Chapter 2

Overview of
Research
Process (2)
Business Research / Marketing Research
 Introduction to
Literature Review
• After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
• a) describe the purpose of a literature review
• b) conduct literature review
• c) write a literature review
• d) understand plagiarism
• e) citing references
 Introduction
• Once a research topic has been identified,
the researcher needs to conduct a literature
review.
• A literature review is a step-by-step process
that involves the identification of published
and unpublished work from secondary data
sources on the topic of interest, the
evaluation of this work in relation to the
problem and documentation of this work.
 The Purpose of a
Literature Review
• The main purpose of writing a literature
review is to convey to the readers what
knowledge and ideas have been established
with regards to the research topic, and what
the limitation are.
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• The literature review serves to:

• • demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of the theoretical and

research issues related to the research question.
• • display an awareness of what has already been done so as to avoid
attempts to ‘reinvent the wheel’
• • exhibit the ability to critically evaluate the information in the relevant
literature and formulate questions that need further research.
• • demonstrate an ability to synthesize all the result into a summary of what
is known and what is not known.
• • Indicate how or to what extent the research will help narrow any existing
gap or contribute to the existing field or knowledge in that particular area.
• (Parmjit Singh, Chan & Sidhu, 2006)
 Conducting Literature
Review
• d) Theses
•The first step of the
literature review involves • e) Conference
the identification of the proceedings
various published and
unpublished materials that • f) Unpublished
are available on the topic of manuscripts
interest, and gaining access • g) Reports
to these.
•a) Data sources • h) Newspapers
•b)Text Books • i) The internet
•c) Journal
 Write a Literature Review
• STEP 1: Contextualize the research

• STEP 2: Find the resources

• STEP 3: Read the Literature

• STEP 4: Compile and summarize the information

• STEP 5: Organize and report the literature review of the

literature
• STEP 6: Report the literature review
 STEP 1: Contextualize(place or
study in context) the research
• It is important to determine the focus in the specified
field’s theoretical themes. The theoretical review
presented must also justify the research question and
help determine the research. Example:
• Research Problem: The relationship between leadership
style and coping style on job stress and job satisfaction
among secondary school teachers in Malaysia.
• Main Field of Interest: Educational Administration

• Related Field: Leadership, mgmt, job stress, and job

satisfaction. (these item will be your variables)
STEP 2: Find the resources
• At this stage, it is necessary to identify
and locate sufficient related resources in
order to be able to conduct a thorough
and systematic review and literature. It
would include both primary and
secondary resources such as book,
journal articles, monographs, reports
and electronic media.
Example of Journal
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Example of Thesis
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 STEP 3: Read the Literature
• After locating and collecting the sources of information,
the researcher needs to review the information.
• At this stage, it is important to carefully read and
understand the information.
• Next, the researcher needs to determine the relevance of
the information collected. This would mean looking into
the specific research topic and making decisions as to
what needs to be considered and what can be omitted.
 continue
• While reading, the researcher needs to focus on the
following information and make shorts notes:

• Why, where and by whom the research was

conducted?

• What were the underlying assumptions of the study?

• How was the methodology conducted?

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• What were the major findings?

• What contribution did the study make to the existing

body of knowledge in the particular field?

• Which references are most useful to the

study?

• What are the Independents variable and

Dependent Variable?
 STEP 4: Compile and
summarize the information
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• An adequate list of references based on the readings
should be compiled and short notes made.
• Abstracts of the relevant studies may also be helpful.
Next, all the summarized information should be compiled
into an organizer- such as the database of computer using
software programmes like ‘endnote’ or electronic notes.
• The traditional ‘paper and pen’ type of research can use
3’x5’ cards to compile notes. Each card should only
contain information from a particular source and the topic
being research.
 STEP 5: Organize and report the
literature review of the literature
• At this step, the researcher needs to combining parts or
elements and summarize the material read by organizing
the information and compiling the abstracts to form a
convincing argument/ debate in the review of literature.
• The review of literature must never be a simple
descriptive list or set of summaries of the various
materials read. It has to be organized in such a manner
that there is order and coherence both in though and
argument.
 continue
• There are many ways to organize a review of literature.
How the information is organized depends on the
particular research problem and the amount of
information that has been collected.
• Generally, a literature review is developed in such a way
that it moves from general to specific perspectives.
• It can be presented chronologically or historically, where
one can either start by reviewing the past, then move to
current research studies and beliefs or from the latest
research to the least recent research and/ or materials.
 STEP 6: Report the literature review
• The literature review should begin with an outline and
move on to the first draft.
• In most studies, the review of literature begins with an
introduction giving the context of the research problem.
• It should also familiarize the reader with the main issues
of the research. This should be followed with a
description of the findings from related studies.
 continue
• In putting together the literature review, you should
focus on the following points:

