How is a Review Paper different from a Technical or Empirical Paper

A Review Paper and a Technical or Empirical Paper belong to the same genre of writing, i.e. academia but are different concepts to know. Both have their significance in the field of research but it is important to understand the difference between the two, so that they can be handled accordingly.
On one side when a technical or Empirical research paper is based on original research which may be different in its own way, depending upon the topic , a review paper has its foundation on other published articles and it is not a representation of original research. If one talks of the way to approach an empirical paper, authors have to collect and analyse raw data and take up an original study. The crux of the research paper is the analysis and interpretation of this collected data. On the contrary, review articles summarise the existing literature and give their current perspective on the understanding of the topic.
Review articles can be categorised in three ways:

There can be primarily three kinds of review articles:

Narrative Review: It explains the existing knowledge on a topic that is based on any kind of published research that is available on the topic.

Systematic Review: This tries to explore the answer to a specific question which maybe buried in the existing literature on a specific topic.

Meta Analysis: It does a thorough comparative analysis of previously published studies. The key objective mostly is to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific decision to be taken.

Well made review papers form a good repository of scientific literature as they summarise the gist of existing literature which makes it easier for readers to get an idea about the prevailing knowledge without having to read extensive literature individually. Sometimes review papers are also called as survey papers. This is mostly when the writer has reviewed survey related work. A good review paper is the one that is created in a way that it is able to contribute a small amount of knowledge to the existing pool by giving a taxonomy of the work.

The similarity that one can notice between both these kind of papers is the review of literature. However, researchers and authors need to comprehend that in an empirical paper the review of literature helps to identify the research gap and take forward the objectives of the real research from there. Ultimately the paper is based on the real research and literature review just forms a small part of the paper where as in a review paper, it is the main content and the author does not just attempt to find the gap in the existing literature but also give his critical perspective and summarise the existing research for the readers to be able to get it more crisply.

It is difficult to specifically segregate the journal on the parameter of accepting review papers or not. High indexed journals, listed in SCOPUS and SCI prefer research papers over review articles. The main reason being the element of originality and constructive input they add to the existing literature. However, they do accept Review papers, if they are written in a way that they can give an original and critical eye to existing studies and offer direction for future studies. That is why, it is generally more difficult to publish review articles, mainly for the reason it is very challenging and requires great amount of skill as a writer to create originality from already existing content. It is relatively easier to create a good quality original research paper. For a review paper author, one must have the maturity and expertise to create novelty.

If you are thinking in terms of easy publication, original articles are a better choice as compared to review papers. However, ultimately what is imported to remember is that the quality of your research and your presentation of the manuscript are the key determinants on whose grounds your acceptance of research for publication will be decided.

I have seen numerous PhD candidates highly obsessed with PhD, research and, dissertation, and this obsession either leads to success or depression. Working for long and extended hours on your Ph.D. research and be alert at the same time is next to impossible. Neither it is healthy nor is it producible to get seated and focus on writing or reading for such long duration of time. Entering into the final sphere of ‘academia’ is enough to leave you baffled. Here, you require intensive reading, writing, research and outreach. Once you board on this excursion, you, by no means, are supposed to leave and go back. If you chose Ph.D. for valid and good reasons; you want to learn, contribute to the human knowledge, and enjoy this new phase, then it is a one-way road where you can’t even turn or look back for a while since Ph.D. push you and your genre to the extreme.  BUT who makes the decision of your success and rejection after such hard work?

Your actions. Your methodology. Your attitude. You!

By ‘you’, I mean your positive or negative (which is obnoxious) stance towards your PhD programme. No doubt there are many stumbling blocks to it, which demands toil every day. But just a few reminders and a bit confidence can bring an end to all your worries & stress.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that academics play a crucial role in the overall development and health of an individual. Research reveals that students of higher education (Masters/ PhD) are more likely to become depressed and unable to bear the psychological pressure. (Wisconsin Department of Health Service, 2009, P-00066).

The figure shows the mistakes generally PhD candidates do which might result in depression and prevent you from making progress. But I will discuss the two most common accidental mistakes that no one tells you to avoid:

Minimal coordination between supervisor and supervisee

A supervisor or mentor is allotted to you, inaugurating your PhD journey. Supervisor and supervisee share a very crucial relationship where one inculcates the study, research, and writing skills for the entire development, in the other. However, there are cases where either supervisor or supervisee is indifferent to each other. Supervisor plays not only an advisory role but also an evaluative role, thus it is a hard job for them to manage these two altogether. And since PhD candidate is already very baffled and confused entering the new sphere of academia (s)he is unable to fulfill the expectations of the supervisor. It results in lack of communication among them or supervisor becomes dominant with the student as a mere disciple unable to create anything anew. It means the very initial step is taken wrong and turned to a false step.

