PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

QUARTER 3 – WEEK 5

Learning from Others and Reviewing the Literature

MELC:
After going through this module, you are expected to be able to:
1 Selects relevant literature; CS_RS11-IIIfj-1
2 Cites related literature using standard style; CS_RS11-IIIfj-2

What I need to know

The literature review is an important aspect in doing a research. With a wide range of materials to choose
from, the researcher needs to select materials relevant to the study. There are two main ways to do a literature
search which are using the traditional paper approach and electronically, by means of a computer.

What’s new?
Literature review
A literature review provides an overview of what has been written about a specific topic. The review of
literature includes practically all the information and data which are authoritative and relevant to the topic of the
study as in the case of research and similar scholarly undertakings. The literature can cover a range of sources,
namely;
• journal articles • monographs • computerized databases
• conference proceedings • theses and dissertations • empirical studies
• government reports and reports from other bodies • historical records • statistical handbooks
GQs Why do I need to write a literature review?

Importance of Literature review

Reasons why a review is done (Dempster and Hannah 2016);
• To indicate the research that has been conducted in the area before, to ensure that you will not ‘reinventing
the wheel’;
• To demonstrate that you are aware of important and recent studies in the area. This way, you ensure that
you haven’t missed an important study that makes your research idea seem less brilliant that you first
imagines;
• To ensure that you haven’t missed literature detailing a novel way for you to conduct your study, or
pointing you to a data-collection tool that is most appropriate for your study;
• To explain the theoretical background to your proposed research project;
• To demonstrate your ability to critically analyze the literature in your study area. This indicates that your
research idea is based on a good understanding of previous research in the area, and it also demonstrates
your ability to highlight the existing gap or any disagreements in the research area that your study
addresses.
GQs What are the kinds of literature review?

Kinds of Literature Review

• Traditional – referred to as narrative literature review, it provides a quick overview of current studies. It
helps explain why your study is important in the context of the literature, and can also help you identify
areas that need further research;
• Integrative – this review synthesis findings from different approaches. This approach allows for the
integration of qualitative with quantitative studies;
• Syntactic – review synthesis high quality empirical information to answer a given research question.
Conducting a systematic review involves following rigorous, predefined protocols “that minimize bias
and ensure transparency”; and
• Scoping – review involves a broad research question that explores the current evidence base. It can help
inform areas that are appropriate for a systematic review.
GQs How will I know if the literature review I’ve written is good?
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Characteristics of a Good Literature Review
1. Materials must be as recent as possible. This is important because of the changes that are going on.
Sources to be looked into must give information that are attended to the time frame indicated in the
study;
2. Materials must be as objective and unbiased as possible. Avoid data and materials which are extremely
one-sided;
3. Materials must be relevant to the study. Whatever kind of materials is needed to explain or support the
study must have a bearing on the topic; and
4. Materials must not be too few but nor too many. Use your discretion on how much or many to include
but there should be enough materials included for the researcher to be able to offer insights on the study.
The availability of materials will also be a determining factor.

GQs Where can I look for information to include in my literature review?

Types of Sources
Searching for information related to the research being undertaken needs time and much though. Sources can be
classified into the following:
1. Primary sources – publications in which researchers report the results of their studies. Findings are
communicated by the authors directly to the readers. Most materials that fall under this type are journals
which are usually published monthly, quarterly or bi-annually.
2. Secondary sources – publications in which authors describe the work of others. Textbook is a familiar
example of this type. This is encyclopaedias, research reviews, and yearbooks.
General references – other materials you can get information from related to your topic. These
include articles, monographs, books, and other documents found from any sources such as television
news channel and World Wide Web.
Students, remember that in preparing a literature review thus involves:
✓ Searching for reliable, accurate and up-to-date material on the topic or subject;
✓ Reading and summarizing the key points from this literature;
✓ Synthesizing these key idea, theories and concepts into a summary of what is known;
✓ Discussing and evaluating these ideas, theories and concepts;
✓ Identifying particular areas of debate or controversy; and
✓ Preparing the ground for the application of these ideas to new research.

