RESEARCH SEMINAR

HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Stephen S. Kizza, Ph.D.

School of Graduate Studies, Bugema University

15TH April 2021

 Presentation Outline
1. Definition of literature review
2. Importance of reviewing literature
3. Sources of literature
4. How to begin reviewing literature
5. How to organize the reviewed literature
6. Evaluating a well reviewed literature
7. What not to ignore while reviewing literature
8. Types of citation styles
Definition of Literature Review
Literature review is defined as a,
broad
comprehensive
in-depth
systematic
and critical review
of scholarly publications, unpublished scholarly print materials,
audiovisual materials, and personal communications
 Is it Important to review literature?

Yes it is important and the main purpose is to summarize, synthesize,

critique and compare the existing body of knowledge
 Identifies the;
 theoretical and scientific knowledge
 what is known and unknown about a topic or a research problem
 available evidence for use in practice
 current research study can add to the literature (gaps)
 strengths and weakness of the existing knowledge – (gaps) which
enables one to think about what has not/needs to be done in a particular
field of the study
 Establishes the terms and context. How else will you define
exactly what you’re looking at and where its limits are?
 Presents a survey of earlier literature on the topic. How else
will you know what’s been done already?
 Explores ways how others have solved similar research
questions/problems. How else will you select an appropriate
methodology and approach?
 Outlines the relationship of the manuscripts to each other.
How else will you know what the different perspectives and
debates are, and where you are coming from?
 Evaluates the quality and relevance of the literature. How
else will you be able to build on or reject it?
Establishes the gaps or inadequacies. How else will you justify
your own contribution?
Demonstrates your scholarly rigor. How else can I have faith in
your conclusions?
A critical analysis of existing research in your field; it highlights
both the strengths and weaknesses of existing research
Allows you to gain a critical understanding of your field
Opportunity to think about what has been done in your field;
opportunity to think about the similarities, patterns, trends and
also differences across the existing research
The gap in the literature is your justification for your research
What are the Sources of literature?
• There are several sources. They include;
 Primary sources
 Secondary sources
 Tertiary sources
 Conceptual and theoretical research reports
 Data based literature reports of completed research; from
Research gate, PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google
Scholar, Scopus, Academic Institution data bases,
Government/Agency data bases, etc.
How to begin the literature review
Think about the following;
 Who are the key players in my field who are likely to be my
sources?
 This could be anything from academics, medics, governing
bodies, schools of thought, etc.
 What are the main ideas/debates in my field?
 How have these ideas changed over time?
 What are some of the problems with these ideas/debates? Is there
a problem with the methodology?
 Develop keywords to use in online literature search
  What are you going to do differently?
 Review your study variables or study objectives
Ask yourself:
 What research and theory is there on my topic?
 What are the key sources (books, articles) on my topic?
 Who are the main theorists and researchers in this area?
 How has the topic/problem been investigated over time?
 Provide summative signposts of where your argument is
leading - to orientate the reader
 Summarise your review/highlight ‘gap’ in research
 How to organise Literature review

 Chronologically:- development of a key progressions and changes in practices

 Thematically:- literature will be around particular topics/issues/theories.
 By trends/approaches/techniques
 By methodological review focusing on the methodological or paradigmatic
approaches to your material.
 Major debates/controversies
 A combination of the above
 5 Ws&H
 Needle –thread approach
 Literature review matrix
Evaluating a well reviewed literature –
what to look for
• Comments (explanation): Similarities, differences, comparisons,
interpretations
• Agreements and disagreements (critical analysis, discussions,
interpretations)
• Arguments for or against (critical analysis, discussions, evaluations,
interpretations of gaps)
• Debates (critical analysis, discussions, evaluations, interpretations of
gaps)
• Use objective language and not subjective language (personified
statements)
• Literature Gaps: knowledge, theoretical and methodological gaps
What not to ignore while reviewing
literature
Do editing and proof reading of the reviewed literature as one of
the fundamental aspects of good academic practice
 Editing - continually revising and improving your written work.
 Proof reading – undertake due diligence by finally check before
printing and probably submitting the final literature review
report.
 Ensure that the report is free of errors, hence improved
presentation.
 Avoid the temptation of plagiarism – a serious academic crime
 Types of citations

There are 02 types of citation styles

Integral: The author’s or authors’ name appears in the sentence.

• Example (author-date system): Lillis (2001) argues that both tutors
and students often lack explicit knowledge of the conventions
governing the construction of academic texts.
• Non-integral: The author’s or authors’ name appears outside
sentence.
• Example: Both tutors and students often lack explicit knowledge of
the conventions governing the construction of academic texts (Lillis,
2001).
Summary of reviewed literature

 Summarize the key findings that have been taken from the
literature review and endevour to emphasize their significance.

 Show how how your research will /or is addressing the

research gaps and hence contribute new knowledge

 or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and

methods to build a framework for your research
Common mistakes in reviewing literature

Citing literature which has less in common with the particular study
esp. concepts that are not part of the conceptual framework and
specific objectives of the study

Incoherent and inadequate logical pressure of facts

Failure to state the identified gaps (inconsistencies or disagreements,

datedness of findings, differences in the methodologies etc.

In-text citations not reflected in the end reference

End of Presentation