Chapter Four Literature Review and Research Proposal

Chapter Four: Review of literature
and Research Proposal

1
Scope
4.1 Significance of literature review
4.2 Sources of literature
4.3 Planning and conducting literature search
4.4 Recording the literature
4.5 Evaluating the literature
4.6 Research proposal
Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Concept of Literature Review
2
 Literature review is an organized critical account of

information that has been published on a specific
topic and provides an organized synthesis of the
information, idea and knowledge providing the
content for a literature review is the literature
search;
 a comprehensive investigation of reports and
articles that has been written about the topic.
 A Literature review is a thorough analysis of
research articles on a particular topic.
Importance of literature review
3
• Literature review involves a systematic search of
published sources of information to identify items
relevant to a particular requirement.
• In any research project it is essential to understand
what has already been done (if anything) in the
specific topic you have chosen and what has been done
in the wider subject area of that topic.
• This is essential for several reasons and the importance
of a literature review can only be appreciated when we
ask ourselves a number of specific questions.
4
As a researcher, you need to know the answers to the

following questions concerning the research topic that you
are considering for investigation:
o Has the work already been done?
o Who are the experts in the field?
o What are the main theoretical perspectives?
o What are the common research methods in the topic?
o What are the main problems in researching the topic?
o Are there any major controversies in this topic area?
o Is the topic open to hypothesis testing?
o Is theResearch
topicMethods
a trivial one?
in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A
5
• The only way you can satisfactorily answer these

questions is by reading as much as you can on
research which is directly and indirectly related to your
research topic.
• In the latter case, you can only know this by reading
materials which you think might be relevant. The
easiest way to identify such material is through the
article title and the abstract.

6
Has the work already been done?

• Obviously, if this is the case, then you need to consider
changing your research topic or its focus.

• In most business-related research, it is very rare that a specific
set of research questions or a specific hypothesis has already
been addressed in your specific topic area. This is more common
in science research. Nevertheless, it is still important to check
that a piece of research already published is not so close to yours
that undertaking your research would not be worthwhile.
• Clearly, this means that the literature review and dealing with the
first question above is something that needs to start immediately

after you have identified a possible research topic.

7
Who are the experts in the field?

• It should be clear to you now that in many areas of business
research there are indeed experts on specific topics—so how do
you identify them? In fact, this is relatively easy—you could
consult the Social Science or Business citation index by topic area
(on the web) and this will show up the names of authors in that
area.
• Where a name appears several times then you can be
reasonably certain that the author is very active in that
research topic.
• Alternatively, you could find a published article related to your
topic in an academic journal and consult the reference list at the
end of it—again it is often the case that the same name is
referenced more than once. This is also a good way of establishing
a ‘road map’ for your literature review.
8
What are the main theoretical perspectives?

• Whatever the research topic that you have identified, you need to
construct a conceptual framework within which you will study the
topic. This is critical to the successful implementation of the research
work.
• Without theory, it is almost impossible to interpret data. The key
point here is that we need a theory in order to inform us what kind of
data we require in order to answer the research questions we have
already set ourselves.
• Where does one find this theory? The answer to this question is easy—
you will find it in the literature related to your research topic. You will
also find critiques of theory there and alternative theories of the same
social behavior.
• It is critical that you are aware of all theories pertaining to your research
topic, their strengths and their weaknesses.

9
What are the Common Research Methods in the Topic?

In reading the published academic literature on or closely
related to your research topic, it is very important to try to
identify the common characteristics of how the research
was carried out. There are a number of aspects of this that
need to be clearly understood:
 Is the published research in this topic mainly of a
qualitative or a quantitative nature?
 If qualitative, what is its most common basis?
 If quantitative, what is its most common basis?
 Is the published research usually a mix of qualitative and
quantitative methods?

10
• In business research, quantitative methods tend to be

dominated by statistical analysis. You need to be clear on
the most common approaches taken here—is it simple
descriptive statistics, non-parametric methods,
parametric methods, multivariate methods or another
generally accepted statistical approach?
• You also need to consider if the published research derives
its data from secondary sources mainly or primary sources
—this will also inform you as to how and where you should
be seeking your own data. Also consider what type of data
is most commonly used in the topic: cross-sectional, time-
series, or categorical
11
What are the Main Problems in Researching the Topic?

Without a review of the literature, you cannot possibly know this. There
may be many problems and several common problems in researching
your research topic. One of the most common problems is data.
• Does it exist for example?
• If it does, can you get access to it?
• Is it in a format which is easily manipulated?
• Is it trustworthy?
• How old is it?
• Have the variables in the data been measured correctly and consistently?
 All these questions are important. Additionally, is the topic one for
which primary data is essential? If so, can it be collected in a reasonable
time and at low cost? Can it be collected at all if the topic is personally,
socially or politically sensitive?
12
Are there Any Major Controversies in this Topic Area?

