week 1 literature review

8/3/2019 Week 1 Literature Review

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Research Methods I

Searching and reviewingthe literature

Christina Kotakou



Lecture Overview

Lecture Overview Identification of potential sources of secondary data

Search the literature

Record the references

Review the literature, citing the sources

Identification of main research question

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Introduction

Once you have identified a research topic, you need to startcollecting and analysing the literature in order to identify a

research problem to investigate

The literature is ‘all sources of published data on a particulartopic’ and a literature search is ‘a systemic process with a

view to identifying the existing body of knowledge on aparticular topic’ (Collis and Hussey, 2009, p. 91)

‘A literature review is a critical evaluation of the existing bodyof knowledge on a topic, which guides the research and

demonstrates that the relevant literature has been locatedand analysed’ (Collis and Hussey, 2009, p. 100).

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Potential sources of literature

Academic journal articles, research monographs and

reports, academic conference papers, etc

Main source of information on theory, previous studies,methodologies and methods

Dictionaries, encyclopaedias and specialist books

Useful for definitions (always use an authoritative source),background information and references to other sources

Annual statistics and reports, newspapers, business journals, internal documents/records of a business

Useful for background information, identifying currentissues, potential source of secondary research data



Procedure for a systematic literature search

Draw up a list of sources

Journal-databases, subject-related websites, bibliographiccatalogues and other lists your business librarian suggests

Define the scope of the research

Sector

Geography, e.g. a city, a region, a country

Period of time, e.g. it may not be worth searching morethan five years back if the phenomenon you are interested

is some kind of new technology.




Determine key words you can use for searchingincluding alternative spelling and synonyms

- E.g. Your research is going to focus on the marketing of beerin the UK, you might start your research using key wordssuch as ‘marketing’, ‘advertising’, ‘beer’, ‘UK’.

Keep in mind that you are seeking for authoritative

sources; you will need to seek out the originalsources to which their authors refer.

You can try academic search engines such as

Google Scholar, the websites of national andinternational professional bodies and otherorganizations that are relevant to your researchtopic.




Search each source, keeping a record of your

progress (e.g. Journal of Drinking Habits: Searched

1990-2009 using keywords) and full details ofrelevant publications so that you can read them

later.

Only collect literature that is relevant to your

research in terms of the topic, theory and

methodology.




Start with most recent publications and work back,

using the references at the end of relevant

publications to lead you to previous studies.

When you start recognize references cited in other

works, you are nearing the end of your firstresearch.

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Managing the process

Look at the references to identify earlier publications

If a publication is cited often, it is likely to be aseminal work

Highlight key points

E.g. Research questions, characteristics of thesample/cases, methods used, theoretical framework,contribution and limitations, potential quotations

Keep a list of the full references in alphabetical order andfile all relevant material in a binder in the same order

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Guide to writing a literature review

Select only material that is relevant to the topic, industry,methodology, etc

Identify themes and group the material Define key terms and draw out important features

Group material into themes/categories

Compare results and methods of previous studies Be critical and demonstrate relevance to your research

Set the context for your study (a deductive approachsuggests you will identify a theoretical framework and

hypotheses) Conclude with your research question(s)

Acknowledge other people’s contribution to knowledge




Avoiding a shopping list approach

- Shopping list approach The popularity of roller-blading in the UK has its roots in the

1990s. Iceslider (1990) describes roller-blading as a means of

keeping fit for ice skating. Sniffer (1998) argues that roller-bladeprovide quick escape from a traffic jam. Scruff (1996) describes

roller-blading as being great fun.




Attempt at synthesis

There is little agreement between authors for the reasons why

people roller-blade in the UK. Initially it appears to have been

a keep-fit activity Iceslider (1990), but over the time roller-

blading appears to have become a means of transport Sniffer

(1998) and leisure Scruff (1996).



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Citations under the Harvard system

A citation is ‘an acknowledgement in the text of the

original source from which information was obtained’

(Collis and Hussey, 2009, p. 96)

Acknowledgement is made by citing the author’s

surname and the date of the publication in brackets If the author’s words are quoted or you reproduce a

table, chart, diagram, photograph, or other image,

you must also include the page number from which itwas taken, as shown above.



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Example

Some students ignore the fact that universities treatplagiarism as academic misconduct, but Saunders,

Lewis and Thornhill (2007) warn of the associated

penalties. Collis and Hussey (2009, p. 103) defineplagiarism as ‘the act of taking someone’s words,

ideas or other information and passing them off as

your own because you fail to acknowledge theoriginal source’. They describe it as a form of

intellectual theft.



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To emphasize the information

The availability of data is a key factor in determining thesuccessful outcome of a research project (Collis andHussey, 2009).

To emphasize the authority

Collis and Hussey (2009) argue that the availability of datais a key factor in determining the successful outcome of aresearch project.

‘The availability of data is crucial to the successfuloutcome of your research’ (Collis and Hussey, 2009, p.

114).




First citation for three or more authors

Exploratory research by Collis, Dugdate and Jarvis (2001)identified……

Thereafter

Collis et.al. (2001) examined……..

More than one studies

A number of studies (Page, Sindall and Waring, 1985; Barker

and Noonan, 1986; Pratten, 1998) have investigated




Author with more than one publication in the same

year

Quarterly surveys by Business Monitor (2005a, 2005b,

2005c) indicated that………

Secondary citationFindings from a case study by Bloomfield (cited in Melrose,

2009)



References under the Harvard system

References are ‘a list containing bibliographic details

of the sources cited in the text’ (Collis and Hussey,

2009, p. 96) shown in alphabetical order by author’ssurname at the end of the document

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References under the Harvard system-examples

Book

Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009) Business Research, 3rd

edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Article in an on-line journal

Collis, J. and Jarvis, R. (2002) ‘Financial information

and the management of small private companies’.

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development , 9 (2),

pp. 100-110. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/146

[Accessed 25 August 2008].

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References under the Harvard system-examples

Article in a printed journal

Collis, J., Jarvis, R. and Skerrat, L. (2004) ‘The demand forthe audit in small companies in the UK’, Accounting andBusiness Research, 34 (2), pp. 87-100.

On-line Report

Collis, J. (2003) Directors’ Views on Exemption from Statutory Audit, URN 03/1342, October, London: DTI.http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file25971.pdf [Accessed 30 June

2008].



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Identifying a research problem and research

question(s)

From the literature on your topic, choose a research

problem or issue that is interesting or important

Look for gaps and deficiencies in the literature and thenformulate a research question you can investigate

Most researchers highlight limitations of their work andsuggest areas for further research

You could also consider replicating a study in a different

sector or setting, or to update the findings Another possibility is to make a new analysis of existing

data



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Example

Topic: Gender issues in employment

Research problem: Effect of the new career-breakscheme in Firm A on the recruitment and retention ofskilled staff

Research question: How has the new career-breakscheme contributed to employment in Firm A?

What is the nature of the scheme? (descriptive)

What effect has it had on recruitment of male and female staff?

(analytical) What effect has it had on the retention of male and female staff?

(analytical)

week 1 literature review

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