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Lecture 3
CHAPTER THREE

Formulating a Research Problem

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

REVIEWING THE LITERATURE:
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In this chapter you will learn about:
 The functions of the literature review in research
 How to carry out a literature search
 How to review the selected literature
 How to develop theoretical and conceptual frameworks
 How to write a literature review
THE PLACE OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW IN RESEARCH

One of the essential preliminary tasks when you undertake a research study is to go through
the existing literature in order to acquaint yourself with the available body of knowledge in
your area of interest. Reviewing the literature can be time consuming, daunting and frustrating,
but it is also rewarding.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

In summary, a literature review has the following functions:
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It provides a theoretical background to your study.

It helps you establish the links between what you are proposing
to examine and what has already been studied.

It enables you to show how your findings have contributed to

the existing body of knowledge in your profession

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

In relation to your own study, the literature review can help in four ways. It can:
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bring clarity
and focus to
your
research
problem

improve
LR in broaden
your
your
research
methodology
your own knowledge
base in your
research
study area

contextualise
your findings.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

Bringing clarity and focus to your research problem
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The process of reviewing the literature helps you to understand the subject area
better and thus helps you to conceptualise your research problem clearly and
precisely and makes it more relevant to your field of enquiry.

When you do literature review you will find out the followings:

1. Learn what aspects of your subject area have been examined by others, what they have
found out about these aspects.

2. what gaps they have identified and what suggestions they have made for further research.

3. It will help you to focus your study on areas where there are gaps in the existing body of
knowledge, thereby enhancing its relevance.
By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham
IMPROVING YOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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Going through the literature acquaints you with the methodologies that have been
used by others to find answers to research questions similar to the one you are
investigating.
When you do literature review you will find out the followings about the method that you are
intend to use:
1. Literature review tells you if others have used procedures and methods similar to the ones
that you are proposing, which procedures and methods have worked well for them and what
problems they have faced with them.

2. By becoming aware of any problems and pitfalls, you will be better positioned to select a
methodology that is capable of providing valid answers to your research question.
3. Increase your confidence in the methodology you plan to use and will equip you to defend its
use.
By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham
BROADENING YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE IN YOUR RESEARCH AREA
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The most important function of the literature review is to ensure you read widely
around the subject area in which you intend to conduct your research study
When you do literature review you will find out the followings:
1. You know what other researchers have found in regard to the same or similar questions

2. You know what theories have been put forward

3. You know what gaps exist in the relevant body of knowledge

When you undertake a research project for a

higher degree (e.g. an MA or a PhD) you are
expected to be an expert in your area of
research. A thorough literature review helps
you to fulfil this expectation
By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham
ENABLING YOU TO CONTEXTUALISE YOUR FINDINGS
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Obtaining answers to your research questions is comparatively easy: the difficult
part is examining how your findings fit into the existing body of knowledge
When you do literature review you will find out the followings:
1. How do answers to your research questions compare with what others have found?

2. What contribution have you been able to make to the existing body of knowledge?

3. How are your findings different from those of others?

It is important to place
your findings in the
context of what is already
known in your field of
enquiry.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

HOW TO REVIEW THE LITERATURE
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If you do not have a specific research problem, you should review the literature in
your broad area of interest with the aim of gradually narrowing it down to what
you want to find out about. After that the literature review should be focused
around your research problem. There is a danger in reviewing the literature
without having a reasonably specific idea of what you want to study.

There are four steps involved in conducting a literature review:

1. Searching for the existing literature in your area of study.

2. Reviewing the selected literature.
3. Developing a theoretical framework.
4. Developing a conceptual framework.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

SEARCHING FOR THE EXISTING LITERATURE
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To search effectively for the literature in your field of enquiry, it is imperative that
you have at least some idea of the broad subject area and of the problem you wish
to investigate, in order to set parameters for your search. Next, compile a
bibliography for this broad area. There are three sources that you can use to
prepare a bibliography:

Sources
for LR

Books Journals Internet

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham
 Books
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Though books are a central part of any bibliography, they have their
disadvantages as well as advantages.

