MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF COMMERCE
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEGREE

MBA 710 BUSINESS RESEARCH

METHODS
 GROUP FOUR PRESENTATION

Question four : What is the main purpose of the literature

review in Qualitative research ?
 GROUP FOUR DELEGATES
NAME REG NUMBER LEVEL
ESTHER TENDAI KAGANDE R214675J 1.2
FUNGAI HOVE R214683Q 1.2
GARIKAYI MOYO R201466M 1.2
ISABEL NYAMHUNGA R212966A 1.2
KUDAKWASHE MASUKA R211778V 1.2
LORAINE MAMBIRI R146593C 1.2
RUVIMBO MABANDE R214509B 1.2
TAFADZWA SAMHUNGU R212480R 1.2
TALENT CHIKOBVU R212458X 1.2
THABO DUBE R215640X 1.2

“None of us is as smart as all of us“

Ken Blanchard
Outline
Definitions
❑ Literature Review
❑ Qualitative Research
Types of literature review
❑ Empirical vs Theoretical Literature review
Purpose of literature review in Qualitative research
 Literature Review Defined
⮚ Literature Review is an important data collection method which entails a survey
of published works by other authors since no one generally has a monopoly of
knowledge.
⮚ Onwuegbuzie, Leech, & Collins (2012) provide a complex definition of literature
review as that of a written document that presents a logically argued case founded
on a comprehensive understanding of the current state of knowledge about a topic
of study.
⮚ A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles and any other source
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 that have been explored while
researching a particular topic and demonstrating to the readers how the
reassert fits in a large field of study. (Fink., 2014)
 Qualitative Research Defined
⮚ Qualitative research is defined as the study of the nature of phenomena including their
quality different manifestations, the context in which they appear or perspectives from
which they can be perceived but excluding the range, frequency and place in an
objectively determined chain of cause and effect. This formal definition can be
complemented with a more pragmatic rule of thumb. Qualitative research generally
includes data in form of words rather than numbers. (Bussetto at al., 2020).

⮚ Qualitative research involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data (e.g.,

text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be
used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for
research.

⮚ Qualitative research is the opposite of quantitative research, which involves

collecting and analysing numerical data for statistical analysis.
Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research
Types of literature review
⮚ Literature review can be classified in a number of ways, however the most
common differentiation is into empirical and theoretical literature.

Empirical literature review

● It is the exploration of past studies in view of attempting to answer specific
questions. It is an interdisciplinary field of research which includes mainly,
psychology, sociology and philosophy of texts, that is, the contextual study of
literature and history of reading literary texts. It is based on experimentations
or observation, i.e. evidence. Usually conducted to answer a specific question
or test a hypothesis.
Theoretical literature review
● Theoretical literature looks at existing theories (concepts or whole), their
relationship, extent the theories have been studied and establishment of new
hypothesis. It helps establish what theories already exist, and the relationship
among them.
 Literature Review Purpose in Qualitative Research

1. Gap Analysis

● To be sure if the study brings new or enhancement to existing

solution(s).
● By identifying the research gap, we can decide whether the research is
worthwhile or not hence avoid wastage of time and resources exploring
to deduce conclusions which are already in the body of knowledge.
● Gap analysis helps identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent
duplication and give credit to other researchers
● Identify need for additional research (justifying your research)
Literature Review Purpose in Qualitative Research

2. Carry over of relevant conclusions

● Literature review helps carry over relevant
conclusions and ideas as they are published
together with new findings.
● Identify inconsistencies, conflict in previous studies,
open questions left from other researchers
 Literature Review Purpose in Qualitative Research

3. Familiarisation with the research topic

● Literature review helps familiarize with the current state of
knowledge.
● Provide a foundation of knowledge on a particular topic.
● Identify the relationship of works in context of its
contribution to the topic and to other works.
● Place one's own research within the context of existing
literature making a case for why further study is needed.
 Literature Review Purpose in Qualitative Research

3. Familiarisation with the research topic cont…

● A researcher uses literature review as a starting point in starting a new
research. The researcher gets to familiarize themself with the latest
developments within the area of study
● Identifying relevant and irrelevant variables which may hinder smooth
running of a research. This is done through comparing different investigations.
● Literature review reveals the advantages and disadvantages of previously used
methodologies so that the irrelevant ones are avoided to adopt or improve on
better methodologies
● The researcher can also study the definitions used in different researches and
discover similarities and connections between results from the same area of
study.
Reference List
1. Fink.A. (2014),”Conducting Research Literature Reviews from the Internet to Paper”, Published by
SAGE,Thousand Oaks,California
2. Bussetto.L. (2020), “How to use and assess Qualitative Research Methods, Neurosurgical research and practice,
Article no 14
3. O’Gorman.K & MacIntosh.R. (2014), “Research Methods for Business and Management”, Oxford Goodfellow
Publishers Limited
4. Onwuegbuzie.A.J Leech N.L & Collins.K.M. (2012), “Qualitative Analysis Techniques for the Review of
Literature”, The Qualitative Report 1
5. Shufang.S. (2006), “What is the role of Literature Review in Qualitative Research”,
https://www.researchgate.net/post/what-is-the-role-of-literature-review-in-qualitative-research