Literature Review

The first step

1. Have you found two articles for each person in the group?

2. Have you summarised your two articles?

Remember to use the scaffold on the back of assignment sheet. You need to look for ideas that link to your assignment. Remember the word wellbeing may not be stated directly - you may need to find links to wellbeing (such as reference to health or relationships).

The next step

3. As a group, look at the summaries and try and look for themes which emerge in your sources.

4. Each person in the group will need to write a section of the draft literature review. You should aim to summarise each article in 1-2 detailed paragraphs.

· Have you made comparisons between sources?

Use comparison words in your literature review such as

Similarities - Likewise, Also, Similarly, Both

Differences - However, On the other hand, In contrast

Writing Paragraphs for a literature review.

A good literature review will integrate the ideas of a range of authors within a single paragraph. Each paragraph should focus on a topic; it is important that you compare your articles, find the common ideas, and combine them to form flowing paragraphs that discuss specific topics.

For example, a paragraph about the importance of stretching prior to physical activity…

Stretching is considered an important component of physical preparation; however, recent research suggests that the type of stretch routine may influence performance. According to Phillips (2001), static stretching prior to sprinting can result in a reduction of explosive power, and ultimately slower sprint times, particularly over short distances. In an analysis of the sprint performance of elite 100m sprinters, Phillips (2001) compared a simple static stretching routine with a dynamic stretching routine. Results indicate sprinters in the dynamic stretching group exhibited post-test sprint times greater than or equal to their pre-test time, while the static stretching group produced slower times or little improvement in the post test. Similarly, Rogers (2003) investigated the effect of stretching technique on the speed and agility of elite footballers. In addition to the findings of Phillips (2001), Rogers (2003) concluded that a static stretching routine can result in an overall reduction in speed and agility, after each participant in the study took part in a standardised agility test. The conclusions of Phillips (2001) and Rogers (2003) identify the effectiveness of a dynamic stretching routine and the limitations of static stretching as preparation for optimum sprinting performance.

References

Phillips, P. T. (2001). The effect of dynamic and static stretching on the performance of elite sprinters. Australian Journal of Exercise Physiology, 50(2), 49-52.

Rogers, R. A. (2003). Sprint and agility performance of elite footballers after dynamic and static stretching routines. British Journal of Sports Science, 14(3), 68-75.