Literature Review

Politeknik Negeri Semarang

2018
 Presentation Overview
What is the literature review
Why conduct one
How to conduct a literature review
The literature review process
 Finding the literature
 Processing the literature
 Writing the review
 Managing the process
The Literature Review — What?
• ―… the use of ideas in the literature to justify the
particular approach to the topic, the selection of
methods, and demonstration that this research
contributes something new‖ (Hart, 1999, p. 1)
• ―… explain how one piece of research builds on
another‖ (Shaw, 1995, p. 326)
• ―… creates a firm foundation for devancing
knowledge‖ (Webster & Watson, 2002, p. 13)
 Definition of a Literature Review

• A literature review
 surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources
(e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant
to a particular issue, area of research, or theory.

 provides a short description and critical evaluation of

work critical to the topic.

 offers an overview of significant literature published

on a topic.

(Lyons, 2005)
 What is a Literature Review?
• an overview of previous research on your
research topic
• a comprehensive review of all published
research that is relevant to your proposed
investigation and guided by your research
objectives
 Questions to Keep in Mind:
• What is known about the subject?
• Are there any gaps in the knowledge of the subject?
• Have areas of further study been identified by other researchers that
you may want to consider?
• Who are the significant research personalities in this area?
• Is there consensus about the topic?
• What aspects have generated significant debate on the topic?
• What methods or problems were identified by others studying in the
field and how might they impact your research?
• What is the most productive methodology for your research based on
the literature you have reviewed?
• What is the current status of research in this area?
• What sources of information or data were identified that might be
useful to you?
(from http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/litrev.html)
Literature Reviews are Conducted For
Various Reasons:

1. For a review paper

2. For the introduction (and discussion) of a

research paper, masters thesis or dissertation

3. To embark on a new area of research

4. For a research proposal

(Burge, 2005)
 The Literature Review — Why?
The short answer: support ―research‖

• Enhance the scientific community’s current

understanding of a phenomenon, or
contribute to enhance the body of
knowledge (BoK)
• Communicate what was discovered in the
new study to the scientific community
 The Literature Review — Why?
The long answer:
• Help the researcher understand the existing body of knowledge
– Where excess of research exists
– Where new research is needed
• Provide a solid theoretical foundation for the proposed study
• Substantiate the presence of the research problem
• Justify the proposed study as one that contributes something new to
the BoK
• Develop a validated framework for the study
– Research questions
– Goals
– Approach and Methodology
 Conducting a literature review
will help you:
• Determine if proposed research is actually needed.
 Even if similar research published, researchers might
suggest a need for similar studies or replication.

• Narrow down a problem.

 It can be overwhelming getting into the literature of a field of
study. A literature review can help you understand where
you need to focus your efforts.

• Generate hypotheses or questions for further studies.

(Mauch & Birch, 2003)
 Conducting a literature review
will give you:
• Background knowledge of the field of inquiry
 Facts
 Eminent scholars
 Parameters of the field
 The most important ideas, theories, questions and
hypotheses.

• Knowledge of the methodologies common to the

field and a feeling for their usefulness and
appropriateness in various settings.
(Mauch & Birch, 2003)
 Purpose of a Literature Review
• Convey the depth and breadth of research that
has been accomplished on a subject
• Supports the motivation and significance of the
research
• Identify important issues and link to hypotheses
• Identify key areas of missing knowledge
• Describe methodologies used
• Describe existing data sets
• Link proposed research to previous and ongoing
research efforts -- provide context
 Purpose of a Lit Review
• Helps you learn everything about your
subject
• Ensures that you are not ―reinventing the
wheel‖
• Helps you learn about the people in the
field (important for networking)
 11 points to consider (From Robert Smith,
in his book Graduate Research: A Guide for Students
in the Sciences (ISI Press, 1984)
• Can it be enthusiastically pursued?
• Can interest be sustained by it?
• Is the problem solvable?
• Is it worth doing?
• Will it lead to other research problems?
• Is it manageable in size?
 11 points (continued)
• What is the potential for making an original
contribution to the literature in the field?
• If the problem is solved, will the results be
reviewed well by scholars in your field?
• Are you, or will you become, competent to
solve it?
• By solving it, will you have demonstrated
independent skills in your discipline?
• Will the necessary research prepare you in
an area of demand or promise for the
future?
 Where to start?
• Develop a list of Snow
Glaciers/ice sheets
keywords that Climate change
describe your interest Arctic
in a particular Pacific Northwest
Water resources
research area Sea level rise
Socio-economic impacts
Remote sensing
Sensor webs
 Outline of Review Process
• Formulate a problem - which topic or field is being
examined and what are its component issues?

