Part - 3 - Writing and Presenting Literature Review - 2

Research Design and Methodology
Writing and Presenting

Literature Review
Gebeyehu B. (Dr. of Eng.) Associate Professor

gebeyehu2009@gmail.com
BDU: Bahir Dar Institute of Technology: Computing Faculty

The review of the literatures
• What things are already known – don’t reinvent the wheel – also tells
what is NOT known in the area – in other words, what still needs to
be done.
• The how, the why, the whereof, ….., mean that
• Why conduct a literature Review? If so
• Where do I find the research literature?
• Importance of citations.
• Why and How do I conduct a systematic review?

 To address the suggestions for future research that another researcher has
offered
 To consider how various subpopulations might behave differently in the same
situation, and to apply an existing perspective or explanation to a new situation
2
The review of the literature
• It is defined as a broad, comprehensive, in-depth, systematic, and
critical review of scholarly publications, unpublished scholarly
print materials, audiovisual materials, … on a particular topic,
• How does review of literature related to theory, research, education

and practice
Research
Review of
Education Practice
Literature
Theory
3
Purpose of the review of literature
• The overall purpose of literature review is to discover knowledge

• Research purpose:
o Determines an appropriate research design/method (instruments, data
collection and analysis methods) for answering the research question
o Determines the need for replication of a well designed study or refinement of
a study
• Non research purpose:

o Determines what is known about a subject, concept or problem
o Determines gaps, consistencies & inconsistencies about a subject, concept or
problem
o Discovers unanswered questions about a subject, concept or problem
o Describes strengths & weaknesses of designs, methods of inquiry and
instruments used in earlier works
4
Purpose of the review of literature
• Its purpose: the more one knows the more knowledgeably one can
approach the problems
• Re + view = look again at what others have done in areas that are
similar, though not necessarily identical to, one’s own area of
investigation
• As a researcher, you should know the literature about your topic

very, very well
• Many benefits from reviewing

– Conceptual and
– Empirical works
5
Goals and benefits of literature review
• To demonstrate familiarity with a body of knowledge and to
establish credibility.
• To show the path of prior research and how a current project is
linked to it.
• To integrate and summarize what is known in an area.
• To learn from others and stimulate new ideas, and
• If so, what does the literature review do?
• It can reveal methods of dealing with problematic situations that
may be similar to difficulties you are facing
• It can help you interpret and make sense of your findings and,
ultimately, help you tie your results to the work of those who have
preceded you
6
Goals and benefits of literature review
• It will bolster your confidence that your topic is one worth studying,
because you will find that others have invested considerable time,
effort, and resources in studying it
• Candidates thinking a particular problem to be unoccupied territory

has been so well tilled by others – practically farmed out
• Important - you should know where others have been and what
activities they have been engaged
• Literature survey and formulating the problem are interrelated, since

the problem will be specifically defined if extensive literature survey
is done,
• Remember: one source lead to another

7
What does the literature review do
 It tells the reader that the researcher knows the research in the area.
A good review increases a reader’s confidence in the researcher’s
professional competence, ability and background.
 A good review places a research project in a context and

demonstrates its relevance by making connections to a body of
knowledge.
 To points out areas where prior studies agree, where they disagree
and where major questions remain. It collects what is known up to a
point in time and indicates the direction for future research.
 To identifies blind alleys and suggests hypotheses for replication. It

divulges procedures, techniques and research designs worth copying
so that a researcher can better focus hypotheses and gain new
insights.
8
Types of review of literatures
 Self-study reviews.
o Increases reader’s confidence in an area that is rarely published.
 Context reviews.
o Places project in the big picture.
 Historical reviews.
o Traces the development of an issue over time.
 Theoretical reviews.
o Compares how different theories address an issue.
 Methodological reviews.
o Points out how methodologies vary by study.
 Integrative reviews.
o Summarises what is known at a particular point in time.
9
Systematic Vs narrative review
 Systematic Review:
o The purpose of this type of review is to evaluate and interpret all available research
evidence relevant to a particular question.
o It differs from the narrative review in that previous work is not only described but is
systematically identified, assessed for quality and synthesized.
o Usually involves meta-analyses.
o Usually used in evidence based science and engineering work.
 Narrative Review:
o This is the more usual route of literature reviews and is tailored or moulded by its relevance
to your research question and theories.
 Where do I get the literature?

