Selecting and Synthesizing

Information from Relevant Literature

WEEK 5
Definition of the Literature Review
Other previous researches related to the study currently
conducted by a researcher should be put into consideration.
When they are summarized comprehensively, this makes the
process of literature review. As cited from Bloomsburg
University of Pennsylvania (2020), literature review requires for
a survey of scholarly articles, books, and other sources which
will later be enumerated, summarized, and evaluated in
order to form a concrete basis and support for the current
study. When it is done, the selected literature may appear on
various sections of the study such as in the introduction,
related literature section, and the discussion of results.
Purposes of Reviewing a Literature
The following are the purposes of literature review
(University of South Carolina Library, 2020):

1. It provides the researcher a clear understanding of the

study to be investigated. Through literature review, the
researcher can boost his/her confidence by clearly
understanding the phenomenon and be able to clarify
essential variables of the study.
2. It justifies the need for conducting the study. Review of
literature allows the researcher to identify the existing
gaps in knowledge. Thus, further investigation to be
conducted by the researcher will be justified.
3. It serves as the basis for establishing concepts presented
in the study. Reviewing literature relevant to the current
study of the researcher enables him/her to substantiate
his/her work. Concepts presented from the study which
are supported by literature can make the work of the
researcher more credible.
Selecting the Literature for a Study
Once the researcher has a clear problem as well as a
rationale for conducting a study, he/she may now begin
selecting literature such as theories, conceptual framework,
and related studies that will serve as the foundation of the
work. In selecting the literature for a study, the following
questions should be considered:
1. Can this literature help me clearly present the delimitation
of my study?
2. Can this literature give me insights to present properly
essential variables of my study?
3. Is this literature up-to-date?
4. Does this literature provide perceptive and accurate
results and conclusions?
5. Does this literature present contrasting ideas which can be
used in identifying research gaps?

Conducting a Review of Literature

When the researcher is about to engage himself/herself
in doing literature review, he/she must do it in a systematic
procedure so as to arrive with a comprehensive output
which can later be used in substantiating the work. Boza
(2015) of University of California presents six steps in
conducting a literature review. These steps are as follows:

1. Decide on the area of research. The first step always

begins with the clear problem in mind of the researcher.
He/she must clearly know the topic as well as the rationale of
the study to be conducted. This will allow the researcher to
focus on articles and books that are relevant and can help
him/her substantiate the work.

2. Search for the literature. In searching for the literature

which can be used for a study, the researcher may utilize
printed materials and references which can normally be
found in the libraries. On the other hand, online sources,
which also offer scholarly articles and books, must likewise be
considered for these can make the researcher saves more
time.