• Search the literature for materials relevant to the

subject being explored.
 searching the literature involves reading and
refining your problem

• Evaluate the data - determine which literature makes a

significant contribution to the understanding of the topic

• Analyze and interpret - discuss the findings and

conclusions of pertinent literature

• Format and create bibliography

(Lyons, 2005)
 Tips on Formulating a
Problem
• Select a topic you are interested in
 You want to be fascinated throughout the process and less likely to lose
motivation.

• Choose a topic with a feasible focus.

 Keep the focus clear and defined and it will be easier to complete than
something huge like "headaches―

• Get Help - get it early and often.

 Solicit opinions before you begin, review drafts once start them

• You may want to start out with a general idea, review the literature
of that area, and then refine your problem based on what you have
found.

(Green, Johnson, & Adams, 2006)

 The “Literature” in the Review

• The literature included can be any format

appropriate to your topic.

• Don’t restrict yourself to journal articles.

 Look in books – you’ll need to know and cite the work of
major contributors to the field. A lot of this in books,
especially annual reviews
 Important Information can be found in reports,
conference proceedings, and other non-journal sources.
Search government websites and associations related
to your topic.

• Look at library subject guides in your area to

find the key databases additional resources
The Literature Review — How?
The ―systems‖ approach
Sequential, methodological steps
 How to do a Literature Review
• Define the research topic
• Compile and prioritize a list of keywords
• Identify sources of information
• Read, evaluate, analyze all the works
• Discuss findings and conclusions with others -- important
for understanding context, gaps in previous research
• Divide works into supportive and antithetical positions
• Identify relationships between works in the literature
• Articulate how these apply to your research
 Identify Resources
• Books
• Journals
• Conference Papers
• Dissertations
• Bibliographies
• Maps
• Internet
• Indexes/Abstracts Printed
• Electronic Databases
• Government publications
• Theses
• Interviews and other unpublished research
 Assessment
• Assess the quality of the information source:
– refereed journal article?
– conference proceedings?
– corporate report?
• Assess the standing of the author
– academic?
– journalist?
– government employee?
– is the work in their major field of research?
 Evaluate the Information
• determine the facts/points of view
• examine new findings
• question assumptions
• determine if methodology is appropriate
• are the objectives clearly outlined
• do the conclusions logically follow from the
objectives?
• identify classic, ―landmark‖ articles
 Continually Evaluate Your
Research Process
• No relevant information?
– Need to reconsider your search strategy
– New keywords
– Explore other disciplines for information
• Too many irrelevant items?
– Re-evaluate keywords
– Narrow scope of your search
• Document your search strategy
– Keep multiple lists of keywords
– Indicate what works, what doesn’t
 Literature Review Inputs
• Current
– Nature of the topic being researched
– Use of the literature
• Applicable
– To the topic
– For the intended use
• Peer-reviewed
– Not all ―peer-reviewed‖ equal
– Journals vs. conference proceedings vs. books
 Finding the Literature
• Start (but don’t stop) with keyword searches
– Keywords change over the years
– ―Buzzwords‖ especially volatile
• Proceed to ―searching‖
– Reference search
– Author search
– Terms and concepts
 Literature Search
• Perform a preliminary search of the literature.
 Search lit to see what other work in the area of interest has
already been published.
− Gives a preview of the number of articles available on the topic.
− If your topic is already written about, select a slightly different topic or
modify the focus of the objective.
 Recent journal issues in areas central to the topic may provide
leads to content that should be in the review.
− Consult Web of Science’s Journal Citation Index for an idea of the most
important journals in the field
 Develop a list of subject headings that relate to themes of
interest
 Literature Search

 Search across multiple databases and information resources.

− It’s not adequate to use Medline as your one and only resource

 Read the literature throughout the search process.

− What you read will guide your subsequent searches and refine your
topic.

 Your search should help refine the topic and objective of the
overview being written.
 Getting the Information
• Download full text from the Internet
• University library
• Interlibrary loan
• Government offices
• Specialty libraries
 Information Management
• Select a strategy for organizing information
– Notecards (primitive but it works!)
– List of references on a computer
– Bibliographic database software (EndNote)
• Develop good lit search habits
– Start immediately
– Keep searches up to date
– Summarize papers that you read
 Think ahead

• The more one learns about a subject, the more questions

come to mind.
• Keep a list of questions and hypotheses that come to your
mind or that are mentioned in what you read.
 These questions will help guide you when you are
constructing your review

 The questions will also guide you in discussing the

implications of your own findings and the additional
research directions your work supports or suggests.
(Mauch & Birch, 2003)
 Save your references
• Keep a record of the literature you collect

• Record where and when you retrieved the information

• Use a citation manager program like RefWorks

or EndNote

• Better to record too many references than

have to return a few weeks or months hence
and spend hours trying to relocate documents
 Data Evaluation:
Selecting literature
• Read widely
• When you read for your literature review, you are actually
doing two things at the same time:
1. Trying to define your research problem: finding a gap, asking a
question, continuing previous research, counter-claiming
2. Trying to read every source relevant to your research problem

• It is usually impossible to do the latter

− you will need to identify the most relevant and
significant works and focus on them.

