Wheaton Ecogeomorphology & Topographic Analysis Lab @ Fluvial Habitats Center
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          • Brian Ferrara
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      • Former Graduate Students >
        • Sara Bangen
        • Reid Camp
        • Florence Consolati
        • Daniel Hamill
        • Konrad Hafen
        • James Hensleigh
        • Nate Hough-Snee
        • Alan Kasprak
        • Martha Jensen
        • Ryan Lokteff
        • Connor Penrod
        • Rebecca Rossi
        • Sonya Welsh
      • Research Scientists >
        • Sara Bangen
        • James Hensleigh
        • Natalie Kramer
        • Pete McHugh
        • Elijah Portugal
        • Carl Saunders
        • Eric Wall
        • Gary O'Brien
      • Post-Docs >
        • Nicole Czarnomski
      • Technicians >
        • Micael Albonico
        • Braden Anderson
        • Adan Banda
        • Jordan Burningham
        • Kenny Demeurichy
        • Taylor Dudunake
        • Martha Jensen
        • Joshua Gilbert
        • Jordan Gilbert
        • Thomas Hafen
        • Landon Haycock
        • Matt Meier
        • Chris Smith
        • Geoff Stevens
      • Visiting Scholars >
        • Ester Ramos
  • FHC Projects
    • Current Projects >
      • Beaver Dam Censusing
      • Birch Creek Restoration
      • Escalante Watershed
      • BRAT 2018-2019 >
        • BRAT-Yakama
        • BRAT-John Day
        • BRAT-NF Burnt River
        • BRAT-Idaho
        • BRAT-Utah
        • BRAT-TNC
        • BRAT-GYA
        • Survey123
      • ELR: Asotin LWD Restoration and IMW
      • Price River Channel Analysis
    • Past Projects >
      • BLM >
        • BLM: Historic Sand Cliff Signatures Public Archeology Program
      • DOE: ICRRR >
        • DOE/ICRRR: Geomorphic Change Detection 4.0 Software Development
        • DOE/ICRRR: Geomorphic Change Detection in the Grand Canyon
        • DOE/ICRRR: MoRPHED PhD Studentship
      • Idaho Power Company >
        • Idaho Power: TLS Data Analysis
      • ELR >
        • ELR/BPA: CHaMP Grand Ronde Crew Variability Study
        • ELR/BPA: ISEMP Lemhi Topographic Survey Technique Intercomparison
        • ELR/BPA: ISEMP Bridge Creek Restoration & IMW
        • ELR/FHC/CTWS: Pine Creek Beaver Assisted Restoration Pilot Project
      • NSF >
        • NSF: zCloudTools: Making Point Clouds Useful for Earth Science
        • NSF: Sensitivity of Braided River Morphodynamics to Sediment Supply
      • UDWR >
        • UDWR: Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT)
      • USFS >
        • USFS Classification of Columbia River Basin Riparian Vegetation
        • USFS: Comparison of Traditional Versus Ground-Based LiDaR Instream Haibtat Assessments
        • USFS: Temple Fork Watershed Fish & Beaver Ecology
      • USGS >
        • USGS: Big Rivers Monitoring Protocol Development
        • USGS: Dynamism and Persistence of Eddy Sand Bars in Grand Canyon
        • USGS: Riparian Vegetation Analysis
        • USGS: Support in Geographic and Geomorphic Information Analysis for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
      • Other Sponsors (one off) >
        • BPA/SFR: Development of CHaMP Transformation Tool
        • GCT: Pilot Study: Testing the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT)
        • NOAA: Linking Fisheries,
        • NPS: Assessment of Indicator Sites
        • USU: Tracking Ecogeomorphic Dynamics in Beaver Dam Complexes
    • Study Site Pages >
      • Bridge Creek >
        • 2009 BDSS Structures
        • Bridge Creek April 2010 Drone Survey
      • River Feshie >
        • The River Feshie Catchment
        • Our Research
        • The Team
        • Posters, Papers, & More
        • Photo Gallery
  • Resources
    • ETAL Reading Group >
      • ETAL Reading Group Zotero Library
    • Courses & Workshops >
      • Courses & Workshops by Joe
    • Guides & Tips >
      • Figure Preparation Tutorials
      • Basic Computing Tips & Tricks >
        • Database & SQL Intro
