ERIC Number: EJ1375466
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2167-4779
EISSN: EISSN-2167-4787
Reviewing the Literature on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): An Academic Literacies Perspectiv--Part 2
Healey, Mick; Healey, Ruth L.
Teaching & Learning Inquiry, v11 2023
There are few sources that critically evaluate the ways of reviewing the literature on scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). We use an academic literacies perspective as a lens with which to explore the ways that literature reviews may be undertaken. While reviewing the literature is often presented as a scientific, objective process, the reality is much messier, nuanced, and iterative. It is a complex, context-dependent procedure. We provide a practical, critical guide to undertaking SoTL literature reviews. We distinguish between embedded reviews that present a review contextualising the research that follows, as in most SoTL articles; and freestanding reviews that synthesise research on specific topics. We discuss the nature of embedded reviews, and evaluate systematic and narrative review approaches to undertaking freestanding reviews. We contend that the claims of the superiority of systematic reviews are unjustified. It is important that contextually-sensitive judgements and interpretation of texts associated with narrative reviews are seen as central to the reviewing process, and as a strength rather than a weakness. This article complements a separate one, where we apply an academic literacies lens to reviewing the literature on searching the SoTL literature. Together, they present a narrative review of searching and reviewing the SoTL literature undertaken systematically. We call for studies investigating the lived experiences of SoTL scholars. We illustrate this argument with an auto-ethnographic account of the often-serendipitous nature of our hunt for sources in preparing this review and the way our thinking and writing evolved during the writing of the two articles. [For Part 1, see EJ1375465.]
Descriptors: Scholarship, Instruction, Learning, Search Strategies, Information Seeking, Literature, Citations (References), Databases, Search Engines, Knowledge Level
University of Calgary. Libraries & Cultural Resources, 410 University Court NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada. Tel: 403-220-7175; e-mail: TLI@ucalgary.ca; Web site: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A