Steps Involved in Conducting a Literature Review

Conducting a literature review is an essential part of any research process. It allows you to identify,
analyze, and synthesize existing research on a particular topic, establishing a foundation for your
study. However, navigating through vast amounts of literature can be challenging. Below, we detail
the structured steps involved in conducting an effective literature review and introduce an invaluable
resource for those seeking assistance.

Define Your Research Question

The first step in conducting a literature review is to clearly define your research question. A well-
defined question guides your research process and helps you to stay focused on relevant literature. It
should be specific, researchable, and significant to the field of study.

Search for Relevant Literature

Once your research question is established, the next step is to search for relevant literature. Utilize
academic databases, journals, and books to find pertinent studies. Keywords related to your research
question are essential in this step. Be systematic and thorough to ensure you don't overlook important
works.

Evaluate Your Sources

Not all sources are created equal. Evaluate the sources you find for their relevance, quality, and
reliability. Peer-reviewed journal articles are generally considered credible sources. Consider the
study’s methodology, findings, and the author's conclusions to determine if the work contributes
meaningfully to your review.

Organize the Selected Literature

After selecting the most relevant literature, organize it in a way that supports your research question.
You can categorize the literature by themes, methodologies, or chronological order. This organization
will be the structure of your literature review, guiding your synthesis of the research.

Analyze and Synthesize the Literature

Analyzing and synthesizing the literature involves comparing and contrasting the findings of the
selected studies. Look for patterns, trends, and significant findings that relate to your research
question. Discuss how these studies contribute to the field and identify any gaps in the research.

Write Your Literature Review

Writing your literature review involves combining all the previous steps into a coherent narrative.
Start with an introduction that outlines the scope of your review and your research question. Then,
present the body of your review, organized according to the structure you have chosen. Conclude
with a discussion of the findings, the gaps in the research, and how your study will contribute to the
field.

Revise and Refine

The final step is to revise and refine your literature review. This involves checking for coherence,
flow, and clarity. Ensure that your arguments are supported by evidence and that all sources are
correctly cited. A well-written literature review sets the stage for your research and demonstrates
your understanding of the existing literature.