3. Find relevant excerpts in books and articles. Reading the

abstract of a scholarly work will help the researcher
determine whether it is relevant or not to the study under
investigation. Meanwhile, other sections of a scholarly source
as in articles and books can also be skimmed in order to get
the excerpts of important data which can be used as bases
of the study. Definition of terms, prevalent claims, findings,
and conclusions are some of those which the researcher
should observe and read carefully. Further, employing
different levels and types of reading can help the researcher
to scrutinize efficiently the data and information presented
from a reference. Wilson (1990) identified four types of
reading. These are as follows:
• Elementary reading. This type of reading pertains to
word-recognition type of reading wherein sentences
are literally comprehended.
• Systematic reading. This type of reading employs
skimming strategy wherein the researcher-reader may
focus on the highlighted terms in the sample source
manuscript. Similarly, he/she may also look into the title
of the sample and will try to see if similar variables of the
current study are presented. If yes, he/she may
consider the sample as relevant to his/her own work.
• Analytic reading. This type of reading requires the
researcher-reader to break the whole scholarly work
into parts for better understanding. In addition, it may
also observe here that the researcher-reader
establishes connection with the author by asking the
5Ws and 1H questions through annotation. Use of a
dictionary for concept clarification is also often
considered in this type of reading. The notes made from
the analysis are then synthesized and will serve as an
output.
• Comparative reading. This type of reading considers
two or more scholarly works which will be analyzed for
comparing-contrasting purposes. Here, the various
viewpoints of the authors regarding the particular
concepts and principles will be carefully observed. The
generalized summary of the analysis from this type of
reading then serves as an output.
4. Code the literature. Categorizing the themes of the
concepts found in different literature must be done for better
analysis and evaluation. Themes can be categorized from
the similarities to the differences found among those relevant
works. Meanwhile, tools for reading and reviewing should
also be considered by the researcher in order to save more
time since these allow him/her to easily revisit the concepts
that may be a help in the process of literature review. Two of
the commonly used tools for reading and review purposes
are as follows:
• Highlighting. This tool uses marks and symbols that will
help the researcher to easily revisit the important ideas
found in a scholarly work. This can also aid the
researcher to easily distinguish the similarities and
differences found in various sources.
• Annotation. This tool uses words, phrases, and sentences
which serve as written remarks of the researcher
reflecting his/her understanding and questions
regarding the scholarly work.
5. Create conceptual schema. After coding the concepts
perceived to be important by the researcher in the conduct
of the study, he/she may then organize them in order to see
in a wider perspective the relevance, including their
similarities and differences, to the current work. The
researcher may utilize a literature review synthesis matrix to
better see how the gathered data from literature review will
be presented in the study. As cited from Ashford University
(2020), synthesis matrix refers to a table used for organizing
important ideas found in the literature.
This matrix further allows the researcher to see
overlapping ideas among the authors. Here below is an
example of a synthesis matrix:
6. Begin writing literature review. With a complete vision of
necessary data that came from reading and reviewing
literature, the researcher may now begin the draft of the
manuscript for review of the related literature section. He/she
must not forget to cite the author of any data that will be
used for the study. The use of transitional words will also be
helpful in order to arrange ideas accordingly (e.g., the use of
“similarly” to present that ideas have in common).
Example of literature review presented in a research
 manuscript entitled, Emojiology: A Study of Functions of
Emojis in the Virtual Community (Tabernero, 2020):

ACTIVITY NO 1
Select two (2) relevant literature from either an
academic printed reference or an academic online source
which can be used for your study of interest. Use the
literature review synthesis matrix to present important data.
Copy the table and supply the corresponding/needed
information. Write your answers on a piece of paper.
 Cites Related Literature Using
Standard Style
WEEK 6
Types of Plagiarism

Do you have a similar experience with Nonoy? Not that

a skeleton has risen from the grave but on copying
something whether intentional or unintentional from others'
work and making it as your own? We call this plagiarism.
Even though this may sound so simple, but to tell you,
plagiarism is a serious academic matter (Shahabuddin,
2003). Some call it an intellectual robbery wherein you rob
others' work (Bahadori & Hoseinpourfard, 2012). Well, very
serious isn’t it? But do not worry, we can overcome those
academic mistakes.
To properly cite your sources, you need to learn first the
types of plagiarism. Plagiarism is often committed when you
use words and ideas without making credit to the person
who formulated it, making those words and ideas your own
(Sulaiman, 2018).
Types of Plagiarism:
1. Direct Plagiarism. This type of plagiarism is committed
when you copy word-forword a section of others’ works
without quotation marks (Roig, 2002).
Example
The stage of dialogue was the action of conversation.
On this manner, the incident was immediately addressed
and effects were identified. from the research titled, “The Die
is Cast: Experiences of Novice Teachers in Handling Verbal
Bullying Incidents in a Middle School” written by Dexter V.
Fernandez, MAED. and Arnel T. Sicat, Ph.D.

This is the proper way of citing a direct quotation.

“The stage of dialogue was the action of conversation.
On this manner, the incident was immediately addressed
and effects were identified”.

2. Self-Plagiarism. This plagiarism is often committed when

you mix your previous works to come up with new article
without proper citation and permission to the teacher you
previously submitted the work (Helgesson & Eriksson, 2014;
Plagiarism.org, 2011).