•The main and current theories which underline the

research problem

•The main controversies about the particular issues to be

investigated

•The related studies which can be considered the better

ones, and why
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• Once again, it is critical for researcher to note that the
literature review is NOT a listing or summary of related studies
but a critical review of related works.
• The researcher’s task in reviewing existing theories and works
is to justify the need for the current study. The literature
review helps to show how each work cited has contribution to
the development of the current field.
• When writing the literature review, the researcher is not
required to write a summary of all findings in the cited works.
What is required is to explain in a sentence or two the specific
work has contributed to the development of the particular
argument and research problem.
 Plagiarism
• Plagiarism refers to copying and presenting
someone else’s work as your own. It can occur
when one makes use of either words or ideas
without citing or acknowledging the original
sources.
• There are three main types of plagiarism – a)
global plagiarism, b) patchwork plagiarism, and
c) incremental plagiarism.
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• Global plagiarism occurs when a writer takes entire piece
of work done by someone else and presents it as his/her
own.
• Patchwork plagiarism occurs when a writer takes works
from a number of different sources and puts it together
as his /her own without giving credit/citing the original
sources.
• One is guilty of incremental plagiarism when one fails to
cite sources from which ideas are taken.
 Reference Citing in Text
• One important aspect to keep in mind when writing a
review of literature is to acknowledge source.
• As a researcher, one must pay attention to ensure all
‘borrowed information’ such as facts, direct quotation,
paraphrase, and summaries are recognized and
documented using established methods of citation.
• The two most common systems currently in use are
from the Modern Language Association (MLA), which is
used in English and the humanities, and the American
Psychological Association (APA) which is often
preferred by social scientists.
 One author, one work
• Given below are some examples on how to cite works
within a review of literature:
• Parmjit (2002) points out that the grades obtained in the
national examination of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) for
Mathematics do not indicate students’ mathematical
knowledge in problem solving.
• OR

• In 2002, Parmjit pointed out that …

 Two authors, one work
• Cite both names every time reference is made to the
study /piece of writing.

• Weinstein and Mayer (1986) point out that in the

cognitive paradigm, new information is acquired through
a four-stage encoding process of ‘selection’, ‘acquisition’,
‘construction’ and integration’.
 Multiple authors, one
work
• To acknowledge three or more authors, cite all authors the first time reference is
made to the said work. In subsequent citation, cite only the surname of the first
authors follow by ‘et al.’ and the year.

• First citation

• Naiman, Frohlich, Stern and Todesco (1978) conducted a study of successful

language learners and concluded that the most successful learners whom language
comes easily but are learners who display certain typical characteristic related to
motivation.

• Subsequent citation

• Naiman et al. (1978) listed that a positive attitude towards tasks, the need for
achievement and possessing high…….
 One authors, two works in the
same year of publication

• When the same author has more than one

publication in the same year, cite the surname of the
author, followed by the year using letters a, b, c, etc.

• Research findings (Parmjit, 2003a; Parmjit 2003b)

suggest that children do not necessarily use
multiplication in solving multi.plicative word
problems
 Authors with the same
surname
• Cite the authors’ initials whenever the
works is cited

• In 2000, G.K. Sidhu found that learning

management system…This was further
research by R.K. Sidhu (2004) who
concluded that learning management
systems…
 One group of authors,
one work
• For the first citation, mention the group /agency in full. For
subsequent citations, abbreviations can be used.

