research methods session 2 literature review · • for example, consider the research topic ‘why...

Research Methods – Dr Richard Boateng [[email protected]] Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com

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Research Methods Session 2: Literature Review

Lecturer/Convenor:

Richard Boateng, PhD.

Email:

[email protected]

Office: UGBS RT18 (rooftop)

Selecting A Topic &

Literature Review - Part One


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Class Website

• www.vivaafrica.info


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Session Objectives

• Before starting any research, the researcher

needs determine the topic or issue to study.

• However, the question is how does the

researcher select a research topic or issue? Can

every topic be researched? What is

researchable and what is not researchable?

• This session seeks discuss how to select a

research topic and start a review on the topic.


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What Can Be Researched

The right topic to be researched often depends on

a number of factors. First, let’s consider topics to

avoid:

1. Common/over-used topics

2. Topics related to religion/controversy

3. General/ broad topics

4. Topics that are Too Narrow

5. Controversial Politics related topics


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Common/over-used topics

• A number of research areas are very common and have

been reused several times by numerous other students.

Most importantly, try to be original. You can pick an over-

used topic but you can place it in another context or

sector.

• For example, if internet banking in Ghana has been

well-researched, you may consider a topic on

internet banking among rural banks in Ghana.

Selecting A Topic


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Topics related to religion,politics/controversy

• Controversies have the propensity to arouse

emotions in people, usually because the

surrounding issues are highly subjective.

• Select this topic – if required by programme of

study.

• Most importantly – you want to make sure you

can complete the research on time and with

relevant and appropriate data!

Selecting A Topic


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General/Too broad topics

• Some topics are too broad and general in scope,

and thus should be avoided.

• A research on service marketing is too broad,

however, service marketing in the insurance

industry may be more appropriate.

Selecting A Topic


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Too narrow topics

• Picking a topic that is too narrow should be avoided,

because it will be near impossible to find enough

information to conduct the research.

• For example, consider the research topic ‘Why John

broke up with Sarah’. This topic are too narrow and

focused on a single event.

• if this topic is changed to: ‘Determinants of break-ups

in relationships among undergraduate students’ –

the topic will become more researchable.

Selecting A Topic


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What can influence choice of topic

Selecting A Topic


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Selecting A Topic

YOU the researcher values, belief, interests,

relevance, and personal experiences can

influence the choice of a research topic


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Selecting A Topic

SUPERVISOR Find out the research interests of the

potential supervisors; have a discussion

with them; read their publications


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Selecting A Topic

Data Source researchers are sometimes restricted to particular

topics because of access to or lack of access to

data in the specific field of study or time availability


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Selecting A Topic

Current Trends researchers can select a topic based on how

important a particular issue is perceived to be to

society at that point in time


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Selecting A Topic

Sponsor researchers can also restricted by the sponsor or

funding agency. Most funding agencies have

specific topics of interests which are based on their

goals and objectives.


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Selecting A Topic

Research Gaps areas of study where there are reasonable gaps in

the existing literature. The potential contribution to

literature lies in the research gap.


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Selecting A Topic

Research Gap - Explained

• Answers the questions:

– Why should I read your work?

– Are you just duplicating previous research?

– What is the potential contribution of this research?

– Is there any value or something new to be learnt or

discovered, described or explained?

Critical Component of the research problem – and through

which research objectives and questions emerge


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Selecting A Topic

Research Gap - How

• By Reviewing Existing Literature:

1. Establish the field: Identify the broad problem and state its

importance

2. Summarize previous research: State what is significant in

what has already been written.

3. Create a research space: Describe the gaps and select the

gap you propose to fill in the existing research literature. This

then creates an opportunity for you to make a contribution to

the research in the area.

4. Introduce your research project: Establish your research

thesis or questions.

Proposed by Swales (1981), quoted in Bruce (1995) as cited by Collins, E. (2000) Research Gaps, Academic Writer 2000, Retrieved from:

http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk/academicwriter/Evidence/Secondary%20Sources/researchgaps.htm, on June 25, 2012

http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk/academicwriter/Evidence/Secondary Sources/researchgaps.htm


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Research Gap Sample

Research Gap - Issue

While there has been some research on the general

impact of female unemployment (Coyle,1984;

Popay,1985), little has been written about the

effects of pit closure on women's lives.

Research Gap identified: The effects of pit closure [in

coal mining] on women's lives.



complement

Gap



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In education in general, evaluation has played a vital role for more

than one hundred years (Madaus et al, 1983). In English Language

Teaching also, evaluation has been a major concern for over twenty

years (Strevens, 1976; Stern, 1983; Lynch, 1996). In contrast, it is

only recently (Star, 1994; Gardner & Miller, 1999) that attention

has been paid to the evaluation of learning outcomes in self-

access centres. However, if we are to argue that such centres provide

an effective and efficient alternative to other existing modes of

language learning, it remains a matter of serious concern that there

is no research-based model designed for their evaluation.