Example

3. It is committed when you take phrases from a source

without using quotation marks or citation; thus, you just find
synonyms to the authors’ words while keeping the same
though as it is in the original (Roka, 2017).
4. Accidental Plagiarism. This is committed when
unintentionally neglected to cite a source or quoted by
using similar words or sentence structure. This can be
avoided through responsible writing and running your work in
an initial plagiarism test available in internet (Learning
Services Writing Center, 2018).
Proper Paraphrasing

Is there anything wrong with the action of Nonoy? Well,

he misinterpreted what his Nanay told him. He thought that
doing something productive was the same as doing what he
liked the most. If you are going to paraphrase what his
Nanay told him, would you think he might understand it? Let
us do paraphrasing!
The big question now is how to paraphrase? There is no
perfect way of paraphrasing a sentence or paragraph. It is
because it will depend on the manner you understand what
you have read. So, what you need is a better understanding.
Below is the suggested way for you to come up with good
paraphrasing.
Five (5) Ways to Paraphrase
1. Take time to read. Careful reading of the text enables you
to grasp the meaning of the sentence you are going to
paraphrase. It is recommended to read it three times or even
more. This is to give you enough time to comprehend the
meaning of what you are reading (University of New
England, 2020).
2. Take note of the key points. This is done through
highlighting or listing the points or ideas presented in the text
that you are reading. Through this, you will see the things that
the author wanted to impart in his or her write ups. However,
for you as a reader, those will also be the bases on how you
will explain the ideas that were presented (Chi & Nguyen,
2017).
3. Rewrite what you have read but use your own words.
Rewriting what you have read does not mean you will just
copy it. Nevertheless, you are going to write what you have
read based from what you have understood from it.
However, you need to be careful not to eliminate the ideas
of what you have paraphrased (Oshima, 1999).
4. Compare what you have written with the original text.
Through this, you may be able to see the similarities and
difference between the original text and what you have
paraphrased. You need to remember that the paraphrased
sentence or paragraph has structural difference from the
original even the choice of words. However, the thought
presented in the original text must not be different from the
paraphrased text.
5. Make citation. There are so many citation styles available
to you. But, always refer back to what is prescribed to you by
the organization or institution you are writing. If they prescribe
you to use a particular citation style, then you need to follow
that
standard. For example, many colleges and universities in the
Philippines use American Psychological Association (APA) 6th
edition citation style. On the other hand, in the Department
of Education (DepEd), they use DepEd Manual of Style and
Chicago Manual of Style. Let us paraphrase these:

Original
The occurrence of verbal bullying was a typical scenario in
middle school. This kind of abuse was commonly committed
by students towards their peers.

Paraphrase
Verbal bullying is common in high school. Students usually
commit this towards their classmates.

Another example

Original
The interview was directed to the five (5) novice teachers
who were identified through criterion sampling.
Paraphrase
Five new teachers are chosen to be participants through
criterion sampling.

Activity No. 1
Read and paraphrase the following statements. Write your
answers on a piece of paper.

1. Flu symptoms include nasal congestion and fever.

2. He needs to throw a lot of things.
3. This brand has been preferred by most professional
plumbers.
4. This product can breakdown excess body fat, thus help in
shedding some pounds.
5. Uploading a Youtube video can help your business be
exposed even further to the online.

APA Citation: In-text and Reference

Citation

Have you ever heard the APA? It is neither a yoga style

nor a Filipino translation of cone. Like Bok, you have
mistakenly interpreted it as such. But anyway, the acronym
stands for the American Psychological Association citation
style. I am sure you have heard this during your junior high
school years. This lesson will have an in-depth discussion on
this citation style and in the end, you will have the skill in using
it in your research.
There are two (2) things that you need to remember in using
APA. First, it is used as an in-text citation and second, it is
used in reference citation.
Let us begin on in-text citation.

The in-text citation is a reference citation that is made

within the body of the text or essay (Waikato Institute of
Technology, 2010). The main question now is when are we
going to use in-text citation?
Practically, we use in-text citations every time we
quote, summarize, and paraphrase statements, information,
and ideas that came from others. It is a scholarly
acknowledgment through giving credit who stipulated the
ideas and concepts.

In-text citation with single author used in the beginning

Fernandez (2020), stressed that proper citation has to be
observed among novice researchers.

In-text citation with single author used at the end

Proper usage of citation styles promotes integrity
among novice researchers (Fernandez, 2020).
How about if the writer wanted to indicate the title of
the source? Of course, you can do it. However, title has to
be in quotation marks.