o Scholarly journals, books, theses/dissertations, government documents, policy reports,
presented papers.
o Be systematic about collection of literature.
o Record all literature.
o Avoid duplicates – I recommend carrying a journal with you and record every relevant
title and cross it off once obtained or dismissed.
10
Evaluating, Organizing, and Synthesizing the
Literature
• In a good literature review, the researcher doesn’t merely report the
related literature,
• Do not only read other people’s work but you must also critically
evaluate their methods and conclusions,
• Never take other people’s conclusions at face value; determine for
yourself whether their conclusions are justified based on the data
presented,
• you must pull together the diverse perspectives and research results
you have read into a cohesive whole
• Compare and contrast varying theoretical perspectives on the topic
• Show how approaches to the topic have changed over time
11
Evaluating, Organizing, and Synthesizing the
Literature
 Describe general trends in research findings
 Identify discrepant or contradictory findings, and suggest possible
explanations for such discrepancies
 Identify general themes that run throughout the literature
 In fact, a literature review that makes such a contribution is often publishable in
its own right,
 Identify the important words and phrases in each sub-problem
 Example: Brain injury incidence shows two peak periods in almost all
reports: rates are the highest in young people and the elderly.
 “Brain injury incidence peaks in the young and the elderly.”
 Translate these words and phrases into specific topics that you must learn more
about. These topics become your “agenda” as you read the literature,
12
Writing literature review, do not replicate it
• Not simply quoting long passages or cite at length the words or ideas
of others,
• Look at as important as what others say about their research, and
perhaps even more important, is what you say about their research,
• Your emphasis should always be on how a particular idea or
research finding relates to your own problem – something that only
you can discuss
• Focusing issues
• Present your own discussion
• Paraphrase (precis (short statement of the main points of a speech or piece of
writing), resume (summary), give a synopsis, an epitome (person or thing that
is the perfect example of a quality or type))
• Use short, direct quotations if necessary
• Long quotations are a last resort. Use them only for a very good reason – for
instance, when the specific words that an author uses are as important as the
ideas that the author presents
13
Writing literature review, do not replicate it
• A literature review is a necessity.
 Without this step, you won’t know if your problem has been solved or what
related research is already underway,
• When performing the review:

 Start searching professional journals.
 Begin with the most recent articles you can find.
 Keep track of relevant articles in a bibliography.
 Don’t be discouraged if work on the topic is already underway.
• Be very careful to check your sources when doing your literature
review.
• Many trade magazines are not peer reviewed.
 Professional conferences and journals often have each article reviewed by
multiple people before it is even recommended for publication.
 The IEEE and ACM digital libraries are good places to start looking for
legitimate research.
14
How to read an article or other scripts
• Read with a clear purpose or goal in mind.
• Skim the article – what can you learn from the title, headings,
abstract, summary and conclusions?
• Consider your own view – beware of bias!
• What do you already know about the topic and the methods used
o is the publication source credible?
• Evaluate as you read – any errors? Do findings follow data?
• Summarize information as an abstract with the topic – methods

used, findings and cite your questions on the article.
15
Structure of review articles
• Introduction
o Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central
theme or organizational pattern.
• Body
o Contains your discussion of sources.
• Conclusions/Recommendations
o Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where
might the discussion proceed?
 Source of literature
 Primary source: is written by a person(s) who developed the theory or
conducted the research
 Secondary source: is written by a person(s) other than the individual who
developed the theory or conducted the research
16
Organization of literature review
• A general organization looks like a funnel

