What Is a Literature Review?
Example: Effects of Online Games on the Digital
A literature review is an academic text that provides an
overview of a particular topic. It helps identify what is known
and not known about a certain subject of study. It involves the
use of higher-order thinking skill, such as the review,
evaluation, and synthesis of several scholarly works. These
scholarly works include journal articles, professional books,
online sources, and specialized references.
Functions:
1. It establishes the research gap that the study intends
to fill.
2. It further helps in the establishing the research gap.
3. It provides important information about your topic and
the concepts related to it.
4. It presents the contradiction between and among
previous literature.
5. It justifies your research methodology, as its
effectiveness may be determined by a survey of
previous studies relevant to your research.
6. It present and discusses your theoretical and
conceptual frameworks which are the backbone of
your study.
Stages in writing the Literature Review:
1. Searching for works relevant to the study.
2. Analyzing scholarly works.
3. Drafting the literature review.
LITERATURE SEARCH
is the stage in which the researcher systematically
looks for and select reference materials relevant to the study. It
is necessary to survey all possible sources of references,
especially those that were written by the leading scholars in
yours field of study.
Points to remember in conducting your literature search:
1. Identify the topics and concepts that you
need to incorporate into your paper. Your research
title and specific research question and objective can
be a good source of these topic or concepts.
2. Specify the type of sources that you will use.
Will they be mainly articles or a combination of
articles, books, and other periodicals?
3. Search for scholarly work by visiting your
school library or popular online databases. These
include the following:
> Proquest > Springer
> Science Direct > Wiley
> JSTOR > Taylor and Francis
> EBSCO > Sage Publications
> Google Scholar
As much as possible, include only the references
published in reputable journals and publisher and
those written by experts who specialize in your
selected topic. Include also the landmark studies,
articles, reports, or books related to your topic.
4. Use relevant key words to find your desired sources
Literacy of Teenagers
Keywords: Online Games, Digital Literacy
5. When conducting literature search online, use links
that are considered reliable. Examples are websites
that end in .gov, .mil, and .edu. Although .com and
.org are acceptable, they must be associated with
recognized companies and organizations. Examples
are: www.un.org (United Nations), www.unesco.org
(UNESCO), www.edition.cnn.com (CNN), and
www.rd.com (Reader’s Digest).
6. You may utilize Boolean searching strategies in
conducting literature search online. It uses certain
keywords to limit and focus one’s online search of
certain topic.
Examples:
1. Use AND if you want to search for profiles or
texts that contain the terms connected by AND.
(e.g. university AND colleges)
2. Use OR if you want to search for profiles or texts
that contain either of the terms connected by OR
(e.g. university OR colleges)
3. Use NOT if you want to exclude a particular term
in your search (e.g. university NOT colleges)
4. Use quotation marks if you want to search for a
specific phrase (e.g. “Top Philippine universities”)
EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE SELECTED WORKS
The stage is performed once you have selected all your
potential references. In this stage, you further screen the
selected references for reliability and usefulness. This stage
also further ensures that the materials you will use in your
paper are only those that are closely related to your research
topic. The following are strategies you can use evaluating and
analyzing your selected references:
1. Obtain an overview of the reference you selected.
This helps you determine the relevance of its content to your
research. For example, for research articles, you may perform
in a brief survey by reading the abstract of each article; for
books, you may look into the preface to see their summary and
find out the authors intention in writing it.
2. When evaluating research articles, find out if they are
published by a reputable publisher/ journal and written by
legitimate scholars in your field of study. You may refer to the
Thomson Reuters Master Journal [http;// ip -
science.thomsonreuters.com/mjl/] or Scopus Source List
[https;//www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content] for the list
of reputable research journals.
3. As much as possible, refrain from using references
published by predatory journals or publishers as they do not
guarantee quality. Predatory publishers and journals are those
that publish research papers for financial gain and do not
follow the ethics in producing an academic work.
4. Refrain from using materials that do not directly
explain the concepts related to your study.
5. As much as possible, use references that have been
published within the last five years ,unless you are writing a
historical paper, which may entail the use of sources from
earlier periods of time.
6. Group the references according to the categories you
used during your literature search .You may use online tools
[e.g. Zotero] in tagging [or labeling] and classifying these
references.
7. If a material appears to be relevant to your topic, [ i.e.,
published in the last five years], and reliable, continue reading
its content. However, if material does not meet these
standards, exclude it from your literature review.
8. Carefully read each of the materials you will
incorporate into your literature review. Note down the key
information in these materials. Determine which information
you can include in your literature review.
9. Use a concept map if you want to see the
relationship, similarities, and differences among the materials
you have read.
DRAFTING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
It is in this stage where you actually write your literature review.
In drafting your review, you need to consider how you are
going to arrange the works you will cite. You also need to
consider how these works will be linked to one another, to
better provide an overview of the topic you are studying in your
research.
1. One strategy that you may use in writing your
literature review is to get a model paper that deals with a topic
similar to yours. You may pattern the sequence of your ideas in
your model paper.
2. In the introductory portion, provide an overview of
what can be found in your literature review.
