Establishing a research territory (Swales
and Feak, 2009) means setting a context for your research. This
usually includes a brief literature review as well as reference to
other key developments in your research area. Your goal should be
to establish yourself as a legitimate member of that particular
research community. Sentences 1-50 will help you do that.
1. ____ has received a lot of research attention.
2. ____ has led to a renewed interest in ____
3. In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in ____
4. The last few years have seen an increased interest in ____
5. Numerous studies have investigated ____
6. An increased interest in ____ has emerged [1] in recent years.
7. ____ has been extensively researched.
8. ____ has been field-tested by ____
9. ____ has been widely studied due to [2]____
On the use of active vs. passive voice:
Sentences 1-6 are in the active voice (i.e., the subject of the sentence performs the action of the sentence), while sentences 7-9 are in the passive voice (i.e., the subject of the sentence receives the action).
Some scholars frown upon the use of passive voice, especially when the agent (i.e.,“the doer”) of the action is not completely obvious. The decision of whether to use active (e.g.: “We interviewed forty students.”) or passive voice (e.g.: “Forty students were interviewed.”) has to be made in context, depending on the research discipline. Be sure to follow the guidelines set by your instructors.
A number of recent studies have…
10. examined ____
11. investigated ____
12. focused on ____
13. reported on ____
14. reported that ____
15. linked ____ to ____
16. addressed the issue of ____
17. shown that ____
18. suggested that ____
19. found concrete evidence that ____
20. directly compared ____ and ____
21. looked into the effects of ____ on ____
Over the years, an enormous amount of research has been…
22. done on ____
23. carried out in an attempt to ____
24. conducted to determine ____
25. devoted to [3] ____
Recent studies have explored the…
26. use of ____ as ____
27. impact of ____ on ____
28. differences/similarities between ____ and ____
29. role of ____ in/as ____[4]
The role of _____ has been…
30. extensively studied in recent years.
31. grossly misunderstood.
32. largely overlooked.
33. overshadowed by ____
34. viewed as ____
Considerable research attention has been…
35. paid to ____
36. devoted to ____
37. directed toward ____
38. It is [5] now generally accepted that ____
39. ____ has generated a wealth of data on ____
40. Within [6] this area of investigation, a number of studies ____
Ample evidence [7] exists…
41. regarding ____
42. to support ____
43. to prove (that) ____
44. to suggest (that) ____
45. to support the view that ____
46. to support the hypothesis that ____
47. to suggest a connection between ____ and ____
48. The study of ____ has become a key aspect of ____
49. ____ is an emerging research area in the field of ____
50. In 1799, Smith and Jones collaborated to investigate ____
Throughout this book:
1799 = Insert the year.
[N] = Insert a number.
Smith/Jones = Insert the scholar’s name.
Reference:
Feak, C. B., & Swales, J. M. (2009). Telling a research story: Writing a literature review. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.