The Literature Review by
From daunting to doable in six steps. This updated third edition features a wealth of all-new content including: A flowchart that graphically illustrates Machi and McEvoy's process. Reflective Oversight boxes in each chapter, prompting readers to direct metacognitive activities. Links to online guides and resources.
A post-graduate's guide to doing a literature review in health and social care by 
Conducting systematic reviews in sport, exercise, and physical activity by The Thesis Whisperer 'blog newspaper' provides lots of useful advice and tips for researching and writing.
Research Proposals: a Practical Guide by
"This indispensable guide to writing research proposals takes the reader on a carefully planned journey, which is clearly sign-posted from the outset to the destination of the final proposal ... Denscombe demystifies the academic jargon inherent in proposal writing, instilling confidence in all those writing proposals, from undergraduate to doctoral level." Dr Kate Adams, Reader in Education, Bishop Grosseteste University College, Lincoln, UK "This much-needed handbook provides a guide for any researcher to turn a research idea into a successful research proposal ... Denscombe offers both a clear framework for organising the research thought process and plentiful hints for crafting a persuasive case for why a research proposal deserves financial support for getting it done." Dr Alberto Asquer, Lecturer of Business Strategy and Policy, Faculty of Economics, University of Cagliari, Italy "This is a clear and unambiguous guide covering all the essentials needed to build strong research proposals. It will prove to be invaluable not only to those new to writing research proposals but as a fast reference point for those already familiar with the requirements." Jennifer Grant, PhD researcher, University of Sunderland, UK "This how-to guide is 'a candle in the dark' for many who want to start writing research proposals. It is ... brimming with straightforward strategies which anyone can use to overcome the key fears associated with 'keeping on track' and 'selling your' research to convince funders and even your professors!" Hosea Handoyo, Boehringer - Ingelheim Fonds Research Fellow, Germany Whether you are an undergraduate student doing your final year project, a masters student writing your dissertation, or a PhD student applying for acceptance onto a doctoral programme, this practical book will help you to produce a successful and persuasive research proposal. Written by an experienced and best-selling author, this handbook uniquely draws a parallel between a research proposal and a sales pitch. The book provides guidance on what to include and what to omit from your proposal and demonstrates how to 'sell' your research idea. Denscombe ably guides you through each stage of the process: Choosing a research topic Reviewing the literature Formulating the research question Explaining the research methods Estimating the costs and planning the time involved Obtaining research ethics approval With top tips throughout, this book provides an insight to the logic behind research proposals and the way that good proposals address 7 basic questions that readers will ask when they evaluate any proposal.
What is a good research proposal?
Denscombe, M. (2012). Research proposals: a practical guide, What is a good research proposal? (pp. 3-42). Mc-GrawHill Education. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=1037303&ppg=18
The following guide from VU Library provides an overview of the literature review process including useful tips and advice on effective searching and managing of resources. The guide is intended as a starting point for any student or researcher new to the literature review process.
In the Literature Review library guide, refer to the section on using the PICO and SPIDER framework to help formulate a clear and focused research question, which you can then use to convert into an effective search strategy for your review. See below a short animation that provides a brief introduction to the PICO method of formulating a focused and answerable research question.
Note: The key databases and journals for Sport and Exercise Science literature are listed under the Databases and journals section.
In addition, each of the resources below provides comprehensive instructions on how to conduct a literature search:
VU Library has designed an Evidence-based practice guide to assist students to understand and apply the key steps of the Evidence-based practice process.
Below are links to additional Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) resources;
Intro to EBP (a tutorial from Duke University Medical Centre Library)
What is Evidence-Based Practice? (PubMed online training)
A great resource on developing research questions from The University of Melbourne, Academic skills team.
You may find it useful to organise your literature search using visual mind-mapping tools.
There are a number of free software tools available to use such as:
