After reading, collect the essential information/content from the paper you read by forming a matrix that fulfill the following requirements:

1. Authors info, remember, the same authors may have many similar papers, so always snowball the same authors.
2. Independent Variables (IV): Extract all necessary IVs and Dimensions. This is when you can decide on the kind of variables that you can choose to investigate.
3. Dependent Variable: This is the main Variable, so if you want to focus on specific study, you can choose not to investigate similar DVs, cause its already investigated.
4. Moderator/Mediator: Here you can analyze types of Moderator/Mediator used in other studies.
5. Theories: The crucial portion to connect all Variables, might be 1 or more variables. Pick n choose the appropriate theory for your study.
6. Finally choose the method most suitable with your study based on the literature.

**Note: Remember, you can always interchange IV/DV/MV, and combine different requirements to form a scenario.

1. Read as many as you can the relevant literature/ papers, collect as many as you can the relevant data and information before you start writing.
2. Smartly summarize and conclude the main content of the papers you read by dropping down the important points.
3. Avoid selecting title that the scope is too big to manage, it may causing the difficulties to tackle the focus of your writing.
4. When writing, avoid lengthy and repetitive content, ensure emphasize the main points that you try to deliver.
5. Review paper should be creative and novel that including the latest literature, not the old references.
6. Fully understand the research chronological background and revolution, learn to analyze and conclude literature by yourself, elaborate the points with your own words.

All Subject Databases:

1. WoS (SSCI, SCI, HSCI) – Clarivate website
2. Scopus -Scopus website
3. Science Direct
4. Google Scholar
5. arXiv
6. Ulrich’s web
7. Directory of Open Access Journals
8. JSTOR

Engineering Area:

1. IEEExplore
2. INSPIRE-HEP
3. IMech

(Cook, 1997)

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Accenture

DataBank

Department of Statistics

European Data Portal

McKinsey

OECD

OurWorldInData

Statista

UNdata

WHO

WordOMeter

1. It is published in a scholarly journal.
2. It has a serious and academic tone.
3. It has including in-text citations and accurately listed in the References section.
4. It is usually divided headings into introduction, literature review/ problem background, discussion and conclusion.

How to cite a academic paper (step-by-step):

1. First Author’s last name followed by author initials
2. Second Author’s last name followed by author initials
3. Third Author’s last name followed by author initials
4. Publication year enclosed within parenthesis
5. Article’s title in sentence-case
6. The title of the journal or periodical in title case and italicized
7. Journal periodical’s volume number (italicized)
8. Journal or periodical’s issue number
9. Page numbers covered by the article in the journal or periodical
10. Include DOI if the article you are citing has been assigned one

Example:

Goh, E.S., Sunar, M.S. & Ismail, A.W. (2020). Device-based manipulation technique with separated control structures for 3D object translation and rotation in handheld mobile AR. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 141(2020), 102433, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102433

Proud as UTMian and as one of the academic staff under School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering.

Congratulations! UTM ranks #39 in Engineering field by the U.S. News and World Report for Best Global University Ranking.

There are several mistakes to be alerted and avoided when writing Literature Review:

1. Ensure that the citations used in your content are tally with the references.
2. Ensure the correct citations and references format.
3. Avoid to cite more than 3 references for a sentence/statement. It showing that you are not read/extract the importance of the referenced papers precisely.
4. Hanging sentences also should be avoided, use complete sentences with appropriate continuities.
5. For literature review, avoid express your opinions without any reference for a long argument.
6. In literature review writing, ensure that you extract the most important argument of a particular paper, not explain lengthy of that paper specific works. Ensure the the synthesis of your literature.
7. It is also prohibited to show that there are many references used in your literature review without the strong relevant arguments. Literature review not the part to show how many papers you read but to show how deeper you understood your field of study.

1. Articles Searching – As stated previously in the other Research Tips posts, you can navigate to Scopus, Google Scholar and Web of Science and search the articles that related to your research by using specific keywords. You can also set alert as stated previously in Some Useful Research Resources using keywords that will automatically email you the relevant publications.
2. Choosing an Article – Ensure you are reading a good paper by checking the impact factor of that paper, the citations of the paper and the authors’ background.
3. How to Extract Info from Articles – Extract the important information from the paper, the authors information, the title of the paper, the Theory /theoretical background of that paper, variables, method, findings and implications, critical review/limitations.
4. Importance of Reading a Paper Immediately – Avoid to save a paper and read it later since it is not a good reading habit and you will end without reading it due to procrastination.
5. Final Matrix Outcome – Insert all information extracted from a paper and immediately put in a matrix. Example of literature matrix as stated below. Your literature matrix should become richer with more papers’ extractions.