This paper will suggest four key issues which need to be addressed when

considering the development of such an evaluation model…

Research Gap – Theory/Model



Research Gap identified: A research-based model for the evaluation

of self-access language learning centres.

Research Gap Sample



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Research Gap Sample

Research Gap - Method

There have been a number of valuable studies of self-

employment using cross-section data (Rees and Shah,

1986; Blanchflower and Oswald, 1993; Taylor, 1996), all of

which present evidence on a number of employment and

personal characteristics on the sector. However, none of

these studies provides a picture of the changes over

the last decade or forecasts the trends in self-

employment as the recession of 1990 took hold.

Research Gap identified: The need for a study of the

changes in self-employment over the last decade. Proposed by Swales (1981), quoted in Bruce (1995) as cited by Collins, E. (2000) Research Gaps, Academic Writer 2000, Retrieved from:


complement

Gap



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Research Gap Sample

Research Gap - Method



Extant literature has fairly covered studies on the mobile phone’s

usage and mobiles for development in sub-Saharan Africa. The

studies include mobile phones and fisherman and farmers in Ghana

(Boadi et al., 2007); mobile phone sharing practices in Ghana (Sey, 2009);

mobile phones and development in Nigeria (Heeks and Jagun, 2007;

Jagun et al., 2008); mobile payments in Uganda (Duncombe, 2009) and

mobile phone ownership and social capital in Tanzania and South Africa

(Goodman, 2005).

Despite these studies, there is a call for more studies to test earlier

findings in different contexts and in different micro-economic

activities in order to contribute to better understanding of the impact of

mobile phones in developing economies.

complement

Gap



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Research Gap Sample

Research Gap - Identify

• A paragraph on the motivating issue

• The Gaps

1. Missing issues in literature

2. Limited discussion in literature

3. Conflicts in theoretical approach

4. Missing theoretical model

5. Conflicts/ in empirical methods (data collection and

context)

6. Mixed previous empirical results

7. Less contextual evaluation or geographic representation

8. Complex (limited previous results, conflicts,

absence, mixed views)





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Research Gap Sample

Research Gap - Identify

• Academic Journal Articles

– Gaps are usually presented in the introduction of the journal

articles

These gaps focus on why it is important to read that journal

article. It establishes the gaps in the previous research and

points out the focus of the journal article.

– Future Research Directions or Gaps for Future Research

Usually the conclusion of an academic journal article focuses on

discussing the implications of the findings of the research and

also point out gaps for future research. This is important for

researchers to find out the gaps pointed out by previous

researchers.





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6 Steps to Selecting A Topic

1. Identify broad topic and academic discipline

2. Determine the scope

3. Brainstorm issues, puzzles and questions

4. Map and structure the issues

5. Conduct a reconnaissance

6. Frame your research issues

Selecting A Topic

Source: Fisher (2010)


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Identify broad topic and academic discipline

Decline in employee

productivity

How can our company

improve the productivity of

its employee?

Selecting A Topic

Business

Problem

Research

Problem

Employee productivity

in organizations

What factors influence

employee productivity?

What are the characteristics

of productive employees?


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Determine the Scope

1. Studying one part of an organization

2. Comparing several parts or functions of an

organization

3. Studying one organization

4. Comparing two or more organization

5. Studying a sector/industry

Selecting A Topic


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Brainstorm issues and questions

1. Conduct a preliminary literature review

2. Identify the issues discussed

3. Identify the methods used

(quantitative/qualitative and mixed)

4. Identify the regions/countries studied

5. Identify the gaps for future research

Selecting A Topic


Map and Structure the issues


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Conduct a reconnaissance

1. Write up the Research Problem

2. Point out the research gaps – issues, model,

and methods (data collection and contex)

3. Discuss with others – especially supervisor

4. Decide on the key research gap(s) of interest

Selecting A Topic


Frame your research question


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LITERATURE REVIEW – PART ONE

How to identify and locate literature

Learn about scholary journals


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What is the Literature Review?

A literature review IS:

1. A synthesis of available resources and

materials with a strong relation to the topic in

question, accompanied by a description AND a

critical evaluation and comparative analysis

of each work

2. Focused on a particular question or area of

research

Olivares, O. (2004) Researching and Writing Literature Reviews, A guide for graduate students in the social sciences at

the University of Arizona, Social Sciences Team Librarian, University of Arizona Libraries. Available:

http://www.library.arizona.edu/tutorials/litreviews/ [February 2012]


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Why do a literature review?

The literature review is not a chore to be finished quickly so that you can get on to the meat of your project, or a university department-imposed hoop to jump through before you can get on with the writing of your thesis or dissertation.