In-text citation with article title

In Fernandez’s (2020) article, “Plagiarism: Writers’
Crime”, stressed that proper citation has to be observed
among novice researchers.

Another example:
In Fernandez’s (2020) book, “The Secrets of Plagiarism”,
discussed on ways plagiarism can be avoided.

In some cases, the title of book, articles, proceedings,

journal articles and the like are italicized. However, when you
italicized the title, omit the quotation marks.

In-text citation without quotation

 In Fernandez’s (2020) book, The Secrets of Plagiarism,
discussed on ways plagiarism can be avoided.

Can we use citation in the middle?

It is a common practice to see citation at the beginning
or at the end of the referenced statement. However, there
are instances that citation appears in the middle of the
cited statement.
In-text citation in the middle of the statement
Fernandez (2020) attested that citation can be used
only at the beginning and end of the sentence, whereas
Munez (2020) claimed otherwise.
Another example:
Conduct of research enables novice researchers to
deal on practical aspect of education (Fernandez, 2020), as
well as the theoretical foundations of different philosophies.
When do we use “et al.” in our citation? “Et al.” is a
Latin term for “et alia” which means “and others”. This is used
when you have multiple authors. Multiple authorship is
authorship composed of six (6) or more authors. Thus, when
you haveless than six authors, you need to write their
surname. If you use in-text citation at the beginning, just
connect their surname with a comma and “and”. However,
if it is at the end of the statement, you connect the authors’
surname with the use of comma and ampersand.
In-text citation with three (3) authors (beginning)
Fernandez, Munez, and Valencia (2020), attested that
citation can be used only at the beginning and end of the
statement.
In-text citation with three (3) authors (end)
It was attested that citation can be used only at the
beginning and end of the statement (Fernandez, Munez, &
Valencia, 2020).
In-text citation with six (6) or more authors
Fernandez et al. (2020), attested that citation can be
used only at the beginning and end of the statement.
In-text citation with six (6) authors (end)
It was attested that citation can be used only at the
beginning and end of the statement (Fernandez, et al.,
2020). What if you have two or more authors with similar facts
or information? In dealing with this scenario, all of them are
placed on the same parenthesis. However, they are
separated with a semicolon. Likewise, authors’ name has to
be listed in alphabetical order.
Multiple entry with similar information
It was attested that citation can be used only at the
beginning and end of the statement (Fernandez, 2020;
Munez, 2019; Valencia & Montemayor, 2018).
What if the idea that you are going to cite was already
cited by an author? In circumstance like this, it can be done
it two (2) ways.
In-text citation already cited by an author
Montemayor as cited in Fernandez (2020) that citation
can be used only at the beginning and end of the
statement.
Another example:
Montemayor (2001) attested that citation can be used
only at the beginning and end of the statement (as cited in
Pitt, 2020)
How about when you are going to cite a website
article without authorship or organizational author? If you are
going to cite a website article without authorship, you need
to use the webpage title or few words of the title in the
parentheses.
In-text citation using website article without author
“Man in need” (2020), eating healthy foods gives us
more time for our love ones.
Another example:
Eating healthy foods gives us more time for our love
ones (“Man in need,” 2020).
How about page number, are we going to include it?
Many of the in-text citations omit page numbers. However, it
is encouraged to declare even the page number. Aside
from it, this adds credibility to your sources if you are going to
declare it.
In-text citation with page number
Fernandez (2020), eating healthy foods gives us more
time for our love ones (p. 99).
In-text citation using paragraph number
According to Fernandez (2020), eating healthy foods
gives us more time for our love ones (para. 99).
Another example:
It was highlighted that eating healthy foods gives us
more time for our love ones (Fernandez, 2020, para. 99).
After learning how in-text citation is done, let us move
on to reference citation. This provides authority to your
statements by providing your readers' access to those
sources. Likewise, it is an acknowledgment of the information
you have brought out
on your research. Of course, in-text citations need to appear
in the reference section of your paper.
Practically, it is the list of the sources you have cited
throughout your paper. This will provide your readers access
to all the sources you have considered in your research.
Because we have used the APA 6th edition citation style in
your in-text citation, we use also APA 6th edition reference
style in your reference entry. However, this only limited to the
reference citations you will be using on your study. These are
reference citation on books, journals, online sources and
theses and dissertations in single authorship, multiple
authorship, without author and date.
Reference Citation Style
1. Books
Fernandez, D. V. (2020). Quest for happiness. Fern
Publishing Company Press.
If you can notice, the structure of this is the author’s
name (surname, first letter of the name, middle initial) then
followed by a period. After that, the date of publication and
then a period are included. Next is the title of the book
(remember that the whole title is italicized and the first letter
is capitalized). There is an exemption, all proper names are
capitalized. After the title, write the publishing company.
 This citation for thesis or dissertation follows the same
format with books. It starts with the author, date published,
title of the thesis or dissertation. Take note that the title needs
to be italicized. Then, there is parenthesis, inside it is the
description of
what reference is being cited, is it a master’s thesis or
dissertation? Last part is the institution where it is made and
the location of the institution (commonly writers write the
country).

