LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1What is a “Literature Review”?A literature review is an overview of research on a given topic and answers to related research questions Literature reviews are an important part of research and should be treated as suchA well-written literature review:

Organizes literatureEvaluates literatureIdentifies patterns and trends in literatureSynthesizes literature

‘the literature’ means the works you consulted in order to understand and investigate your research problem.

 A literature review involves

providing a rationale for your selection of literature related to the subject studied.

The literature review familiarizes the reader with the subject and the scope of the research topic.

It helps the reader to define key concepts

Finally it establishes the body of knowledge which will be able to contribute towards the research.

2.2 Writing the Literature Review

Firstly decide what you need to read from a broad spectrum of literature available

Refer to books, periodicals, journals, and websites which will be relevant to your study.

Determine what exactly are your objectives

Provide a current and complete overview of your related topic.

Show that you have read extensively and formed a body of knowledge on the subject of field of study

Purpose of writing a literature Review 

Your review should be in a form of critical decision, showing awareness of differing arguments,

theories, approaches and methodologies.

It should be a synthesis and analysis of the relevant published work, linked at all times to your objective and rationale of your study.

 

There are several purposes on why we write a literature review:

it reviews knowledge of previous studies on the subject of research

it identifies a conceptual framework for own research

it provides directions for future research

it provides resources previously unknown to the reader

it identifies gaps in past studies

To sum up, a good literature review is:

critical of what has been written, identifies areas of controversy, raises questions and identifies

areas which need further research.

2.3 Process of Writing a Literature Review

There are several stages in developing a literature review(Biddlek, 1997). The stages are :

IdentifyRecordRelevanceRetrieveReview Write

Stage 1 – IdentifyCompile a list of references. Use a kind of index system either a

hard copy or a software referencing system.

i)work through key catalogues, databases, indexes, bibliographies and websites for relevant resources

ii)check the references and in the articles you have read

iii)locate and use research reviews

Stage 2-RecordMake a record of any literature

that relates to your topic. You should have citation details,

where it is located, and should also write a few sentences that help you remember what the article is about

 

Stage 3 –Relevance i)Prioritize the literature, after having read the abstract,

rank them if it should be high, medium or low priority

ii)On the website scan through the literature for relevance before you decide to download or print it out

iii) You need to focus on the literature and sources you have identified and ranked as most important, the most recent development from the periodicals.

iv) Distinguish between textbooks and research articles from journals and books. They contain different kinds of information that will be more or less relevant to your research

 

Stage 4 -Retrievei) Make hard copies of the most

important literature. Print relevant journal articles from databases and photocopy articles from journals

Stage 5 –Review Use the reading log which allows you

to record different kinds of information: the bibliographic details, a description, and relationship to other readings.

Also record where the literature is located so that you can easily refer to the quotes or ideas paraphrased when you are editing. 

As you are taking notes, ensure you are clear about what you are quoting and paraphrasing. You cannot risk unintentionally plagiarizing ideas.

Stage 6 -WriteStart with an introductory

paragraphDiscuss the literature on the

subject in a logical and coherent way

Conclude with a paragraph that is relevant to the literature of the research

 

2.4 Five Phases of Writing a Literature Review

Phase 1 – Specify the scope of your review  i)Ensure you have a precise topic you must be precise about having a topic. It should not be too

broad or unspecific. Look at the following topic which is too broad

Example: ‘Life and Times of Sigmund Freud”  The title below seems to be limited, but still considered too

broad Example: “Psychological Theories of Sigmund Freud

However, a more manageable and appropriate topic would be ‘Freud’s Theory of Personality Applied to Mental Health”  If your research question is too broad or defined vaguely or

abstractly, you may end up reading and compiling too much information for your literature review. However if your research question is specified too narrowly or defined concisely, you may miss out more general information

ii)Scope of the Literature ReviewYou have to determine the precise scope of the literature review. Questions which need to be answered are as follows :-

What will I cover in my review?How comprehensive will it be?How current are my materials?What type of materials/documents will

be needed?

Phase 2: Locating and Accessing Information

Obtain all the necessary materials for your literature review by searching relevant bibliographies, print indexes and online databases

 i)Using Existing Literature ReviewsMany journals on different subject areas

publish review articles. In these journals you may find commentaries on research articles. You may find these reviews relevant to your literature review.

Phase 3 Recording the Information

You can develop a systematic way of recording information through: note cards with citations

Photocopied articles with points highlighted or underlined with notes in the margins

Traditional taking down notes or in laptops

 

i)Tips on Recording Information  A quick skimming and scanning through the introduction

and the conclusion of an article, would give you an idea of the article and general points.

a)Start with the most recent studies and work backwards. Refer to the list of references on a recent article;  

b)Read, first the report or article’s abstract - this will give you some clues about the article

c)When taking down notes, remember to write out the complete bibliographic citation for each work. It is essential you note down the page numbers as these will be necessary later for footnotes and bibliography. For internet citations note the URL

d)Write all direct quotations precisely when taking down notes. You should use quotations marks, so it can recognize as a directly quoted text and not a paraphrase. If you fail to put a direct text in quotation marks or to credit the authors, it amounts to plagiarism.

Phase 4 Evaluating the Information 

After having read all the articles, you must now decide and evaluate what should be included in the review.

Be selective - you have to consider issues and themes that link different articles.

Phase 5 Organizing and Writing the Literature ReviewAfter accessing, reading and

evaluating the material, these materials need to be organized.

You may organize the selected readings by theoretical approaches, by specific concepts or issues, and by methodologies

 

Some tips on writingAfter you have located, read, analyzed and evaluated the literature, the next stage is actual writing. Here are some tips:

Keep your paragraphs shortSubheadings are essential, as it clarifies

the structure. They break up the materials into more readable units

Avoid too many long direct quotations from the studies. Paraphrase other writers’ works rather than quote lengthy passages

Don’t cite references that you haven’t read

Some traps to avoidTrying to read everything!

◦ not to provide a summary of all the published work that relates to your research, but a survey of the most relevant and significant work.

Reading but not writing!◦ Writing can help you understand and find

relationships between the work you’ve read, so don’t put writing off until you’ve “finished” reading.

Not keeping bibliographic information!

- Source: http://www.clpd.bbk.ac.uk/students/litreviewweb.pdx.edu/~bertini/literature_review.pdf

Final Checklist

Here is a checklist from University of Melbourne: (http://

www.lib.unimelb.eduau/postgrad/litreview/finalchecklist.html)

Have you indicated the purpose of the review?Have you ascertained the parameters of the

review and are they reasonable?Have you emphasized on recent development

of the research?Have you focused on primary sources with only

selective use of secondary sources?Is the literature selected relevant to your study?Is your bibliographic data complete?