Make your supervisor aware of his importance to your PhD. Ask your supervisor for guidance for literature search, topic selection, refinement, and support in making management plans for future etcetera to come in good terms with him/her. It shows that his approval is all you need to move on with. More he gets to know his importance, more you progress with your dissertation. Be patient, calm and composed and trust your supervisor. Mark his comments & criticism on your drafts, try to improve it next time. Supervisor’s support and evaluation is the main pillar of your PhD. DO NOT undervalue his comments, criticism, and evaluation!

Leaf through scholarly journals randomly

Contrary to popular belief, doing research today is more challenging than preceding era. The reason made me believe it is that earlier, you could go to library and publications easily (although it was tiring) and found what you are looking for. You would make an outline of your paper, try to focus on the need and requirement of research roaming around library. Those were the days where libraries used to be a center of all intellects discussing and reading the old pile of books & papers. No, I do not mean that doing PhD and research in 20^th century was easy- of course not. It was almost impossible for you to get into numerous libraries in quest of that perfect book. But what I’m trying to convey is that you were not offered much options or choices available back then. And today, technology brought generation to the point where doing research is never too easy. You have got hands over libraries, journals, articles, everything across the globe with just a click on the internet. No more struggles to find that perfect book which can do wonders to you. There are e-journals, e-books, and pdfs of research papers free of cost. Read, analyze, and write.

This is the reason why PhD candidates generally get lost in research and investigation. They read hundreds of research papers and material through internet on the same topic, then inter-related topics, end up writing irrelevant information, references and so on. It not only results in a bunch of irrelevant papers in contrast with the dissertation/thesis topic but also breaks the flow of your thoughts and ideas. Thus, e-research can proved to be disastrous for all those who fail to keep their minds focused.

What can be done to narrow down focus and research material?

Ask yourself few questions before you sit with your laptop, pen, and paper. Try to figure out the reasons behind your reading-

• What are you looking for?
• What is your topic about?
• What could be the specific areas associated with topic which people are not much aware of?
• What do you want to comprehend?
• Do you want to use the text for your own theory or methodology?
• How can I make readers interested in my thesis?

These are just few examples of how you can list questions and answer all of them in your thesis with only necessary information. Take a pen and paper, list all the necessary questions that can be raised from your planned research and then research wisely. Only look for the answers of your questions. Internet can make you go round and round and get you nowhere, no matter how much time you spend, how informative and valid papers you find. However, it is up to you which mode you find better to research- through internet or paper publications.

PhD’s most crucial component is writing dissertation which is discipline-specified, and time-specified. It brings the new personality in you, as an author (believe it or not), regardless of your proficiency in language in the concerned language. Ultimately, it will leave you as an author, researcher, mastering the subject matter of individual academic discipline.

VTU or Visvesvaraya Technological University has 194 colleges and offers 28 disciplines in varied undergraduate courses. Also, it offers 71 disciplines in post graduate studies. It offers doctoral studies in both part-time as well as a full-time option. The university is famous for a relatively different PhD course structure that it follows. The PhD programme here is split into different stages. What is different here is that, at the beginning of the II Part of the programme, which is followed by the course work in the previous part, the scholar is expected to face the comprehensive VIVA VOCE.

 This Comprehensive VIVA is slightly different from other universities and has the following details:

The scholar is expected to submit a written request for the conduct of the same within a span of maximum six months from the completion of the course work in Part I of the programme. A further extension of 6 months may be requested by the scholar with due approval of the research guide, in the case of any health related issues.

The research centre of the university has the responsibility or organising the comprehensive VIVA in consultation with the doctoral committee. It usually gets scheduled within the span of one month of the request submitted by the scholar. It is a tough closed door examination which includes the members of the doctoral committee, other than the scholar, and the research supervisor. The doctoral committee has the right to invite examiners also if the research guide has recommended any specialist or expert in the area of study.

The scholar is expected to prepare a presentation on the research topic. It should include in detail the work done so far, and what is the proposed work for the future. The intention of the doctoral committee is to verify and ensure that the scholar is through with the fundamental concepts, and also has the know how to apply the knowledge for the smooth conduct of the research work.

You got to be prepared and thorough at tackling the comprehensive VIVA. Be very particular about having a good study on the existing literature in your area of study. Particularly the one that has been taken up in the past 3 years as this is where the new trends could be understood. You must also know where your study fits in to fill the gap that has been created by previous studies. Your research methodology should be elaborate and simplified to the extent that each stage should smoothly graduate to the next one. Have the justification ready for your chosen research tools and techniques as well.