The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success

Excerpted from ​Machi, L. A., & McEvoy, B. T. (2016). ​The literature review: Six steps to success​ (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press. ​
STEP 1: Select a topic (Continuation) ​
Exercise 1.5: ​Developing your Research Query Statement
1. What is your specific personal interest?
a. The interest, issue, or concern of my research is
__________________________
(Answer in seven sentences)

I would like to do research surrounding cars and the automotive industry. More
specifically I would like to focus my research on the future of the gasoline powered
car. This will involve focused research into the modern internal combustion engine,
environmental regulations, traffic patterns, as well as the cost to own a gasoline
powered car vs other types of cars. My goal is to be able to make a prediction as to
how the automotive sector will look like in the future and how much of a part gas
power cars will play. I will need to use the information that I gain from my internship
in either traffic, environmental, or energy engineering to help make my conclusion.
This is important because the car market is at a crossroads between gas and
electricity right now. My question would be something like: What does the future of
the gasoline powered car look like?

b. Copy and paste (a) in the space below. Now, cross out the two least important
sentences without changing the key idea.
I would like to do research surrounding cars and the automotive industry. More
specifically I would like to focus my research on the future of the gasoline powered
car. This will involve focused research into the modern internal combustion engine,
environmental regulations, traffic patterns, as well as the cost to own a gasoline
powered car vs other types of cars. My goal is to be able to make a prediction as to
how the automotive sector will look like in the future and how much of a part gas
power cars will play. ​I will need to use the information that I gain from my internship
in either traffic, environmental, or energy engineering to help make my conclusion.
This is important because the car market is at a crossroads between gas and
electricity right now.​ My question would be something like: What does the future of
the gasoline powered car look like?

c. Copy and paste (b) in the space below. Next, please cross out any words or
phrases that can be removed without changing the meaning.

I would like to do research surrounding cars and the automotive industry. More
specifically I would like to focus my research on the future of the gasoline powered
car. This will involve ​focused r​ esearch into the modern internal combustion engine,
environmental regulations, traffic patterns, ​as well as the cost to own a gasoline
powered car vs other types of cars​. My goal is to be able to make a prediction as to
how the automotive sector will look like in the future and how much of a part gas
power cars will play. ​I will need to use the information that I gain from my internship
in either traffic, environmental, or energy engineering to help make my conclusion.
 This is important because the car market is at a crossroads between gas and
electricity right now.​ My question would be s​ omething like​: What does the future of
the gasoline powered car look like?

d. Copy and paste (c) into the box below. Reduce your remaining draft to three
sentences. Be sure your final three sentences identify the subject (what you are
studying), the perspective (how you are looking at it), and the vantage point (which
academic field you are using)

I would like to do research surrounding cars and the automotive industry, more specifically I
would like to focus my research on the future of the gasoline powered car. This will involve
research into the modern internal combustion engine, environmental regulations, traffic
patterns, as well as cost of ownership that are current major factors in the industry. My goal
is to be able to make a prediction on the position of the gasoline powered car in the future by
exploring the factors affecting them.

2. Analyze your 3 sentences from 1d. What contributions to the field make this research
important?
​I would be able to make great contributions to the field. The automotive industry is currently
one of the biggest economic sectors in the US and given we are set to run out of gas in 60
years it would be very beneficial to shed some light on the future of such an integral part of
the modern way of life.

3. What are your beliefs, values, biases and opinions about this interest?
a. How will these beliefs, values, biases, and opinions help you in conducting your
research?

I am of the opinion that cars are very good thing in American and global society. This will
allow to have a very optimistic view while researching there future. I will not be quick to
discount the industry that I love so much.

b. How will you prevent the beliefs and biases contained in your personal
viewpoint from affecting the necessary neutral stance of a researcher?

As a major proponent of the internal combustion engine it may be hard for me to report
the future if it looks like gasoline powered cars are to disappear.

Exercise 1.6​: Refining your research topic statement

1. Define the key terms of the interest statement

a. Using the key terms found in your interest statement, find the technical definitions
of your key terms. Start compiling a list of key terms and definitions.

internal combustion engine: An engine that uses the energy released when gasoline explodes
to create mechanical energy to move a car.
environmental regulation: Governmental rules and regulations that have an economic
impact on the automotive industry.
 cost of ownership: The amount of money it takes to maintain and operate a gasoline
powered car.
traffic patterns: The ever changing traffic patterns of different roads as the world population
continues to grow.

b. Rewrite the interest statement using the technical terms of that academic field

I would like to do research surrounding cars and the automotive industry, more specifically I
would like to focus my research on the future of the gasoline powered car. This will involve
research into the modern internal combustion engine, environmental regulations, traffic
patterns, as well as cost of ownership that are the major factors in which cars are most
economically sensible. My goal is to be able to make a prediction on the position of the
gasoline powered car in the future by exploring the factors affecting them.

c. Review the reframed statement. Does it still express your intended interest? If it
does not, rework and revise the study’s focus and vantage point or search the reference
works further for other terminology to use until the reframed statement expresses your
research interest.
It still has the same meaning but I feel as if it is a little too wordy.
d. Rewrite the interest statement as the preliminary topic of your study.
My goal is to be able to make a prediction on the position of the gasoline powered car in the future by
exploring the factors affecting them. This will involve research into the modern internal combustion
engine, environmental regulations, traffic patterns, as well as cost of ownership that are all major factors
in car production.