your field"

use your referencing to give your readers a clear idea of the situation, and to demonstrate your knowledge.

"literature review is not just a summar of other peoples's work! (this i find the hardest to deal with personally)

questions your review should answer:

1. what do we alredy know in the immediate area?
2. what are the characterisitics of the key concepts?
3. what is the relationshio?
4. what are the existing theories?
5. what are the inconsistencies or short comings in our knowledge and understanding?
6. what views need to be further tested?
7. what evidence is lacking? contradictory, or too limited?
8. why study the research problem?
9. what can my results contribute?
10. what research design or methods seem unsatisfactory?"

then i did some further reading around on the website and came across these pearls of wisdown i wrote in my notebook: (i did this about a month ago - i need refreshing too! as i am going to work on my introduction aswell).

{quote...
"the literature review:
what is a review of the literature:

it is an account of what has been published on a topic by researchers and scholars. your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic and what their strengths and weaknesses are. it is not just a descriptive list of the material available or a set of summaries.

...cont...

...{quote:
"There is an argument for writing this section---or least making a major revision of it---towards the end of the thesis writing. Your introduction should tell where the thesis is going, and this may become clearer during the writing.

"Literature review
Where did the problem come from? What is already known about this problem?

What other methods have been tried to solve it?

How many papers? How relevant do they have to be before you include them? Well, that is a matter of judgement. On the order of a hundred is reasonable, but it will depend on the field. You are the world expert on the (narrow) topic of your thesis: you must demonstrate this.

A political point: make sure that you do not omit relevant papers by researchers who are like to be your examiners, or by potential employers to whom you might be sending the thesis in the next year or two."
{end quote}

...{quote:

"It may help to imagine such a person---think of some researcher whom you might have met at a conference for your subject, but who was working in a different area. S/he is intelligent, has the same general background, but knows little of the literature or tricks that apply to your particular topic.

The introduction should be interesting. If you bore the reader here, then you are unlikely to revive his/her interest in the materials and methods section. For the first paragraph or two, tradition permits prose that is less dry than the scientific norm. If want to wax lyrical about your topic, here is the place to do it.
...

i used this website when i got stuck on how to go about writing a thesis:

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

"excepts from above website"

{quote}
Introduction
What is the topic and why is it important? State the problem(s) as simply as you can.

Remember that you have been working on this project for a few years, so you will be very close to it.

Try to step back mentally and take a broader view of the problem.

How does it fit into the broader world of your discipline?

Especially in the introduction, do not overestimate the reader's familiarity with your topic.

You are writing for researchers in the general area, but not all of them need be specialists in your particular topic.
..cont..

Smilodon's advice is very good

because i think my overall introduction might be shorter, because i might want to put more details in my other chapters mini introduction.

me personally this is how i have structured my thesis. my thesis is in science.

chapter 1 : introduction. a literture review , giving the basic information to the reader. for example. what are the different models of x,y.z, what is the current held views, etc

then i briefly, state my aims.

then chapter 2: is methods and materials. description of what i did.

then each individual chapter i.e the results chapters, has its own 'mini introduction'.

i once read that a chapter should be able to stand on its own. you should be able to pick it up, and understand it.

each results chapter has more detailed and specific background information and then the aims of what i am trying to achieve.

sillybilly, can totally relate to the bomb site mess issue! i keep tidying up and then it becomes a mess again!

--

tractorgirl, oh what a conundrum. that's a toughie. i guess go with the opinion you most agree with and are comfortable with! i would prefer to keep the two chapters seperate also.

Hey everyone. logging in today.

my aims:

thesis outline summary of:

1. chapter 4
2. chapter 5
3. chapter 6
4 chapter 7

Oh no poor you Eddie, I am glad to hear that your supervisor was so sympathetic. yes definately take time off and relax, you deserve it! you poor thing. i hope you feel better and refreshed soon!!

and then when you do get back to your assignment, but only after you have fully recovered! do it bit by bit. i know i have a tendency to get very overwelmed by the enormity of a task and either sit there panicking and stressing or running away from the problem. till people on this forum keep reminding me to just do it bit by bit

hope you feel better soon. that must have been a scary experience. nothing is more important than your health

*clocking out*

aims accomplished today:

thesis outline/summary of :

chapter 1
chapter 2
chapter 3

-
total number of hours studied = approximately 5 hours.

feeling tired and sleepy now, so calling it a day. i will finish the thesis map tommorow God willing.

okay folks. i am calling it a day.

met aims 1, 2, and 3. just finished summarising chapter 3.

i will finish the thesis map tommorow. goodnight.