Module 4: Literature Review

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

1. design a research useful in daily life;

2. select relevant literature;

3. define terms used in the study and

4. illustrate and explain conceptual/theoretical framework.

Starting out a research project can be one difficult task, as it involves a rigorous selection of

materials relevant to the study. Your task is to establish research gaps that will be the bases of

pursuing your quantitative research. This is to be provided in the literature review section of your

paper.

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a comprehensive classification and evaluation of what other

researchers have written about your topic. Usually, an exciting literature review presents

conflicting or contradictory results of previous studies which could then be a research gap that

will be filled by your study. Similarly, literature reviews identify areas that could be studied when

you establish that there seems to be a lack of attention on a given topic. Whether there is a lack

of study on your topic or there are contradicting views about it, your literature review forms the

very significance of your paper. It gives justification as to how your research will fit into the

existing body of knowledge. As such, it must be written very well.

➢ A review of the relevant literature is needed to establish gaps which are the bases
of the significance of the research paper.
How to Select Relevant Literature

After narrowing down your topic or problem of choice, and after your research adviser or

supervisor has approved it, you will now proceed to reviewing literature related to your study. A

literature review is your critical analysis of available resources and not just a summary of what is

available so far about your chosen topic. Careful selection and review of these materials are

therefore significant in establishing what has been pointed out as research gaps.

Just like what you did in the topic selection phase, you do an online literature search about

your final approved topic. You should be able to identify the best publications in a specific

research area so it would be easier for you to locate relevant and recent literature. It is best to

find literature which was published in the last five years. How many materials do you need to

review then? This largely depends upon what the reviews are for and the level of students. An

undergraduate who is doing a thesis should review about 20 to 50 materials. A master’s thesis

should be over 50 and a doctoral dissertation should use over 75. This is the general rule. You

definitely have to consider what the review is for, whether it is a high school research report,

high school thesis, or a college undergraduate research. It is best to consult your adviser.

So when is literature considered related or relevant? What are some of the considerations

to follow or at least one must have in mind in selecting materials? The next stage involves data

evaluation. Here, you determine which literature provides an important contribution to the

understanding of your problem or topic. Ask the following about the materials you are to include

in your review:
 1. What issue or problem has the author formulated? Is it clearly defined? Is it significant

enough? How was the problem approached? What are the variables of the study?

2. What do you think is the orientation of the researcher? How about the theoretical

framework used? How are the research perspective and theoretical perspective related

as seen in the paper?

3. Does the author provide contrasting results from previous researches in the literature

section of the paper? What is the author’s stand on this? Does the author present that

there is a lack of research in the topic considered?

4. What research design did the author use in the paper? How accurate is the sampling, the

intervention, or the outcome? Are the measurements used valid and reliable? Is the data

analysis accurate? How relevant is this to the problems asked? How valid or logical are

the conclusions?

5. How does the author structure the arguments in the paper? And how related are these

arguments and the corresponding results to your research topic? In what ways does this

contribute to your understanding of your own problem? Are there limitations? Strengths?

As you go through literature selection, keep in mind the following, too: What do other

researches or literatures say about this material you are reviewing? Do you find them

contrasting as to the arguments and results? Or do they support or affirm each other’s

results and conclusions, and to what extent?

Because you are expected to review about 20 to 30 materials, it is definite that you go about

hundreds of literatures before settling to that minimum number. Given this heavy requirement,
you might think it is impossible to finish the literature search. Remember, you are not halfway

done yet. This is just the beginning.

So to make it relatively easier, you do the following: read articles you find easy to

understand first; scan the said material for key arguments, and then do an in-depth reading of

the said material by answering the questions above; and decide whether this material is of great

relevance to your topic. Do you have a similarity in terms of the problem or issue? How about

when it comes to your variables, theory, or sample? Or do you think that the material doesn’t

reflect the relevance to your problem, variables, theory, sample, or even locale? If it is the latter,

then you need to do another literature search. Once you have seen related literature, check the

materials cited by the author, as these might be related to your paper to a certain extent.