Refer to the following example:
This section contains literature and studies on acquisition-
learning integration, the biological basis behind the separation
of the learning acquisition, comprehensible input, grammar,
affective factor, and communicative competence. These
materials were gathered from books on language teaching,
psychology and curriculum development, journals and other
periodicals, theses and dissertation, online sources, and other
unpublished materials. These materials provided the
researcher with an exhaustive review of the topic and the
essential background knowledge to pursue this study.
3. Divide the literature review into two subsections: (a)
the conceptual literature section which explains concepts
relevant to your study, and (b) the related studies section
which presents studies similar to your own.
4. When writing the conceptual literature, you may use
concepts from the title of the reference or the specific
questions and objectives of your research. For the related
studies you may arrange them in three ways: by them (i.e.,
similar studies are grouped together), by chronology (i.e., from
the earliest to the latest), or by type ( foreign or local studies).
These three ways of writing the related studies section depend
on the objectives and features of your review.
A. Thematic arrangement- if your intention is to make the
readers focus on how your study is similar to or different from
the previous ones.
B. Chronological arrangement- If you want to
emphasize the development and progress in a specific field of
study.
C. Typological arrangement- if there are sufficient
studies conducted locally about the topic of your research.
5. At the end of the related studies section, write a
synthesis that shows the research gap.
6. Define important terms in your study. Aside from the
informal or formal ways, definitions can be made operationally
or conceptually. An operational definition is a type of definition
specially made for your study, while a conceptual definition is
the definition of a term which is generally used in a specific
discipline. This definition is often times used by scholars.
Citations are often required when using conceptual definitions.
7. If you cannot explain some concept in detail due to
space constraints, you may direct the readers to a particular
scholarly work that discusses the said topic more extensively.
This is done by using the following citation format (see author,
year).
8. Use cohesive devices throughout the literature review
to link one idea to another. Examples of cohesive devices are
transitional devices, conjunction, pronouns and repetition of
terms for referencing ideas.
9. Use headings and subheadings. This will help you
organize the studies and references you have gathered. This
will also aid the reader in making sense of the ideas and
related studies to your research.
10. Be sure to apply the principle of cohesiveness when
writing your literature review. This means that each paragraph
should focus only on one main idea, and these ideas should be
linked to one another.
11. Use direct quotation sparingly. Direct quotation is
typically use when stating laws and principles and when
explicitly showing an author’s intention. You can also use direct
quotation if you think that it is the best to present the ideas of
certain historical figures and experts in you field.
12. Write a brief synthesis at the end of the literature
review to show how these scholarly works shape your paper,
and to further reinforce the research gap that this studies have
yet to fill.
13. Survey all possible sources before claiming that no
studies have been conducted on a particular topic or saying
that your topic is underexplored.
14. Cite your sources. Use appropriate documentation
and citation style in your literature review. Three of the most
popular used documentations styles are from the American
Psychological association ( APA) style, the modern language
Association (MLA) style, and the Chicago manual of style
(CMOS). The documentation and citation style you will use
depends on the subject matter of your research. Be consistent
in using it when documenting sources and writing your
literature review. Documentation style will be discussed in
detail later in the lesson.
Important skills in drafting the Literature Review
There are two skills that are particularly important in drafting
the literature review. The first is synthesizing. This skill involves
the review of several references that task about the same
subjects and consolidating them into one cohesive text.
Synthesizing can be done at micro and macro levels.
Microlevel synthesis involves the consolidation of ideas to
explain a concept. To effectively perform microlevel synthesis
you may follow these strategies:
1. Look into and take note of related ideas in the materials
you are examining.
2. Cluster the ideas shared among the materials, determine
those that are distinct, and put them in a separate list.
3. Decide on how you will arrange the ideas. Discuss first the
common ideas to give a general overview of the topic.
Then, present the distinct ideas and relate them to your
study.
4. Use multiple citations if one idea can be found in several
sources.
5. Insert the corresponding citations while writing the
synthesis.
Macrolevel synthesis, on the other hand, is performed when
several studies are consolidated to establish a research gap
and not just to explain a concept. It also involves drawing
conclusions based on the similarities and differences of the
reviewed references and studies. This type of synthesis does
not only involve the description of certain aspects in these
materials such as the methods and conclusions generated. It
also relates the various issues and topics in these materials to
one another, highlights how these can be used in your paper.
Here are some strategies that you can use in synthesizing your
references:
1. Note any similarities and differences across your
references that are relevant to your paper.
2. Take note of issues that were not addressed by your
references.
3. Arranged the related studies and references logically; this
can be done either thematically or chronologically.
4. Draw conclusions about the materials in order to highlight
their importance.
Note-taking is another skill that you can particularly use in
drafting the literature review as well as in the other stages of
the research undertaking. It involves writing information from a
source text and integrating this information into your current
study. Two of the most common forms of note-taking in writing
academic works are summarizing and paraphrasing.
Summarizing is a form of note-taking that involves condensing
a lengthy piece of source material. It can be done in two ways:
an outline or a non-outline form. Though effective
summarizing, you can improve your skills in studying, writing
and reading, as well as establish your credibility as a
researcher. Below are the strategies you can use for effective
summarizing.