• First Citation

• According to the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC), 1990,

the curriculum specification provides a detailed…

• Subsequent Citation

• The application of multiple intelligences in Malaysia ESL

classroom…(CDC, 1990)
 Personal Communication
• Personal communication includes letters, e-mails,
interviews, telephone conversations and discussion
group. When citing, include both initials and the
surname of the communicator.
• According to CDC officer K.L Lim (personal
communication, August 21, 2005) a total of 55
teachers…..
 Formulating Research
Hypotheses
• After reading this chapter, you should be able
to:
• a) define hypothesis

• b) state the statement of hypotheses

• c) understand characteristic of a good

hypothesis
• d) understand hypothesis format
 Hypothesis Development

• Once we have identified the important variables in a situation

and established the relationship among them through logical
reasoning in the theoretical framework, we are in position to
test whether the relationships that have been theorized do, in
fact, hold true.
• By testing this relationship scientifically through appropriate
statistical analyses, or through negative case analysis in
quantitative research, we are able to obtain reliable
information on what kinds of relationships exist among the
variables among the variables operating in the problem
situation.
• (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013)
 Definition of a Hypothesis

• Hypothesis is simply an educated guess or prediction based

on the relationship between two or more variables. It is
similar to providing the possible solution to the research
problem.
• A hypothesis can be defined as a tentative, yet testable,
statement, which predicts what you expect to find in your
empirical data. Hypotheses are derived from the theory on
which your conceptual model is based and are often relational
in nature.
• (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013)
 Example: Hypotheses
statements
• 1. There is a difference in the academic
performance of learner using the textbook
and those who study via internet.
• 2. Graduates with a higher CGPA will get
better jobs.
• 3. Corporal punishment is a good deterrent
against crime in schools.
Characteristics of a Good
Hypothesis
• • It is based on the fact and literature

• • It can be proven to be true or false

• • It is stated in simple, clear language
• • It is reasonable and can be investigated
 Hypothesis Format
• A Hypothesis can be expressed in the four ways:

• 1. Null hypothesis

• 2. Alternative Hypothesis Statements

• 3. Directional Hypothesis Statements

• 4. Non-Directional hypothesis
 1. Null hypothesis
•  Null Hypothesis H0: a hypothesis that shows no different/ no relationship

between the variables.

1. There will be no difference in the reading comprehension test score between

students who read silently and those who read aloud.

2. There is no relationship between students who are avid readers and their
linguistic performance.

3. There is no difference in attitude towards Mathematics between boys and girls.

4. There is no difference in the mean score of all students taught by the mastery
learning method and the traditional instruction method.
 alternative hypothesis
• The alternative hypothesis, which is the opposite of the null, is a
statement expressing a relationship between two variables or indicating
differences between groups.

1. There will be a difference in the reading comprehension test score between

students who read silently and those who read aloud.

2. There is a relationship between students who are avid readers and their
linguistic performance.

3. There is a difference in attitude towards Mathematics between boys and

girls.

4. There is a difference in the mean score of all students taught by the mastery
learning method and the traditional instruction method.
 Directional hypothesis
• Directional hypothesis – A prediction where the
result is implied, that is, the specific nature of the
relationship that a researcher hopes will emerge in
the study, for e.g. Treatment A is more effective than
Treatment B or “exercise reduce stress”. If stating
the relationship between two groups, terms such as
positive, negative, more than, less than, more,
better, higher and the like are used then this are
directional hypotheses because the directional of the
leadership between variable (positive/negative) is
indicated.
 example
1. Reading silently is more effective than reading aloud.

2. Science stream students perform better in an I.Q test than

Art stream students.

3. Form 4 students who are taught using interactive

multimedia achieve better marks than those who receive
regular instruction.

4. Form 5 Modern Math students who attend Math Camp

obtain higher Math score in SPM examination than
students who do not attend Math Camp.
 Non-Directional hypothesis
• Non-Directional hypothesis - A prediction where the
direction of the result is not implied. On the other hand,
Non- Directional hypothesis are those that do postulate
a relationship or differences, but offer no indication of
the direction of these relationship of differences. In
other words, though it may be guess that there is
significant relationship between two variables, we may
not be able to say whether the relationship is positive or
negative.
 example
1. There is a relationship between age and job satisfaction

2. There is a difference in the mean score of students taught by the

mastery learning method and the traditional instructional method.

3. There is a difference in the reading comprehension test score

between students who read silently and those who read aloud.

4. Eating oatmeal affects the cholesterol level of an individual.

 Conclusion
• There is a lot to know about research process,
from selecting research area until developing
research question. Finding a topic and question
that works for you is a real challenge and often
become an obstacle. Take your time and talk to
your friends and lecturers, and make it into an
exploration looking for a gold that represents a
topic that will carry you to a new level of
intellectual growth. But remember, your research
must be reasonable to complete within stipulated
time period.