o Broader topics
o Subtopics
o Studies like yours
• How to organize studies

o Chronological, by publication date, by trend
o Thematic: a structure which considers different themes
o Methodological: focuses on the methods of the researcher, e.g.,
qualitative or quantitative approaches
17
Make links between studies
 Agreements
o Similarly, author B points to…
o Likewise, author C makes the case that…
o Author D also makes this point…
o Again, it is possible to see how author E agrees with author D…
 Disagreements
o However, author B points to…
o On the other hand, author C makes the case that…
o Conversely, Author D argues…
o Nevertheless, what author E suggests…
18
Active or passive voice
• You should use, where appropriate, both active and passive voice
• As a general rule, use active voice unless there is good reason not to
• Reporting verbs
• Argue • Maintain
• Assert • Note
• Assume • Object
• Challenge • Observe
• Claim • Persuade
• Contend • Propose
• Contradict • Prove
• Describe • Purport
• Dispute • Recommend
• Emphasize • Refute
• Establish • Reject
• Examine • Remark
• Find • Suggest
• Support
19
Verb tenses – Present
• A statement about what the thesis, chapter or section does

o This thesis presents a report of an investigation into …….
o This chapter thus provides a basis for the next.
o In this section, the results from the first set of experiments are reported.
• A statement of a generally accepted scientific fact

o Artificial intelligence is about making computers able to perform the thinking
tasks that humans and animals are capable of.
o An agent is anything that can be ENVIRONMENT viewed as perceiving its
environment through sensors and SENSOR acting upon that environment
through actuators.
o The finite rate coefficients have an effect on heat transfer through a
horizontal porous layer.
20
Verb tenses – Present
• A review of current research work, or research work of

immediate relevance to your study.
o Schulze (2002) concludes that …
• Comments, explanations and evaluative statements made by

you when you are reviewing previous studies.
o … this sequential approach is impractical in the real world where projects
are typically large and the activities from one stage may be carried out in
parallel with the activities of another stage.
o The reason for this anomalous result is that ….
21
Verb tenses – Past
• Report the contents, findings or conclusions of past

research
o … Another multi-agent referral system described by Singh et al. [50] is
similar to Implicit: agents send answers to queries and also give referrals to
other agents.
o Unsal et al. [17] performed in an effort to better understand the oxygen

transfer efficiency in free flowing gated closed conduits.
o Allington (1999) found that the temperatures varied significantly over time.
22
Verb tenses – Present perfect
• In citations where the focus is on the research area of several

authors
o Several studies have provided support for the suggestion that the amount of
phonological recoding that is carried out depends on orthographic depth
(Frost, 1994; Smart et al, 1997; Katz & Feldman, 2001, 2002).
o The SCM system architecture described in [Singh, 2005] has been developed
with the use of agent oriented conceptualization of problem domain. …
o Joint roughness has been characterized by a number of authors (Renger,
1990; Feker & Rengers, 1997; Wu & Ali, 2000).
• To generalize about the extent of the previous research

o Many studies have been conducted in this field.
o Few students or researchers have examined this technique.
o There has been extensive research into.........
23
Show others
Have someone else look at your literature review for

• Clarity
o Can they understand what you’re trying say?
• Flow
o Does the organization make sense?
• Completeness
o Are there areas left out?
o Questions left unanswered?
o Statements without citations?
24
A Good Literature Review is:
• Focused - The topic should be narrow. You should only present ideas and only
report on studies that are closely related to topic.
• Concise - Ideas should be presented economically. Don’t take any more space
than you need to present your ideas.
• Logical - The flow within and among paragraphs should be a smooth, logical
progression from one idea to the next
• Developed - Don’t leave the story half told.
• Integrative - Your paper should stress how the ideas in the studies are related.
Focus on the big picture. What commonality do all the studies share? How are
some studies different than others? Your paper should stress how all the studies
reviewed contribute to your topic.
• Current - Your review should focus on work being done on the cutting edge of
your topic.
25
Common errors in reviewing literature
 Hurrying through review to get started could mean that you will
miss something that will improve your research.
 Relying too heavily upon secondary sources.
 Concentrating on findings rather than methods.
 Overlooking sources other than academic journals. Don’t forget