1. Read text carefully and fully understand its content.
2. Annotate the text, if desired. Through annotation, you
will be able to jot down the important ideas in your
source material.
3. Take note of the author’s name, the title of the text,
and its year of publication. Write these information in
the first sentence of the summary.
4. If you are summarizing text that contains multiple
paragraphs, begin by identifying the main idea of
each paragraph and write them using your own
words.
5. Afterwards, combine these sentences into one
coherent paragraph using appropriate cohesive
devices.
6. Avoid adding comments to the summary as it may
change the tone and meaning of the original text.
7. Avoid repeating ideas unnecessarily.
8. Compare your summary to the original text to ensure
accuracy.
9. Take note of the bibliographical information you listed
earlier as you cite your source material.
Paraphrasing is a form of note-taking that involves rewording
ideas from the original text in a more detailed way. Since
paraphrasing focuses on the details and not only on the main
idea, the length of a paraphrased text is almost the same as
that of the original text. Paraphrasing is typically done to
simplify a complex text. Below are the strategies you can use
for effective paraphrasing.
1. Read the passage thoroughly and comprehend it fully.
2. Highlight the relevant words and phrases in the
passage and retain them in your paraphrased text.
However, you need to present these words and
phrases in a different manner.
3. You may also annotate the text if needed to help you
make sense of details from the original text in your
own way.
 4. Refrain from constantly looking at the original text
when paraphrasing. Doing so may tempt you to copy
the exact words from the text.
5. When paraphrasing text at the word level, use a
synonym that fits the text. Rephrased the words that
can be changed (i.e., common terms) and retain
those that cannot be changed (i.e., proper terms)
6. When paraphrasing text at the sentence level,
transform an active sentence into passive or vice
versa, and transform a complex sentence into simple
sentence or vice versa. This will further ensure that
the content from the original text is expressed in a
different way.
7. Retain the tone of the original text.
8. Compare the paraphrased text with the original text to
ensure accuracy.
9. Properly cite the source of the text you paraphrased.
THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS
Theoretical Framework- a general frame of reference used for
observation, designing concepts, developing research designs,
and interpreting and generalizing findings.
Conceptual Framework- system of ideas, beliefs and
assumptions, and theories that inform, support and cater
specifically to your study.
Together, they function as a map or travel plan that will help
you travel in an unfamiliar territory. In other words, the
theoretical and conceptual framework help navigate through
the understanding of your research.
It may be presented in two forms:
1. Visual form-characterized by the use of diagrams and
charts.
2. Narrative form-characterized by the use of
paragraphs that explain visual representation of the
framework.
Similarities:
1. Both of them provide a comprehensive explanation of
a phenomenon.
2. They provide a theory that underpins your study.
3. They help justify the methods you will use and
assumptions that you will make in your research.
4. They help you refine your objectives, develop relevant
research questions, choose appropriate methods, and
identify possible threats to validity.
5. They guide you in exploring and interpreting your data
to arrive at you desired results.
Because of these similarities, they are sometimes used
interchangeably.
Differences:
1. The theoretical framework is broader in scope and
derived from theories that are already used in the field
while the conceptual framework is narrower in scope
and uses specific concepts which are identified from
the study itself.
2. The theoretical framework presents one theory at a
time while the conceptual framework may synthesize
one or more theories.
Summary of their differences:
Theoretical Framework Conceptual Framework
Scope Broader, and can be used More focused as it directly
in different studies relates to a specific study
Focus of Content A particular theory A set of related concepts
that will be specifically used
in the study
Number of Theories Contains only one theory in May combine different
one framework theories into one cohesive
framework
Time of Development Already existing prior to the Developed while planning
conduct of the study and writing a specific
research
Guidelines for Selecting the Theoretical Framework
1. Understand the variables included in your study as
well as their relationship with each other.
2. Review the existing literature related to your research.
3. Using the information that you have gathered from the
literature, look for possible theories that may
potentially account for the expected results in your
research topic.
4. From these theories, select the one that is most
relevant to your study and can provide a blueprint for
your research.
Strategies for Developing a Conceptual Framework
1. Identify the key concepts in your study by referring to
your research questions and objectives.
2. Search for existing theories that incorporate the same
concepts and look into their relationships with one
another.
3. Using the existing theories as a guide, plot your
conceptual framework as a guide.
4. In the case that there are concepts not covered by the
selected theories, incorporate them into your
framework. However, make sure that you are
incorporating this concept into your framework
because it is necessary for your paper.
5. After completing the initial draft of your conceptual
framework, write a narrative explanation of each
concept and how each of them relates to one another.
Again, there should be a basis for the relationship
between the concepts being incorporated.
6. Refer once again to your to your research questions.
Check if the conceptual framework is aligned with
them.
7. Note that the process of creating a conceptual
framework is developmental. This means that it may
still be refined or changed as you read more literature
and look into more theories.
8. In some cases, the research hypothesis are
presented at the end of the conceptual framework.