Seeking Professional Assistance

Given the complexity and time-consuming nature of conducting a literature review, seeking
professional assistance can be a wise decision. For those who find themselves overwhelmed or in
need of expert guidance, StudyHub.vip ⇔">⇒ StudyHub.vip ⇔ offers specialized support in
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Multistage sampling is most commonly used in drawing samples from very large and diverse
populations. PRISMA 2020 consists of a checklist with 27 points and several flowcharts. What
intervention(s) are effective in helping people overcome their fears about going on a bus. Faculty and
librarians can help you identify relevant journals in your field and specific areas of interest. It
systematically outlines the particular research methodology and details the procedures utilized at
each stage of the research process. There are several different options for searching in Embase (via
embase.com). In the search example below, we show how you can structure the search in a similar
way as in Medline Ovid. Now that you've conducted your research, are there any other groups
(whether internal or external to your organization) who would be interested in what you've created.
Your early searches may help you find relevant terms to add to your list. The library also runs classes
on how to improve your literature searching strategy if you would first want to rather try that. Apart
from field-specific knowledge and awareness of research methodology, you may need people in your
team who are experts in statistical analysis and literature searches. As a non-profit or NGO worker
your resources, needs, and audience may be different from researchers in academic institutions.
Whether the topic is assigned, chosen from a list of possible options, or (most likely) developed on
your own, a good way to begin your thinking is to take a general issue or subject and formulate it
into a question. This approach is called judgment sampling, convenience sampling, accidental
sampling, and purposive sampling. This helps create a coherent narrative and highlights the
connections between different works. Issue Lab -- an online collection of free research, evaluations,
case studies, toolkits, etc. A description of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic. Nova
has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. Clarity and Conciseness Write with clarity and
conciseness. By scanning titles, abstracts and subject headings, you may find additional, useful
search terms. It is a non-research problem that can be tackled at the managerial or administrative
level. Planning for your project's future Document your work along the way so your process can be
replicated Keeping notes on your process (searches, sources, etc.) throughout your research allows
you or others in your organization to pick your work back up later, or to replicate your process on a
different topic. The conclusion or discussion section at the end may also offer some questions for
future exploration. Why is reviewing literature crucial in the research process. She is majorly involved
in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Based on
some of the criteria for formulating a research question discussed in this section, which of the
following questions seems the most viable for further study and why. These webinars are free to
access and will be delivered by contemporary politics experts —drawn from Sage’s team of authors
and editors— who range from practitioners to instructors. Select “ OR ” between each row and add
more rows if needed. These persons are sometimes known as key informants, and an interview with
them is popularly known as the Key Informant Interview (KII). The database search can also be
supplemented with other search strategies, for instance handsearching in selected journals, reviewing
reference lists or undertaking a citation analysis. To find government reports or similar texts, you may
even have to go to the organization’s website and search directly among their publication lists.
Now that you've conducted your research, are there any other groups (whether internal or external to
your organization) who would be interested in what you've created. Your Research Proposal. I.
Introduction A. Problem statement B. At a bare minimum, a research report should contain sections
on: An executive summary; Background of the problem; Literature review; Methodology; Findings;
Discussion; Conclusions and Recommendations. Selected approach determines the research design to
be followed. Therefore, all our works will be submitted with a FREE Turnitin plagiarism report. A
way to formulate an answerable question using the PICO model could look something like this. In
conclusion, there is seldom any single strategy or formula for developing a successful research study,
but it is essential to realize that the research process is cyclical and iterative. The search terms within
each block are combined with OR, then the blocks are combined with AND. Literature reviews are
in reality a type of research Should conform to the anatomy of a typical scholarly article Abstract
Introduction Methods Results Discussion Conclusion References. It enables the researcher to
systematically point out why the proposed research on the problem should be undertaken and what
he hopes to achieve with the study’s findings. The goal of the Lit Review is not to list as many
books, papers, and reports as feasible. The library runs workshops for introducing you to using
Mendeley, including how to import references and manage them. It might help the researcher to
develop an analytical framework. Information and supports: You may have more resources available
to you than you realize. Once you go through all the scholarly materials, make a conclusion as to
which one of them was more convincing with their theory. The Lit Review should include the most
relevant related studies and demonstrate an understanding of both key past research and practices in
the subject and promising current research and practices. Then, even if you come across great books
on other topics, make sure you only get articles and books in those fields. How is a research problem
different from a non-research problem. It is accomplished through such efforts as: Pilot Survey A
pilot survey collects proxy data from the ultimate subjects of the study to serve as a guide for the
large study. A strategy or blueprint that plans the action for carrying through the research data.
Elements. A word plugin allows you to insert a formatted citation from your references while writing
your document. This sounds convincing on the surface and makes for excellent comedy. Melissa
Kearney on Marriage and Children Raffaella Sadun on Effective Management. Two other variations
of the sampling methods that are in great use are multistage sampling and probability proportional to
size (PPS) sampling. Acknowledging Limitations: It helps you in acknowledging the limitations of
your study and shaping it accordingly. These procedures are embedded in the sample design. Based
on some of the criteria for formulating a research question discussed in this section, which of the
following questions seems the most viable for further study and why. It’s often a good idea to start
with a test search where you use the subject headings and synonyms you’re already familiar with. A
hypothesis is an unproven statement or proposition that can be refuted or supported by empirical
data. The fundamental question is, then, how to select a sample.
When you include the subject heading in your search you will find articles about a subject even if the
authors of the article have chosen other, adjacent words to describe the article themselves. Or, “For
those who stutter, unusual temperament or anxiety is a causal factor.” ( Kefalianos, 2012 ). Stat-
Transfer. Use STAT-TRANSFER to convert data. Click on. A hypothesis is an unproven statement or
proposition that can be refuted or supported by empirical data. Do they fit the criteria you've selected
for retrieval. Step 3: Identify Connections Synthesize information from selected sources, identifying
common themes, patterns, and trends. Conclusion: Summarize what you discovered, highlight any
important contributions, and suggest areas for future research. More than one reason is suspected for
such misuse or misdirection. HISTORICAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH. History. Has several
meanings. Yet, if you find yourself facing challenges or needing additional support, our expert essay
writing service is here for you. State your hypothesis as simply and concisely as possible.
Hypothetical statements assert a possible answer to a research question. Nothing irrelevant. Assess
the “goodness” of measuring instrument. Also, make sure the sources are trustworthy and come from
respected places. It could end with recommendations for action in your organization and beyond. Is