The main advantage is that the material published in books is usually important and of good
quality, and the findings are ‘integrated with other research to form a coherent body of
knowledge

The main disadvantage is that the material is not completely up to date, as it can take a few
years between the completion of a work and its publication in the form of a book.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

 Journals
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You need to go through the journals relating to your research in a similar manner.
Journals provide you with the most up-to-date information, even though there is
often a gap of two to three years between the completion of a research project and
its publication in a journal.

INTERNET

In almost every academic discipline and professional field, the Internet has become an
important tool for finding published literature. Through an Internet search you can identify
published material in books, journals and other sources with immense ease and speed.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

HOW TO READ A SCIENTIFIC PAPER, WHITE PAPER, AND PATENT
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A scientific paper gives the idea about the Science/Engineering behind the
research topic. It helps the reader to understand the logic/methodology of the
research subject. Therefore there is a need to read a scientific paper carefully and
with full attention.
A scientific paper helps to understand the following things:

• What has already been discovered in research domain?

• What questions remain unanswered?
• How the experiments are conducted?
• What is the time duration to conduct that experiment?
• Which tools/equipment’s needed to conduct the experiment?
• Details about how to perform the experiments?

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

In scientific research paper, the research article is divided into different sections
such as: 14

• TITLE
• ABSTRACT
• INTRODUCTION These sections serve a
• LITERATURE SURVEY unique purpose, which
• METHODOLOGY help researcher to
• BLOCK SCHEMATIC understand research
• HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE USED work correctly. Now
• EXPERIMENTATION we will see how to
• RESULTS read these sections one
• DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION by one.
• FUTURE SCOPE
• REFERENCES

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

READING ABSTRACT
The summary of the paper is given in the abstract. At initial stage, reading of the 15
abstract gives you the overall idea of the research paper. After reading abstract,
one can decide whether the research paper is in the selected domain or not. If the
research domain matches with the abstract, then may one can read the other
details of paper.

READING INTRODUCTION

Background information about research paper is given in the introduction part of the research
paper. It sets the background for the research work to be carried out. The introduction part is
based on the citations and can be used by the researcher for additional background reading.
The introduction gives the basic idea and significance of the topic.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

READING LITERATURE SURVEY
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A literature survey gives the idea about the research work about the other authors/
researchers have already carried out.

READING METHODOLOGY USED IN THE RESEARCH PAPER

The methodology section gives the technical details of how the experimentation was carried out.
It also talks about data set used for experimentation.

UNDERSTANDING THE BLOCK SCHEMATIC OF THE SYSTEM

The pictorial view of the technique/methodology used is given by the block schematic. It helps
to understand the methodology used in the paper in an easy way.

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

KNOWING HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE USED IN THE PAPER
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The types of hardware tools/kits used in the experimentation is given in this
section. The results will vary as the hardware changes. Therefore, mentioning the
specifications of Hardware is very important.

EXPERIMENTATION DONE IN THE RESEARCH PAPER

How the experimentation is carried out is given in the experimentation section. The
experimental or surrounding conditions to be considered are also important, while performing
the experimentation. The sequence of steps used in the experimentation is also very important.

CHECKING RESULTS IN THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PAPER

The results obtained after the experimentation are given in the result section. In this, the results
can be given in tabular or graphical formats.
By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham
Understanding and Noting Down Discussion and Conclusion from the Scientific
Research Paper 18
In the discussion section, the author explains about how the results are obtained. Also, the
results obtained by the author are compared with other results and the comparison is discussed.
Actually, the interpretation of results are given in the discussion section.

KNOWING THE FUTURE SCOPE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Based on the discussion and conclusion points, there are always chances of improvement,
proposed by the researcher. These improvement raises the challenges for the further research
study.

SCANNING THE REFERENCES FOR THE PAST WORK DONE

By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham

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By: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Adham