Doing your literature review

If you’re doing your thesis, prepare for this as this is literally a BIG one. My professors and some friends tell me this is the most difficult part to write in the thesis manuscript. Well, for one, this will take so much of your time—so if you intend to graduate on time, better strategise. Here are some tips for you:

• Start early. You can manage your reading load well if you will divide it into tiny bits. So, try to read as frequently as you can. This of course assumes that you already have a topic in mind and that you are already starting to build knowledge on it.
• Be very systematic. This means that you need to organise your notes well. In the past, what I did was to have an excel file. I had three columns—source, key points, and remarks. In the source column, I put the bibliographic citation. The key points column was for the claims or main arguments of the material I just read. The remarks column, I placed there just any thought that would help me remember the article. The good thing about doing it in Excel is that it has a very efficient search tool= CTRL+F. So if you need to find a reference, just type the key words and it will take you to it. (Caution: check your spelling).
• Check out the references of the material. Often, it is a practice to just skim through the article and just read the introduction and conclusion. This helps especially if you are so pressed with time. However, it would save you a lot of time if you would take some time off to have a look at the references cited. This will guide you in your literature search. I find this really helpful as oftentimes the big names in the discipline are in the reference list – you might want to learn from them as well. 
• Diversify. This means that you need to look for several materials. Don’t confine yourself to journal articles. Do find some books as well. Try to weigh which ones have the most relevant content. Additionally, make sure that you are not confined to the works of just one author. This is very common as sometimes if an author is really good in his field, we tend to be so immersed in his work that we quite have the tendency to shut off other scholars. It is always good to entertain opposing ideas.
• Check out open access journals. Most scholars have problems accessing journals as they are very expensive. Their interest is oftentimes blocked by the “pay per view” thing. The good news is there are many open access journals out there. And mind you, some are really good quality. So if you need help in finding articles, do check out these open access journals. Some of the sites you can visit are: the Public Knowledge Project and the Directory of Open Access Journals. Google them now!
• Discuss your thoughts with someone. It is always good to have someone to talk to. When I was doing my thesis, I had always made overseas calls to my friends back home. First, this is good to check your sanity :D.Often we get too immersed with the literature that we just keep going and going. So have someone who can tell you if you are still on the right track, if you need more, or if you need to slow down. Your adviser can do this for you, BUT have another one. Someone who can bear your rants, disappointments and joy!
• Prepare an outline. They say if you’re done with the outline, half of the work is done! This will help you a lot in your writing process. So don’t skip this part. When I was doing mine, I even have to do a concept map. If you are interested, email me or write a comment here and I’ll show how it’s done. It is always good to know how one idea connects with others.
• Write and rewrite. The beauty of writing is in rewriting. You write to document what is on your mind. You rewrite to make sure others understand what you’ve written.

I want to write more, but the PhilRice vehicle will pick me up in 30 minutes. So i’ll end here for now. Keep in touch!

P.S. I have written and published quite a few papers on information and communications technology for development (ICT4D). If you're doing some work in this area, I am happy to exchange thoughts with you. Cheers!