WHAT IS A

LITERATURE REVIEW
LESSON 1
AND WHY DO I NEED
SUCH? 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other
sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and
by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation
of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated.
Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources
you have explored while researching a particular topic and to
demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger
field of study.
2
LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review may consist simply of

a summary of key sources. It usually has
an organizational pattern and combines
both summary and synthesis, often within
conceptual categories.

3
FEATURES OF GOOD
LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Gives a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old
interpretations,
2. Traces the intellectual progression of the study,
3. Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the
reader of the research on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
4. Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identifies where
gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

4
MCMILLAN & SCHUMACHER (1984) WHO
IDENTIFIED 5 PURPOSES OF THE
LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Define and limit a problem
2. Place your study in perspective
3. Avoid unintentional replication of previous studies
4. Select methods and measures
5. Relate findings to previous knowledge and suggest
areas for further research
5
1. DEFINE AND LIMIT A
PROBLEM
If your literature review is part of a larger research
project, the literature review helps to identify the
parameters of a study. Most research areas are broad: a
literature review allows identification of key issues within
a broad research area so that a definition of an area of
interest can be pursued.

6
2. PLACE YOUR STUDY IN
PERSPECTIVE
The purpose of academic research is to push out and add to the
current body of knowledge within a particular field. Unless you
are aware of the work of others, you cannot build upon an
established foundation.
A literature review allows the researcher to say: “The work of A,
B, and C have discovered this much about my question; the
investigations of D have added this much to our knowledge. I
propose to go beyond D's work in the following manner.
7
3. AVOID UNINTENTIONAL
REPLICATION OF PREVIOUS
STUDIES
Sometimes it is appropriate to replicate a previous study,
but this should be done intentionally and for a particular
purpose. A literature review helps you to make informed
choices about a research topic within a scholarly context.

8
4. SELECT METHODS AND
MEASURES
The success or failure of previous investigations can
provide useful material for you when you are designing
your own research methodology. You can assess what has
worked before (or not worked) in previous contexts and
why. You may be alerted to new methodologies and
procedures and different types of tests, technologies and
measures.
9
5. RELATE FINDINGS TO
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE AND
SUGGEST AREAS FOR FURTHER
RESEARCH
The findings on ones own research need to be related
back to earlier studies. This “places” ones work and can
point to areas that need further investigation. The research
is much more a coherent whole if your discussion section
draws on and contrasts with the literature review.

10
GUIDELINES IN REVIEWING
A LITERATURE
1. Avoid the temptation to include everything you find in
your literature review.
2. When investigating a researched area, review only
those works that are directly related to your specific
problem.
3. When investigating a new or little-researched problem
area, review any study related in some meaningful way to
your problem.
11