As part of an effort to gain experience in biomechanics scientific research, each student will be required to complete a literature review on a topic within the fields of sports biomechanics, physical therapy, or gait analysis. This project involves searching and reviewing six biomechanics-related research articles from peer-reviewed journals relevant to their selected topic and writing up a three-page abstract summarizing their analysis of the topic.
With web search engines available today, it is relatively easy to search for relevant literature. However, the key to a good search is knowing what to look for! Here are a few steps that can help in your literature search:
Write the problem statement.
* what research questions do you hope to answer?
* read research reviews
Determine descriptors.
* search by author, title, or keywords
* avoid too broad terms (“sports medicine”, “physical therapy”)
* unless the search is very specific, avoid too narrow terms (“anterior bundle of the ACL with external flexor moments during the landing phase of jumping”)
Find primary sources using
* Bibliographies
* Computer searches (see below)
Read and record the literature.
Write the literature review
After you have read the information from the literature relevant to your study and noted the reference data for necessary citations, you are ready to write the literature review (i.e., the Introduction of your study). Here are key points to consider when writing your review:
Develop a topical outline
Organize
help the reader understand your research problem
use headings (i.e., clinical relevance, important findings, gaps of information)
How much information to give
critical studies
related studies
Structure of the review
Introduction
Review of Literature (this is the main body of text)
Summary and conclusions
Follow this outline as a guide for writing your literature review after obtaining and reviewing peer-reviewed scientific articles related to your topic:
General Introduction
Description of the overall research problem
Statement(s) of Clinical Relevance
Summary of Background
Detail in your own words findings published in the current literature
Cite references where appropriate (Use the APA format for and .)
Lead-in
Summarize your critiques of current literature
Identify gaps in the available data
Purpose and Hypothesis Statements
State the purpose of your study (as a result of previous research)
What is your hypothesis?