        • Batch Unzip Script
        • Get a QR Code
        • GeoJSON
        • Markdown
        • Special Characters
        • USU VPN
      • GIS Help >
        • ArcGIS Education Edition
        • GIS Data Sources >
          • Connecting To The APFO Services
          • Connecting to the Utah AGRC Discover Imagery and Base Map Server
          • High Resolution Imagery for Utah State
      • How to Use Specific Software >
        • Adobe Illustrator >
          • Making GCD Figures for ET-AL Lab Using ArcGIS & Adobe Illustrator
        • ArcGIS Desktop - ArcMap >
          • GIS Tutorials
          • Creating DEMs, TINs and Terrains
          • How to divide polylines into a specified segment length
          • Simple Change Detection in ArcGIS
          • Working with Styles in ArcGIS
          • Fixing ActiveX Warning in ArcGIS 10.5
        • Box >
          • Migrating to Box Drive from Box Sync
        • EndNote >
          • EndNote X4 Basics
        • FastStone Capture
        • GitHub >
          • Make a GitHub Account
        • Picasa >
          • Geotagging images & making albums
        • Word >
          • Saving Word Documents as PDFs
          • Using Styles Effectively in Manuscripts & Reports
        • Zotero >
          • Adding from Browser
          • Cite-While-you-Write >
            • Citing in Google Docs
            • Cite in Word
      • Reccomended Software & Utilities
      • Surveying & Geomatics >
        • rtkGPS
      • Writing Resources >
        • Writing Literature Reviews (for Grads)
        • Writing Scientific Papers
        • Uploading Content to Research Gate
    • Lab Members Only >
      • Internal Resources >
        • When you First Start
        • Standard Software Suite
        • Lab Software License
        • Virtual Computing
        • Editing Workshop Flyers & Webpages
        • Travel
        • Vignettes
      • Internal FHC Announcements
      • FHC Workshops
      • ETAL Projects on Box
      • ETAL Non Project on Box
    • River Links >
      • Classification Schemes >
        • Eco-Geo-Hydro Mess
      • Free Literature
      • Rivers in the News
      • Videos & Galleries
  • Joe Wheaton

Writing Literature Reviews (for Grads)

How to Cite Properly

Not sure how to cite the work of others in your reports or writing? Avoid plagiarism and refer to these helpful resources:
  • Citation Guide
  • AU guide to citing references
  • UMN crib sheet on citing using AMA standard
  • Internet Document Source Citations

Writing Literature ReviewsWhether you are writing a literature review for your undergraduate dissertation, a masters thesis, or any other piece of scholarly work, the basic principles are the same. Below are some tips and links to some websites on writing literature reviews, which you might find helpful:
  1. Be clear about the purpose of this literature review. Is it to help you formulate or justify a research question? Is it to survey the current state of knowledge on a particular topic? Is it to identify gaps in knowledge?
  2. Skim read LOTS of ‘literature’…. Read in detail (and over and over if you need to) the most relevant stuff.
  3. Follow the chain of citations back to the original source. Almost all of the sources you pull will themselves cite former work. With DOI
  4. Take advantage of your librarians at your University! DO NOT go back to your supervisor or instructor claiming you ‘could’t find anything on your topic’! Go see your librarian and I can guarantee you will find something. Once you find the right search terms, the right journals where your topic is being published in and the right authors (experts in your field), you’ll have more sources than you know what to do with!
  5. Make sure you know what a literature review is and what it should contain (if my 5 minute crash course was too little too quick, try the links below).
  6. Include the DOI (digital object identifier) if one exists in your bibliography. This will make it possible for others who read your work to easily locate the article again on the web.