the research incomplete, imprecise, biased, or inconsistent. Conducting a well-written literature
review demonstrates understanding of the topic at hand, giving new findings credibility and
supporting evidence. A confident and expert researcher is more crucial in questioning the others’
methodology, the choice of the data, and the quality of the inferences drawn from the study results.
Introduce the literature review by pointing out the major research topic that will be discussed. I agree
that my (optional) personal data (name, e-mail) is stored in accordance with the Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR). Identifying gaps allows you to position your work as a valuable contribution to
the field. This is a prime example of an organisation requiring to adapt and being flexible in a
changing environment in order to remain relevant and competitive (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990: 1). If
you search without quotation marks, the terms are not kept together as a phrase. Make sure you don't
just stick to one type of source. Members also elected Debra Thompson as a new director on the
board. On the other hand, inductive logic means, you ought to apply facts to arrive at a theory based
on observations. Your Research Proposal. I. Introduction A. Problem statement B. This book is part
of the American Psychological Association's Concise Guides to Conducting Behavioral, Health, and
Social Science Research series. For example, if you are looking for recent articles, some databases
give you the option to filter by publication date. RESEARCH DESIGN. Research Design. A master
plan specifying the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the data.
The following were assumed to be some of the possible reasons: The merchant banking system;
Liquidity shortage because of the hike in the rate of cash reserve requirement (CRR); IMF’s
warnings and prescriptions on the commercial banks’ exposure to the stock market; Increase in
supply of new shares; Manipulation of share prices; Lack of knowledge of the investors on the
company’s fundamentals. The method exists in an unpublished and relative simple version presented
here. For example, if you are looking for recent articles, some databases give you the option to filter
by publication date. As a proposed study is examined and reexamined from different perspectives, it
may begin to transform and take a different shape. Promotes Theory Development: Evaluates and
combines existing theories, possibly leading to new ones. Experts felt that no single reason could be
attributed to the problem. Search the Literature Searching Article Databases Finding Full-Text of an
Article Citation Chaining When to Stop Searching 4. Work shop of your rough draft Prep
Assignment for Next Class Peer Critique. Your literature review could contain an executive
summary to explain your project and call out key findings. Planning for your project's future
Document your work along the way so your process can be replicated Keeping notes on your
process (searches, sources, etc.) throughout your research allows you or others in your organization
to pick your work back up later, or to replicate your process on a different topic. HISTORICAL-
COMPARATIVE RESEARCH. History. Has several meanings. Rennison, researcher and public
affairs professor at the University of Colorado Denver. The literature is reviewed on each of these
methods. If you search without quotation marks, the terms are not kept together as a phrase. With
the variation in the type of data (qualitative or quantitative) to be collected, the method of data
collection also varies. March 27, 2013 RS and GISc Institute of Space Technology. STEP 1.
Reviewing Literature Formulating Research Problem Identify Variables Constructing Hypothesis. For
example, if the area you are researching is a relatively new field, and there is little or no existing
literature or theory that indicates what you will find, then your literature review will likely be based
on a research question. Learning outcomes. Learn the reasons for sampling Develop an
understanding about different sampling methods. Over the years, marketing cost has been the
highest for bidders and the lowest for blenders. Or, “For those who stutter, unusual temperament or
anxiety is a causal factor.” ( Kefalianos, 2012 ). I t usually has an organizational pattern and
combines both summary and synthesis. The library runs workshops for introducing you to using
Mendeley, including how to import references and manage them. A research problem is a perceived
difficulty, a feeling of discomfort, or a discrepancy between a common belief and reality. Some
databases, for instance Web of Science, do not have a list of subject headings at all; to conduct a
search there, you have to use free-text terms. For the first two parts see Slaying the (literature review)
beast: Part 1 and Slaying the (literature review) beast: Part 2. These are useful, particularly for
current information. Points out Errors: It points out glaring errors and overlooked questions in your
research. A search strategy helps prevent that, by using punctuation and keywords to make the
database understand exactly what you want. Output contains the citations and references from the
publications you’ve uploaded. It allows the researcher to understand if there are any unanswered
research questions.
However, in a systematic literature search, it is recommended that you specify the search field
manually instead. Here is how to write a good literature review: Step 1: Search Relevant Literature
Start by searching for scholarly sources that you will cite in your paper that are closely related to
your research topic. Most guidance on conducting literature reviews assumes an academic context,
with strict guidelines for how a review should be conducted. Digitalization of finance has made it
possible for small business to run equity crowdfunding campaigns, but also to initiate a TTW process
online and quite easily. Conducting a well-written literature review demonstrates understanding of
the topic at hand, giving new findings credibility and supporting evidence. The data quality links to
the credibility of the study, so it is important to note, especially in this day of predatory journals
where not all articles found are credible. This characteristic distinguishes a pilot survey from
secondary data analysis, which gathers background information. One cannot write a report (step 8)
unless he has collected and analyzed data (step 7). As noted by Fisher et al. (1993), a problem will
qualify as a potential research problem when the following three conditions exist: There should be a
perceived discrepancy between “what it is” and “what it should have been.” This implies that there
should be a difference between “what exists” and the “ideal or planned situation”; A question about
“why” the discrepancy exists. Incoherent: Writing a review that’s absolutely incoherent and lack of
flow in your arguments. Don't worry! This blog is your guide for writing a literature review. The
fundamental question is, then, how to select a sample. Carefully edit to ensure logical argument flow
and concise writing. If you search without quotation marks, the terms are not kept together as a
phrase. It helps the researcher to understand if there are any significant controversies, contradictions,
and inconsistencies in the findings. Citation managers are designed to make it quick and easy to
track and cite your sources. The search terms within each block are combined with OR, then the
blocks are combined with AND. Does the research use the usual methods, or is it trying something
new. Analyzing the Problem As a first step in analyzing the problem, critical attention should be
given to accommodate the viewpoints of the managers, users, and researchers to the problem through
threadbare discussions. Sources not directly cited in the Lit Review should not be listed in the Works
Cited list. Comprehend the relationship between various contributions to your topic. The reason for
the discrepancy is known; hence, we do not consider the problem a research problem. It enables the
researcher to formulate his problem in terms of the specific aspects of the general area of his interest
that has not been researched so far. Thus, although the problem situation exists, the reason for the
problem is already known. Unfortunately, it is not possible to easily retrieve a list containing all the
references from several different publications. In such a scenario, constructing a literature review
will help you. As in the case of data collection methods, an analytical technique appropriate in one
situation may not be suitable for another. Organisation: Organise all your sources in some order.
Irrelevant References: Including references that are no longer relevant and outdated. The personal
computer offers an excellent opportunity for data editing and coding processes.