newspaper articles, magazines, blogs, etc.
 Searching too broad or too narrow of a topic.
 Inaccuracy in the compiling of bibliographic information.
26
Form of a literature review …
• Requires reading literature from a variety of sources
• Forming some form of taxonomy or structure for your review
• Identifying where in your taxonomy the various contributions
from the literature fall
• Critically reviewing the literature
o Identifying different approaches, contradictions between contributions,
analysis of strengths and weaknesses
o Not simply pasting quotes from different papers
• Drawing your own conclusions, particularly concerning

completeness of coverage
• Highlight implications for your work (if appropriate)
27
Form of a literature review …
• Conducted to ensure that you are familiar with ‘all’ of the

what is known about a particular field or your issies,
• Often published in order to bring other scientists and/or

postgraduate students thesis/dissertations up to speed quickly
in an unfamiliar field,
• Need to have the scope of the review carefully defined

o Not too big such that adequate coverage is infeasible, and there is too much
literature to review and the review becomes unfocussed (and thereby not
useful)
o Not too narrow such that there are too few papers to include
28
… Practical example
Hand, C. (2007) "A Survey of 3D Interaction Techniques". IEEE, 16(5):
269-281,
Recent gains in the performance of 3D graphics hardware and rendering systems

have not been matched by a corresponding improvement in our knowledge of how to
interact with the virtual environments we create; therefore there is a need to examine
these further if we are to improve the overall quality of our interactive 3D systems.
This paper examines some of the interaction techniques which have been developed
for object manipulation, navigation and application control in 3D virtual
environments. The use of both mouse-based techniques and 3D input devices is
considered, along with the role of feedback and some aspects of tools and widgets.
29
rationale
30
Scope of review

31
Indication of taxonomy
32
33

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Research Design and Methodology

Writing and Presenting

Gebeyehu B. (Dr. of Eng.) Associate Professor

BDU: Bahir Dar Institute of Technology: Computing Faculty

• The how, the why, the whereof, ….., mean that

• Why conduct a literature Review? If so

• Where do I find the research literature?

• Why and How do I conduct a systematic review?

• How does review of literature related to theory, research, education

• The overall purpose of literature review is to discover knowledge

• Non research purpose:

• As a researcher, you should know the literature about your topic

• Many benefits from reviewing

• Candidates thinking a particular problem to be unoccupied territory

• Literature survey and formulating the problem are interrelated, since

• Remember: one source lead to another

 A good review places a research project in a context and

 To identifies blind alleys and suggests hypotheses for replication. It

 Where do I get the literature?

• When performing the review:

• Read with a clear purpose or goal in mind.

• Consider your own view – beware of bias!

• Evaluate as you read – any errors? Do findings follow data?

• Summarize information as an abstract with the topic – methods

• A general organization looks like a funnel

• How to organize studies

• A statement about what the thesis, chapter or section does

• A statement of a generally accepted scientific fact

• A review of current research work, or research work of

• Comments, explanations and evaluative statements made by

• Report the contents, findings or conclusions of past

o Unsal et al. [17] performed in an effort to better understand the oxygen

• In citations where the focus is on the research area of several

• To generalize about the extent of the previous research

Have someone else look at your literature review for

• Developed - Don’t leave the story half told.

 Relying too heavily upon secondary sources.

 Concentrating on findings rather than methods.

 Overlooking sources other than academic journals. Don’t forget

 Searching too broad or too narrow of a topic.

 Inaccuracy in the compiling of bibliographic information.

• Drawing your own conclusions, particularly concerning

• Conducted to ensure that you are familiar with ‘all’ of the

• Often published in order to bring other scientists and/or

• Need to have the scope of the review carefully defined

Recent gains in the performance of 3D graphics hardware and rendering systems

Recent gains in the performance of 3D graphics hardware and rendering systems

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