Prof Bert George Discussed Literature Review Skills for “Collaborative Research Postgraduate Students' Seminar Series”
The School of Graduate Studies of Lingnan University and The Education University of Hong Kong co-hosted the "Collaborative Research Postgraduate Students' Seminar Series" in the 2024/25 academic year. The online seminar held on 26 November 2024, and featured a compelling presentation by Professor Bert George from City University of Hong Kong on "Writing and Publishing Literature Reviews that Matter". The seminar attracted around 70 online participants, including postgraduate students and academics from various institutions.
Professor Bert George is a professor of Public Management at the Department of Public and International Affairs at City University of Hong Kong. He is deputy editor-in-chief of Public Management Review and served as editor of Public Administration Review. His research focuses on strategic planning and management in public administration, red tape and administrative burden, and the application of neuro- and behavioral science to public administration. He has published in all major journals in the field and is a Stanford top 2% scientist. Professor George has received several awards for his work, including the Louis Brownlow Award and Joseph Wholey Award from the American Society for Public Administration.
In this seminar, Prof George shared insights on literature review approaches and their applications. Drawing from a prominent editorial he co-authored in the prestigious ‘Public Administration Review’, Professor George discussed a framework grounded in activity theory to organise and structure literature reviews. This framework outlines five key aspects to consider: the subject matter, the core objective, the research community, the practices employed, and the overarching purpose.
He introduced various literature review approaches, highlighting their distinct characteristics and applications. Scoping or exploratory reviews help understand broad topics and research trends, while systematic or integrative reviews provide in-depth analysis of a subject. Meta-narrative reviews offer contextual understanding of a subject across distinct but related research programs. Problematising or critical reviews connect a subject to underutilised theories, models, and variables, proposing new perspectives. Meta-analyses identify population effect sizes for specific variable relationships, while meta-regressions explore boundary conditions influencing those effects. Mixed research syntheses combine these approaches to determine effect sizes, boundary conditions, and underlying causal mechanisms. Further examples of each literature review approach were discussed.
In his concluding remarks, Professor George offered several key recommendations to attendees. He emphasised the importance of prioritising the art and craft of conducting literature reviews, as well as thinking strategically about the review process. He advised tailoring the review approach to fit the specific field of study, while maintaining transparency throughout. Communicating review findings effectively and experimenting with diverse methodologies were also highlighted as critical best practices. Importantly, Professor George underscored the central role that clear objectives and well-defined research questions play in guiding a literature review study. Following the presentation, he engaged participants in a lively discussion session, exploring literature review practices and skill development in depth.
The “Collaborative Research Postgraduate Students' Seminar Series” will continue throughout October to December 2024.
About the Collaborative Research Postgraduate Students' Seminar Series
The collaborative seminar series aims to provide a platform for research postgraduate students to share their work, engage in insightful discussions, and foster interdisciplinary collaborations across the two universities. By bringing together scholars and students from different backgrounds, the series encourages the exchange of ideas and the advancement of knowledge in key research areas. Since this semester, the seminar series is also supported by the Section on Chinese Public Administration (SCPA) of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).