Defining the Variables and Terms

While doing topic selection and literature search, you will come across several problems

or issues addressed by them. As you have learned in module 2 (research variables), these

problems or arguments are stated in such a way that they reflect the main concepts, variables,

and indicators studied. So it is but fitting that you are also able to identify the different variables

of your own research as you narrow down your topic or identify your fundamental problem.

Why is it important to define your variables? Defining these terms is crucial in the study,

as this would help you in narrowing down your topic, which would eventually aid you in selecting

literatures to review. As you search, research, and review materials, your definitions may change.

This is part of making the parameters of the study clear and precise. These parameters include

the scope of the study, who or what is involved, what data to gather, where to gather and how
to gather, and what methods to use and statistical tests to employ. In this case, you are making

an abstract idea a very concrete one. Defining your variables coincides with identifying the

measurement of your variables, and this must be considered as well.

So how do you define your variables? There are two types of definitions: lexical (or

conceptual) and operational. Lexical definitions are according to authoritative sources, and

operational ones are based on how the term is or will be used in your study.

➢ Defining the variables sets the parameters of the study. It is the most important
thing to do in starting out a research project, as it gives the directions of the paper.

Illustrating and Explaining the Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

The theoretical or conceptual framework is as important as the other sections of your

paper. In the process of topic and literature selection, you have also come across various

theoretical or conceptual frames. This should strengthen your knowledge of theory based on

your class discussions.

A theory is a statement of how facts are related. It is a system of ideas intended to explain

a specific phenomenon. Given this, it becomes the bases of the conduct of research from

literature review to hypothesis writing and to data treatment and analysis. Your theory,

therefore, becomes your primary guide in the whole research process. The relationship between

and among your variables is presented in the theoretical or conceptual framework. Once you lose

track of the basic premises of your theory, you will definitely be confused about the directions of

the paper.
 How do you write this section of your paper then? Usually, you start by stating the theory

and its proponents. After which, you discuss the basic premises of the theory. What are its

fundamentals arguments? Last, you contextualize the theory by relating it with the current

problems of your own research. How will the theory guide your study? How is it related to the

objectives of your paper?

➢ The theoretical or conceptual framework serves as the guide of the researcher in

conducting the quantitative analysis of a phenomenon. Together with the
literature review, they provide the definitions of the variables used in the study.
 Activity #4: Go Online
Name: _________________________________ Score: _____________________
Strand/Section: __________________________ Date: ______________________

Directions: Do as directed.
1. Check the following research, and identify the five requisites in selecting a material to be

reviewed for your study.

Marasigan, A.C. and A.A. Espinosa. “Modified useful-learning approach: Effects on

students’ achievement and conceptual understanding in chemistry.” Journal of Education
Research and Behavioral Sciences 2, no. 11 (2013): 206-228.
http://apexjournal.org/jerbs/archive/2013/Nov/abstract/Marasigan%20and%20Espinosa.htm
(accessed 8 October 2015)
2. Using the same journal article, determine the paper’s variables and its indicators. How did

the authors define these variables or terms? Did they use lexical or operational definitions, or

both?

3. Extend your Knowledge.

a. Visit https://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/litreview.php. This will guide you

further in writing your literature review.

b. Download the following supplementary material in writing the literature review:

https://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/sites/default/files/LitReview.pdf

(All Web sites were accessed on 8 October 2015)

 Quiz # 4
Name: ____________________________________ Score: ____________________
Strand/Section: _____________________________ Date: ____________________

Directions: Read the following statements carefully. Write TRUE if the statement is correct or

FALSE if it is incorrect in the blank provided.

_________ 1. A survey of review of related literature and studies is very important because such

reviewed literature and studies serve as a foundation of the proposed study.

_________ 2. The first step in literature review is to identify the research topic.

_________ 3. Literature encompasses books, periodicals, journals, articles, and other materials

written by unknown persons, and therefore includes researches and studies.

_________ 4. A review of the relevant literature is needed to establish gaps, which are the bases

of the significance of the research paper.

_________ 5. An undergraduate who is doing a thesis should review about 20 to 75 materials.

Congratulations for completing module 4!