The following links highlight the basic content of a literature review:
  • Review of Literature - University of Wisconsin - The Writing Center
  • How to Write a Literature Review - University of California, Santa Cruz Library
  • Literature Reviews Handout - University of North Carolina
  • Guidelines for writing a literature review - University of Minnesota, Duluth
​
Bibliographic ManagersThere are a wide variety of bibliography and citation managers now available (e.g. EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager, Zotero, etc). This Wikipedia entry is the best comparison of reference management software I've seen. Many of these allow simple and easy downloading of citations from Journals, Library Catalogs and the major scholarly literature search engines (e.g. Web of Science, Google Scholar). Unfortunately, some of the more feature-rich and useful of these programs are commercial software packages that cost between $50 and $300. EndNote is probably the most popular and a student version runs between $95 and $115. For Firefox users, Zotero is a fantastic, free and easy to use Bibliography manager. 

One of the most useful features a citation manager can have is the ability to 'cite while your write' in your word processor of choice. This allows you to just click a button in your own document, select the publication(s) you wish to cite, and it inserts them for you and builds a self-updating bibliography at the end of your document. You don't worry about formatting, as this is just an option and can be changed to any standard you prefer. Unfortunately, this functionality is best in some of the commercial programs (e.g. EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager). If you are working in LaTeX, BibTex and several GUI-front-end packages (e.g..BibDesk, JabRef) do provide free alternatives, but LaTeX is not a what-you-see-is-what-you-get word processor. Some citations managers (e.g. EndNote X4) now allow you to create references by simply importing a PDF (so long as they have a DOI).
  • EndNote Getting Started Tutorial
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This work is licensed under a
​ 
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  • Home
    • Fluvial Habitats Center
    • Wheaton et al (Lab)
    • Bouwes ELR Lab
    • News & Annoucements
    • New FHC Publications
    • FHC Location
    • FHC Factsheets & Posters
    • Contact
  • People
    • People in the Lab... Coming & Going
    • Graduate Students >
      • Lauren Herbine
      • Karen Bartelt
    • Research Staff >
      • Research Scientists >
        • Joe Wheaton
        • Nicolaas Bouwes
        • Wally Macfarlane
        • Stephen Bennett
      • Technicians >
        • Cashe Rasmussen
        • Chalese Hafen
        • Dylan Baum >
          • Brian Ferrara
    • Where are they now? >
      • Former Graduate Students >
        • Sara Bangen
        • Reid Camp
        • Florence Consolati
        • Daniel Hamill
        • Konrad Hafen
        • James Hensleigh
        • Nate Hough-Snee
        • Alan Kasprak
        • Martha Jensen
        • Ryan Lokteff
        • Connor Penrod
        • Rebecca Rossi
        • Sonya Welsh
      • Research Scientists >
        • Sara Bangen
        • James Hensleigh
        • Natalie Kramer
        • Pete McHugh
        • Elijah Portugal
        • Carl Saunders
        • Eric Wall
        • Gary O'Brien
      • Post-Docs >
        • Nicole Czarnomski
      • Technicians >
        • Micael Albonico
        • Braden Anderson
        • Adan Banda
        • Jordan Burningham
        • Kenny Demeurichy
        • Taylor Dudunake
        • Martha Jensen
        • Joshua Gilbert
        • Jordan Gilbert
        • Thomas Hafen
        • Landon Haycock
        • Matt Meier
        • Chris Smith
        • Geoff Stevens
      • Visiting Scholars >
        • Ester Ramos
  • FHC Projects
    • Current Projects >
      • Beaver Dam Censusing
      • Birch Creek Restoration
      • Escalante Watershed
      • BRAT 2018-2019 >
        • BRAT-Yakama
        • BRAT-John Day
        • BRAT-NF Burnt River
        • BRAT-Idaho
        • BRAT-Utah
        • BRAT-TNC
        • BRAT-GYA
        • Survey123
      • ELR: Asotin LWD Restoration and IMW
      • Price River Channel Analysis
    • Past Projects >
      • BLM >
        • BLM: Historic Sand Cliff Signatures Public Archeology Program
      • DOE: ICRRR >
