Scoping the literature

Before starting a systematic review you have to scope the field. The areas of interest to me include:

• consultancy
• public sector
• engagement

Then I have to check the literature, not in the whole of the field but in the overlaps (I think). I worked through literature on engagement last summer and have found it quite useful because there's so little written on engagement, but on similar concepts such as participation or cooperation or involvement or collaboration, none of which are quite the same as engagement.

I suspect the tricky bit will be writing about the overlaps. If there's little literature on engagement then there'll be even less on engagement and social capital, let alone engagement AND social capital AND consultancy AND information technology.

Snowed in

It's a use-the-VPN-and-Outlook-Web-Access day. I have to work at home. I can't get up the hill to get out of the town.

Systematic supervisors

Yesterday's session on a systematic review of the literature must be useful to more than just the PhD students. Our erst-while director of studies uses the approach - says it saves him much time. I hear of supervisors who send students off to look at a whole area of literature that is not relevant to the study, and am grateful that my supervisors do not make those demands on me, but insist that I not be distracted and keep on track.

After yesterday, I think that had I had done that session right at the start of the PhD, or even of the MRes, then I would be very likely to finish on time.

Systematic review workshop

Nine of us OUBS PhD students have spent an engrossing and exciting day working on how to review literature. Dave Denyer from Cranfield led the day. He comes across as a practitioner, not just someone who says "you should do it this systematic way", but someone who does review systematically.

The approach

• stimulates thoughts
• stimulates creativity
• is systematic
• distinguishes between literature review as a scoping exercise and a literature review of the relevant literature

It gives you a structure, a logic and an audit for tackling the literature. Dave left us with files, overheads and templates for mapping, documenting and analysing.

One student was so impressed that half way through the day was cross that we hadn't had the training a year ago, and suggested this session should be compulsory for first year PhD students, it is so worth doing. Two of our third years came along considering it worth repeating for revision.

Contractors

I wonder just how often public organisations use contractors as opposed to consultants.

Social capital theory & IT

I found this paper (pdf) on IT and social capital but I was too late to get to the workshop where it was presented. Randolph and Petter write on the role of social capital inIT project management, arguing that who the project manager knows is important, so they introduce the theory of social capital, suggesting implications and possible future research. I wonder if they know anyone already researching this.

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Randolph, A. B. and Petter, S. (2008) 'Is It What You Know or Who You Know? The Role of Social Capital in Information Technology Project Management', 3rd International Research Workshop on Information Technology Project Management (IRWITPM), Paris, France2008.

Exciting research

I've recently spoken to someone about a similar area of research in IT projects and programmes. Being a practitioner in the field meant being able to see the difference that the research was making. It's great to find someone excited about research and its practical applications.