(Asian Institute of Technology)

 Data Evaluation:
Selecting Literature

• As you define your problem you will more easily be able to

decide what to read and what to ignore.
– Before you define your problem, hundreds of sources will seem
relevant.
– However, you cannot define your problem until you read around
your research area.
– This seems a vicious circle, but what should happen is that as you
read you define your problem, and as you define your problem you
will more easily be able to decide what to read and what to ignore.

(Asian Institute of Technology)

 How To Read the Material

• Reading for the big picture

Read the easier works first

Skim the document and identify major concepts

After you have a broad understanding of the

10 to 15 papers, you can start to see
patterns:
− Groups of scientists argue or disagree with other groups.
For example, Some researchers think x causes y, others that
x is only a moderating variable

(Carroll, 2006)
 Narrow your focus
• Start from new material to old, general to specific
 starting with general topic will provide leads to specific areas of interest and help
develop understanding for the interrelationships of research

 Note quality of journal, output of author

• As you read and become more informed on the topic, you will
probably need to go back and do more focused searches

• Think, analyze, and weed out

• Arrange to spend some review time with an experienced researcher in

the field of study to get feedback and to talk through any problems
encountered
(Mauch & Birch, 1993)
 Read the Material Closer
• Step 1: read the abstract
 Decide whether to read the article in detail
• Step 2: read introduction
 It explains why the study is important
 It provides review and evaluation of relevant literature
• Step 3: read Method with a close, critical eye
 Focus on participants, measures, procedures
• Step 4: Evaluate results
 Do the conclusions seem logical
 Can you detect any bias on the part of the researcher?
• Step 5: Take discussion with a grain of salt
 Edges are smoothed out
 Pay attention to limitations

(Carroll, 2006)
 Analyze the Literature
• Take notes as you read through each paper that will be included in the review

• In the notes include:

 purpose of study reviewed
 synopsis of content
 research design or methods used in study
 brief review of findings

• Once notes complete organize common themes together. Some people do this in
a word document, others use index cards so they can shuffle them.

• Some people construct a table of info to make it easier to organize their

thoughts.

• As you organize your review, integrate findings elicited from note taking or
table making process.

(Green, Johnson, & Adams, 2006)

Questions To Consider In Your Review

•What do we already know in the immediate area concerned?

•What are the characteristics of the key concepts or the main
factors or variables?
•What are the relationships between these key concepts, factors
or variables?
•What are the existing theories?
•Where are the inconsistencies or other shortcomings in our
knowledge and understanding?
•What views need to be (further) tested?
•What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory or too
limited?
•Why study (further) the research problem?
•What contribution can the present study be expected to make?
•What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory?

(Asian Institute of Technology)

Construct the Literature Review

• In the introduction, explain why the topic is important and give

the reader an idea of where you are going in your paper.

• Group research studies and other types of literature according to

common denominators.
 If you’ve taken notes before, the common themes are
more easily identifiable.
 Some factors used to organize reviews are:
− Conclusions of authors
− Specific purpose
− Objective
− Chronology (this method will give the worst
impression, use only if it really makes sense to your
topic!)

(University of Wisconsin, 2006)

 Construct The Literature Review
•Summarize individual studies or articles
 Use as much or as little detail as each merits according to its
comparative importance in the literature
 Space (length) denotes significance.
 Don’t need to provide a lot of detail about the procedures used in
other studies.
 Most literature reviews only describe the main findings, relevant
methodological issues, and/or major conclusions of other research.