        • DOE/ICRRR: Geomorphic Change Detection 4.0 Software Development
        • DOE/ICRRR: Geomorphic Change Detection in the Grand Canyon
        • DOE/ICRRR: MoRPHED PhD Studentship
      • Idaho Power Company >
        • Idaho Power: TLS Data Analysis
      • ELR >
        • ELR/BPA: CHaMP Grand Ronde Crew Variability Study
        • ELR/BPA: ISEMP Lemhi Topographic Survey Technique Intercomparison
        • ELR/BPA: ISEMP Bridge Creek Restoration & IMW
        • ELR/FHC/CTWS: Pine Creek Beaver Assisted Restoration Pilot Project
      • NSF >
        • NSF: zCloudTools: Making Point Clouds Useful for Earth Science
        • NSF: Sensitivity of Braided River Morphodynamics to Sediment Supply
      • UDWR >
        • UDWR: Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT)
      • USFS >
        • USFS Classification of Columbia River Basin Riparian Vegetation
        • USFS: Comparison of Traditional Versus Ground-Based LiDaR Instream Haibtat Assessments
        • USFS: Temple Fork Watershed Fish & Beaver Ecology
      • USGS >
        • USGS: Big Rivers Monitoring Protocol Development
        • USGS: Dynamism and Persistence of Eddy Sand Bars in Grand Canyon
        • USGS: Riparian Vegetation Analysis
        • USGS: Support in Geographic and Geomorphic Information Analysis for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
      • Other Sponsors (one off) >
        • BPA/SFR: Development of CHaMP Transformation Tool
        • GCT: Pilot Study: Testing the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT)
        • NOAA: Linking Fisheries,
        • NPS: Assessment of Indicator Sites
        • USU: Tracking Ecogeomorphic Dynamics in Beaver Dam Complexes
    • Study Site Pages >
      • Bridge Creek >
        • 2009 BDSS Structures
        • Bridge Creek April 2010 Drone Survey
      • River Feshie >
        • The River Feshie Catchment
        • Our Research
        • The Team
        • Posters, Papers, & More
        • Photo Gallery
  • Resources
    • ETAL Reading Group >
      • ETAL Reading Group Zotero Library
    • Courses & Workshops >
      • Courses & Workshops by Joe
    • Guides & Tips >
      • Figure Preparation Tutorials
      • Basic Computing Tips & Tricks >
        • Database & SQL Intro
        • Batch Unzip Script
        • Get a QR Code
        • GeoJSON
        • Markdown
        • Special Characters
        • USU VPN
      • GIS Help >
        • ArcGIS Education Edition
        • GIS Data Sources >
          • Connecting To The APFO Services
          • Connecting to the Utah AGRC Discover Imagery and Base Map Server
          • High Resolution Imagery for Utah State
      • How to Use Specific Software >
        • Adobe Illustrator >
          • Making GCD Figures for ET-AL Lab Using ArcGIS & Adobe Illustrator
        • ArcGIS Desktop - ArcMap >
          • GIS Tutorials
          • Creating DEMs, TINs and Terrains
          • How to divide polylines into a specified segment length
          • Simple Change Detection in ArcGIS
          • Working with Styles in ArcGIS
          • Fixing ActiveX Warning in ArcGIS 10.5
        • Box >
          • Migrating to Box Drive from Box Sync
        • EndNote >
          • EndNote X4 Basics
        • FastStone Capture
        • GitHub >
          • Make a GitHub Account
        • Picasa >
          • Geotagging images & making albums
        • Word >
          • Saving Word Documents as PDFs
          • Using Styles Effectively in Manuscripts & Reports
        • Zotero >
          • Adding from Browser
          • Cite-While-you-Write >
            • Citing in Google Docs
            • Cite in Word
      • Reccomended Software & Utilities
      • Surveying & Geomatics >
        • rtkGPS
      • Writing Resources >
        • Writing Literature Reviews (for Grads)
        • Writing Scientific Papers
        • Uploading Content to Research Gate
    • Lab Members Only >
      • Internal Resources >
        • When you First Start
        • Standard Software Suite
        • Lab Software License
        • Virtual Computing
        • Editing Workshop Flyers & Webpages
        • Travel
        • Vignettes
      • Internal FHC Announcements
      • FHC Workshops
      • ETAL Projects on Box
      • ETAL Non Project on Box
    • River Links >
      • Classification Schemes >
        • Eco-Geo-Hydro Mess
      • Free Literature
      • Rivers in the News
      • Videos & Galleries
  • Joe Wheaton