Additional Activity
Examine carefully the APA in-text and reference citations.
Write C if it is correct, W if otherwise. Write your answers on a
piece of paper.
1. (Brandon, 2014)
2. Brandon, K. J. (2014). Principals’ decision making in
discipline policy implementation: The Lutheran schools’
perspective (Eastern Michigan University). Retrieved
from
http://ezproxy.libraries.wright.edu/login?url=http://searc
h.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2014-99050-
132&site=ehostlive& scope=cite
3. (Holmes, Tracy, Painter, and Oestreich, 2015)
4. Holmes, M., Tracy, E. M., Painter, L. L., & Oestreich, T.
(2015). Moving from flipcharts to the flipped classroom:
Using technology driven teaching methods to promote
active learning in foundation and advanced masters
social work courses. Clinical Social Work Journal.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-015- 0521-x
5. (Kio, 2013)
6. (Taguchi and Sykes, 2014)
7. Taguchi, N., & Sykes, J. M. (2014). Technology in
interlanguage pragmatic research and teaching.
Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
8. (Bacharo, 2015)
9. Kio, A. M. (2013). The journey begins: A narrative
inquiry into the mentorship and support of novice
principals (Colorado State University; Vol. 44). Retrieved
from
https://mountainscholar.org/bitstream/handle/10217/7
9040/Donnalley_c
olostate_0053N_11629.pdf?sequence=1
10. Bacharo, U. V. (2015). Job satisfaction and teaching
performance of college faculty. Central Mindanao
College, Bukidnon, Philippines.
 SUMMATIVE TEST
I.DIRECTIONS: Write True if the given statement is correct and
False if not. Write your answers on a piece of paper.
1. Literature review includes collecting and synthesizing ideas
from different scholarly sources.
2. Literature review is used to design the conceptual
framework of one’s study.
3. Relevant literature is used to identify research gaps in a
particular field.
4. Self-plagiarism is committed when unintentionally
neglected to cite a source or quoted by using similar words
or sentence structure.
5. Direct plagiarism is committed when you take phrases
from a source without using quotation marks or citation.
6. Accidental plagiarism can be avoided through
responsible writing and running your work in an initial
plagiarism test available in internet.
7. Accidental plagiarism is committed when you mix your
previous works to come up with new article without proper
citation and permission to the teacher you previously
submitted the work.
II. DIRECTIONS: Read each statement carefully. Write C if the
citation is correct, W if otherwise. Write your answers on a
piece of paper.
8. Ammade, S., Mahmud, M., Jabu, B., & Tahmir, S. (2018).
Integrating technology in English language teaching: Global
experiences and lessons for Indonesia. International Journal
of English Linguistics, 8(6), 107–114.
https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n6p107
9. Johnson, A. P. (2019). Bruner’s learning theory: In Essential
learning theories and their applications. Lanham: Rowman
and Littlefield.
10. Modecki, K. L., Minchin, J., Harbaugh, A. G., Guerra, N.
G., & Runions, K. C. (2014). Bullying Prevalence cross
contexts: A Meta-Analysis Measuring Cyber and Traditional
Bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55(5), 602–611.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.06.007