It is the very basis of your argument. It places your research in context within your discipline and demonstrates how your research improves your discipline. In other words, the literature review is the meat of your project.

1. So that your research will have a strong theoretical base on which to stand.





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a) To prove that there are gaps in knowledge in your field that merit a closer investigation

b) To demonstrate that your work will improve your field in some way, filling in gaps and adding to knowledge in and understanding of your field

c) To prove that your work hasn’t been previously contributed and it is indeed original

d) For purely practical considerations: a good literature review demonstrates that you’ve read extensively in your field, that you have a thorough comprehension of your field and that you are capable of intelligently ad knowledgeably critiquing others’ work


2. To justify your research





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a) To educate yourself on the primary theoretical approaches to your discipline, as well as the primary actors:

– Who are the most important scholars in your discipline?

– What questions have they asked and answered?

– What controversies remain within the discipline?

b) To provide yourself with an intellectual, historical and context within which to frame your research and writing.

c) To illustrate how your field has been previously studied, and flaws/gaps/ problems with previous research


3. As an exercise in long essay development





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A good literature review will help you do the

following :

– Narrow your research focus;

– Pose questions that might not have

previously occurred to you; and

– Build a knowledge base for future





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The LR stages are :

1. Select and refine a topic

2. Identify and Locate literature

3. Ensure Relevance

4. Record and Retrieve

5. Review and Summarize

6. Write


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Identify Literature

• Where to Find Research Literature

– Periodicals

– Scholarly journals

– Books

– Dissertations

– Government documents

– Policy reports and presented papers

– Existing Statistics and Industry reports


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Scholarly Journals @ UG

• http://library.ug.edu.gh/screens/balme/

oncampus.html

Or

• http://tinyurl.com/ugjournals


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• EBSCOhost

• Emerald

• JSTOR

• Palgrave Macmillan Journals

• Sage Journals Online

• ScienceDirect

• Wiley – Blackwell


http://tinyurl.com/ugjournals

Password may be needed

when accessed outside the

university network


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• African Journals Online (AJOL)

• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

• Google Scholar (Multidisciplinary)

• Topics in Development

• World Bank Databases


http://tinyurl.com/ugjournals

FREE

(almost)


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Scholarly Journal

1. Emerald

- www.emeraldinsight.com

username: uofghana

password: emerald

2. EBSCOhost

- http://search.epnet.com/

username: s5210036

password: password

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Password may be needed

when accessed outside the

university network

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/

http://search.epnet.com/


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Identify and Locate

1. Go to the journal database

2. Use the search box

– Basic Search

– Advanced Search

3. Type in your research topic

4. Review results

– Check Relevance

– Refine search parameters

5. Record and Retrieve

6. Review and Summarize


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Record and Retrieve

• Save the document onto your PC

• Categorize the documents


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Read, Review and Summarize

Article Summary (one page)

1. Article Reference:

Author lastname, Other initials (year of publication) Title of the journal

article, Name of the Journal, Volume/Number, page range.

2. Research Problem/Research Question

3. Research Frameworks Used

4. Research Methods

5. Results/Findings and Discussions

6. Conclusions

7. Gaps for Future Research


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Practice Assignment

• Go to www.emeraldinsight.com

• Enter the username and password

• Search for this paper and download

• Summarize the paper using outline on

previous slide

“Mobile phones and micro-trading

activities”

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/


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Presenting Assignment

• Cover Page

– Name, Index Number, Course Code

• Summary of Paper

– “Mobile phones and micro-trading activities”

• An Experience of Using Emerald and Ebscohost

– Select a topic

– Search in each database

– Ensure Relevance by narrowing the search results

– Discuss Results

– Identify one highly relevant paper from each database

– Develop a new title for your topic of interest


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References

• Babbie, E.R. (2005) The Basics of Social Research [With CDROM and Infotrac],

Wadsworth –Thomson Publishing, Belmont, CA.

• Babbie, E.R. (2011) The Basics of Social Research [With CDROM and Infotrac],

Wadsworth –Thomson Publishing, Belmont, CA. – ISBN – 0495812242

• Olivares, O. (2004) Researching and Writing Literature Reviews, A guide for graduate

students in the social sciences at the University of Arizona, Social Sciences Team

Librarian, University of Arizona Libraries. Available:


• Neuman, W.L. (2011) Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative

Approaches, 2/E, Pearson Education – ISBN ISBN-10: 0205484379 | ISBN-13:

9780205484379

• Santoy, J. (2007) Using Research in Academic Writing, Available:

http://www.literaturereviewof.com/identifying-gaps[February 2012]

Photo Illustrations from Getty Images – www.gettyimages.com

research methods session 2 literature review · • for example, consider the research topic ‘why...

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