In the last workshop, you learned how to evaluate a resource. By now you've also practiced reading journal articles, summarizing the material for your annotated bibliography. Now you're going to start working on your literature review - which means you'll be reading a LOT more science. So let's start this workshop on Science Writing by talking about Science Reading! Specifically, we're going to employ the SQ3R method:

S = Survey Scan over the material, reviewing titles, subtitles, and first sentences of each paragraph. This will give you the framework of main ideas.

Q = Question Go back to the beginning of the material. Take the first sentence of the section you are about to read and turn it into a question. For example, if the subsection of the journal's literature review is "heavy metal adsorption on activated carbon", ask yourself "how do heavy metals adsorb onto activated carbon".

R1 = Read Read the first paragraph of the section actively, looking for the answer to your question. Do not just scan for your answer, though. Active reading can include marking the text with highlighter tools, underlining text, circling key words, or adding notes in the margins. Do not be overzealous in text markup. You want to be able to easily find the key points. Too liberal use and you're just drawing and coloring! Limit yourself to 10-15% highlighting.

R2 = Restate This is arguably the most important step in active reading. Restate the key takeaway points from what you read in your own words. Repeat this for each paragraph in the section. The purpose of restating the key points is not to write it all down - that would be time-consuming and encourage simply copying of text. The purpose is to be sure that you grasped the key concept(s) from that paragraph. Be sure to use the key vocabulary in your summary.

R3 = Review Once you reach the end of the section, restate the point of the whole passage in your own words. Then, reflect on your summary of the section and determine if you are able to adequately answer the question you asked at the start of reading that section.

Your Tasks Before You Start Participating in this Workshop's Discussion

1. Work with your team to narrow your topic. There are hundreds if not thousands of journal articles on a given topic. That sounds daunting, right? The more narrow your search is, the less time you will waste reading articles that won't ultimately be woven into a narrative. An easy way to narrow your scope is to look for themes and patterns in your early exploration of the environmental science issue. Are there two or more solutions proposed for a problem? Are there unanswered questions? Is there a debate? Picking a theme will focus your literature review. If you're struggling to narrow your scope, reach out to your instructor for guidance. Don't forget to evaluate your sources! Reading non-credible sources is a waste of time. Just because it got printed in a journal does not mean it is good science. If there are abundant sources in your area, consider cutting out those older than 10 years. (Pro Tip: adjust your search settings to exclude older articles)
2. With the narrower focus in mind, each team member should apply SQ3R to at least one additional journal article (or another scholarly resource like a book chapter or technical paper). Identify the key information from the resource(s). These key takeaway points are what we're working with to build the organization of your literature review in this workshop.

Participating in this Workshop Discussion

We already know the starting point for the literature review - the problem statement. With a more narrow scope and a little bit of reading already completed, you may be getting a sense of direction for the literature review. Or not. That's what this workshop is for!

Step 1: On the thread started for your group within this workshop, post your key takeaway for the article you read and a link to the article.

Step 2: Work with your team to code these key takeaway points and then organize them into an outline to bridge from your problem statement to your research question.

Step 3: Draft headings and subheadings for your literature review from the framework you have developed.

Note: If your team finishes these tasks quickly, the next step is to use your key takeaways and your outline to start drafting the paragraphs of your literature review.