CITING RELATED LITERATURE USING STANDARD STYLE

Research makes use of previous information and add data from statements of experts and computer
databases. For qualitative research, previous study do not only serve as a basis for the current study but more
significantly, information culled from the said sources can support in the process of interpretation and analysis
of data. It is necessary that proper citations are followed.
GQs How will I know the proper format for citing and referencing other studies?

Referencing styles
Here are the styles indicating your sources both in the body of the paper or in the reference section at the end of
your research paper:
• APA is an author/date based style. This means emphasis is placed on the author and the date of a piece
of work to uniquely identify it.
• MLA is most often applied in the arts and humanities, particularly in the USA.
• HARVARD is very similar to APA. It is the most well used referencing style in the UK and Australia,
and it is encouraged for use with the humanities.
• CHICAGO AND TURABIAN are two separate styles but very similar. They are also widely used for
history and economics.

GQs How to write citations and references?

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Ways of Citing Related Literature
1. By author or writer: Example: According to Felipe (2015)…….
2. By topic: Example: It has been found out………… (Felipe 2015).
3. By Chronology – according to the year, the literatures were written, usually from earliest to latest.
Notes to remember:
*Only the major findings, ideas, generalizations, principles, or conclusions in related materials relevant to the
problem should be cited. A material may be quoted if the idea conveyed is so perfectly stated and is not too
long.
*References should be alphabetically arranged at the reference section situated at the end of the paper. The
citation in your text and the reference in your reference section must match perfectly. Use only one referencing
style recommended by your school or your research teacher. Check on the style used to ensure that each
reference is formatted carefully.

FOR PRACTICAL RESEARCH I, WE WILL USE THE

APA STYLE, 7TH EDITION (2020)

APA requires FOUR ELEMENTS of every citation:

Who- Author of content
When- Date content was published
What- Title of content
Where- Publication information. This can be the website you got it from or the journal or book's
publication information.

The following figures are quick reference guide on how to write the references of your literature review:

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ACTIVITY 1: Direction: Write TRUE if the statement is a fact, and FALSE if the statement is incorrect.
1. Literature review is concerned with adding new knowledge.
2. A bibliography is necessary in a literature review.
3. A good literature review uses clear lines of argument.
4. The film refers to a motion picture or movie.
5. Traditional review synthesis findings from different approaches.
ACTIVITY 2. Direction: Choose one of your sources for your literature review of your study and evaluate it
using the characteristics of a good literature review by putting a check mark in every characteristic. If the literature
lacks one of these characteristic, state the reason why the literature does not reflect the characteristic.
_______1. Materials must be as recent as possible. This is important because of the changes that are going on.
Sources to be looked into must give information that are attended to the time frame indicated in the study.
_______ 2. Materials must be as objective and unbiased as possible. Avoid data and materials which are extremely
one-sided.
_______ 3. Materials must be relevant to the study. Whatever kind of materials is needed to explain or support
the study must have a bearing on the topic.
_______ 4. Materials must not be too few but nor too many. There should be enough materials included for the
researcher to be able to offer insights on the study. The availability of materials will also be a determining factor.
ACTIVITY 3. Direction: Using the source you’ve chosen in activity 2, state its relevance to the study
you will conduct.

ACTIVITY 4. Direction: Identify sources of information you will use for your literature review from
journal article and book. You may use the source you’ve chosen in activity 2 if it’s from the either sources
mentioned. Write the proper way of referencing these two source using the 2020 APA Style 7th edition.

Prepared by: Implemented by:

HANNAH ALEXIS M. ASILO KIM RUSSEL O. BORROMEO MYLENE S. PADUL

Special Science Teacher I Special Science Teacher I Teacher I

Reviewed by: Checked by:

CLARESA M. CAÑEDA GEMMA A. CO

Master Teacher II/Mentor Science Dep’t Head – Designate

Concurred by: Approved by:

LORLITA S. RICABLANCA MICHAEL A. REGIS, CE, MM,MAT

Assistant Principal II Secondary School Principal IV

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