• Discuss major areas of agreement or disagreement

• Tie the study into the current body of lit, make logical
interpretations from the lit reviewed.
 If there is no discussion of the relevance of the overview to other
work in the field, or if there is no interpretation of the literature, it
may signal the author has not thoroughly investigated the topic.
(University of Wisconsin, 2006)
 Organization of the Review
Introduction to the lit review
 Content - what is covered
 Structure - how it is organized
 Boundaries - what is outside of its scope

Body of the Lit Review SECTION 2 ADDITIONAL SECTIONS

SECTION 1 The next most important  Follow the same pattern
The most important topic or a key concept topic or a key concept
 discussed and evaluated  discussed and evaluated
 summarized and related to your research  summarized and related
project to your research project

Conclusion
From each of the section summaries,
 highlight the most relevant points
 relate these back to the need for research
 reiterate what these mean for the research
design

(Golden-Biddle & Locke, 1997)

 An Effective Literature Review

• Places each work in the context of its contribution to the

understanding of the subject under review
• Describes the relationship of each work to the others under
consideration
• Identifies new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps
in, previous research
• Resolves conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous
studies
• Identifies areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of
effort
• Points the way forward for further research
• Places one's original work (in the case of theses or
dissertations) in the context of existing literature

(Lyons, 2005)
 Be accurate and thorough

• Your review acts as a guide of your topic for others.

• Take care to make your review:
 Accurate: e.g., Citations correct, findings
attributed to authors correct.
− Make sure someone can track down
the article and that you have provided
a reliable representation
 Complete: i.e., include all important papers
(not every paper written on the topic).
 Research Tips
• Use the A-Z guide to find key databases and other
resources related to your topic
• Consult with a librarian for resource recommendations and
how to use them.
• Talk to experienced researchers in the field, they can
recommend resources and identify key works and authors
• Look at reviews in completed dissertations and reports
from your program to get an idea of the format and
requirements
• When collecting references, use a citation management
tool like RefWorks or EndNote
 Citation Management Tools
• Managing the references you find and use in your review
will take a significant amount of work

• Using a citation management tool like RefWorks or

EndNote will save you much time and effort
– Organize and store references
– Make in-text citations based on required style (ex. APA)
– Create a list of references based on required style

– http://www.refworks.com/tutorial/
 EndNote
•Similar to RefWorks
 Import citations, searches catalog and PubMed
from within the program
 Has feature (“cite while you write”) that inserts in-text
into your word document

•Distinctions from RefWorks

 Not free
− Buy at discounted student rate
 Not web-based
 Has more output styles than RefWorks (2 times as many)
 Easier to create custom output styles
 “Cite while you write” easier to work with than
Ref Work’s Write-N-Cite
 Other Citation Management Tools
• Zotero
Free Firefox extension

• Connotea
 Open source, aimed at scientists.
 Works with DOI
 Encourages tagging

•Papers
 For Macs
Track the Research Path
A technique for physical and digital
organization of articles
 Literature Review Outputs
• Free of grammatical errors
– Take advantage of the built-in spell and grammar checkers
– Proofread!
• Well-organized
– Sentence level
– Paragraph level
– Subsection level
– Section level
– Outline
• Argument
– Logical
– Consistent
– Compelling
 Managing the Review
• When reading, remember that the literature
is being read purposively
• Keep track of your research
• Know when you’ve completed the review
 Conclusions — Literature Review

• Explanatory and creative

• Demonstrate a full understanding of the
BoK related to the phenomenon under
study
• Demonstrate clear distinctions among
– Opinions
– Theories
– Empirically established facts
 Sources:
• Levy, Y. & Ellis, T.J. (2006). A Systems Approach to
Conduct an Effective Literature Review in Support of
Information Systems Research. Informing Science
Journal, Volume 9, pp 181-212.
• Norlin, A., & Wright, D. 2006. The literature review: the
Hows, Whys and Wherefores. Slide Presentation.
• Anonim. 2010. How To Write A Literature Review,
Alumni Medical Library. Boston University
 References for this module:
Anonim. 2010. How To Write A Literature Review, Alumni Medical
Library. Boston University
• Asian Institute of Technology. Writing up research: Using the literature. Retrieved 1/22/2009, 2009,
from http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21LIT.HTM
• Burge, C., 7.16 Experimental Molecular Biology: Biotechnology II, Spring 2005. (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCouseWare), Retrieved 12/15/2008, from http://ocw.mit.edu.
License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
• Carrol, J., 15.301 Managerial Psychology, Fall 2006. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT
OpenCouseWare). Retrieved 12/15/2008, from http://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-
NC-SA
• Golden-Biddle, K, & Locke, K (1997). Composing Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Green, B. N., Johnson, C. D., & Adams, A. (2006). Writing narrative literature reviews for peer-
reviewed journals: Secrets of the trade. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 5(3), 101-117.
• Lyons, K. (2005). UCSC library - how to write a literature review. Retrieved 1/22/2009, 2009, from
http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/literaturereview.html
• Mauch, J. E., & Birch, J. W. (1993). Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation : A handbook for
students and faculty (3rd , rev. and expand ed.). New York: Marcel Dekker.
• University of Wisconsin. (2006). UW-madison writing center writer's handbook. Retrieved
1/22/2009, 2009, from http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html
Terimakasih
Questions?