Chapter 3 Critically reviewing the literature

Chapter 3Critically reviewing the literatureReasons for reviewing the literature To conduct a preliminary search of existing material

To organise valuable ideas and findings

To identify other research that may be in progress

To generate research ideas

To develop a critical perspectiveThe literature review process

Figure 3.1 The literature review processThe Critical Review (1)Approaches used

Deductive -Develops a conceptual framework from the literature which is then tested using the data

Inductive - Explores the data to develop theories which are then tested against the literature

The Critical Review (2)Key purposes

To further refine research questions and objectives

To discover recommendations for further research

To avoid repeating work already undertaken

To provide insights into strategies and techniques appropriate to your research objectives

Based on Gall et al. (2006)Adopting a critical perspective (3)Questions to ask yourself

Why am I reading this?

What is the author trying to do in writing this?

How convincing is this?

What use can I make of this reading?

Content of the critical reviewYou will need to

Include key academic theories

Demonstrate current knowledge of the area

Use clear referencing for the reader to find the original cited publications

Acknowledge the research of others

Defining the parameters of your searchFor most research questions and objectives you will have a good idea of which subject matter is going to be relevant. You will, however, be less clear about the parameters within which you need to search. In particular, you need to be clear about the following (Bell 2005):

Language of publication (e.g. English);Subject area (e.g. accountancy);Business sector (e.g. manufacturing);Geographical area (e.g. Europe);Publication period (e.g. the last 10 years);Literature type (e.g. refereed journals and books).

Generating your keywords

It is important at this stage to read both articles by key authors and recent review articles in area of your research. This will help you to define your subject matter and to suggest appropriate key words. Recent review articles in your research area are often helpful here as they discuss the current state of research for a particular topic and can help you to refine your keywordsAnother potentially useful source of references is dissertations and theses in your university's library. Generating your keywordsAfter re-reading your lecture notes and textbooks and undertaking this limited reading you will have a list of subjects that appear relevant to your research project. You now need to define precisely what is relevant to your research in terms of key words. The identification of keywords or research 'terms is the most important part of planning your search for relevant literature (Bell 2005). Key words are the basic terms that describe your research questions(s) and objectives, and will be used to search the tertiary literature. Conducting a literature search (1)Approaches can include

Searching tertiary literature sources

Obtaining relevant literature

Scanning and browsing secondary literature

Searching using the InternetEvaluating the literatureDefine the scope of your review

Assess relevance and value

Assess sufficiencyRecording the literatureMake notes for each item you read

Record

Biographic details

Brief summary of content

Supplementary information

Recording the literatureBibliographic details

Brief summary

Supplementary information

PlagiarismFour common forms

Stealing material from another source

Submitting material written by another

Copying material without quotation marks

Paraphrasing material without documentation