• The controversies may be of a methodological, theoretical
or empirical nature.
• They may arise due to mishandling theory, data
methodology, or choosing improper methods for
empirical investigation.
• It is one of the skills of literature reviewing to determine
what the controversies actually are.
• This is also a very fruitful source for deriving your own
research questions since the gaps in your understanding of
the topic will be fairly clear from the debates and
controversies you find in the literature.
13
Is the Topic Open to Hypothesis Testing?

 Not all research questions can be put in the format of
a hypothesis.
 A hypothesis needs to be clear, unambiguous, focused
and testable using an accepted statistical method.

 If the research topic is mainly investigated using
qualitative methods, then it may be very difficult to
generate testable hypotheses.

14
Is the Topic a Trivial One?

 Research should be concerning itself with problems
which are more significant and with the potential

for the results to be generalizable to at least a
group, an area, a sector of industry, or any other
aggregation.

Sources of Literature Review
15
 The ‘literature’ involved may be in the form of:

 books,
 journal articles,
 videos,
 cassette tapes,
 conference papers,
 reports, theses, patents, standards or other types of
information sources.

OBJECTIVES OF THE LITERATURE
REVIEW
16
Apart from providing the answers to the earlier questions, the review
should also achieve the following:
• It should enable you to sharpen and focus your initial research questions
or even suggest new research questions.
• It should provide you with a wide and deep knowledge of the theoretical,
empirical and methodological issues within your chosen research topic.
• It should provide a ‘bridge’ between your research questions and your
research findings.
• It should enable you to speak with authority on your research topic and
the wider subject area.
• It should enable you to compare your research methods, theoretical
framework and findings with work already done.
• It should enable you to set the scope and range of your research topic.

OBJECTIVES OF THE
17
LITERATURE REVIEW
• Quite clearly, the literature review is the pivotal element
of a research project.
 It connects your planned work to previous work,
 it connects your specific topic to the wider subject area,
and
 it connects your specific findings to the findings of others.
It is very much an inclusive activity in the sense that, if
undertaken properly, you become a part of the academic
community who can speak and write with confidence and
authority on a specific research problem.
TYPES OF LITERATURE
18
REVIEW
There are different types of literature review that can be
undertaken, depending on the purpose of the research.
The main types of literature review are:
1. An Evaluative Review
2. An Exploratory Review
3. An Instrumental Review
• These are not mutually exclusive and will often be
mixed together. However, in the case of academic
research, it is the second type of literature review which
is the most common.
TYPES OF LITERATURE
19
REVIEW
1. Evaluative Review
• This type of literature review focuses on providing a
discussion of the literature in terms of its coverage

and contribution to knowledge in a particular area.
• It provides a comprehensive commentary on a very
large number of research projects focused on a specific

topic.
• It is often used to directly compare research findings
from these projects when the findings are directly

comparable.
TYPES OF LITERATURE
20
REVIEW
2. Exploratory Review
• This is a literature review which is seeking to find out what
actually exists in the academic literature in terms of theory,
empirical evidence and research methods as they pertain to a
specific research topic and its related wider subject area.
• It is also used to sharpen, focus and identify research
questions that remain unanswered in the specific topic.
• The key to conducting a review of this type is to remain focused
on the field of study and not allow yourself to be taken into other
directions just because they may be interesting.
• The review should be seen as being informative to the
researcher and providing him/her with clearer ideas on the
common theories, methods and types of data analysis conducted
on this topic.
TYPES OF LITERATURE
21
REVIEW
3. Instrumental Review
• This is where the literature is used exclusively as a source of
information on how to conduct some research on a highly
specific research problem.
• It is not designed to identify the state of current knowledge in
an area but to identify the best way to carry out a research
project without reinventing the wheel and without incurring
unnecessary and avoidable costs.
• This is the type of review which would be typically done in-
house by company employees who are tasked to solve an urgent
or unexpected business problem.
• This type of review will also be less concerned with properly
citing the literature, unlike the two discussed earlier.
Functions of Literature review
22
• It provides a theoretical background to your study

• It brings clarity and focus to your research problem
• It helps to improve your research methodology
• It broadens your knowledge base in your research area
• It contextualizes your findings

Steps in conducting literature review
23
• There are four main steps in conducting a literature

review.
1. Search for existing literature in your area of study
2. Review the literature selected
3. Develop a theoretical and empirical framework
4. Writing up literature.

24
1. Search for existing literature

• To effectively search for literature in your filed of
inquiry, it is imperative that you have in mind at least
some idea of the broad subject area and of the
problem you wish to investigate .
• Plan your information search.
• Spend some time thinking about what you really want
to find information.
• This may involve breaking your topic down into
several separate information searches.

25
Consider the following aspects of your search:

• Scope—is the information you require—a core element of your
topic, is it background (a paragraph in your introduction), or
tangential to your central topic?
• Timescale—how far back is the information of relevance? Must
it be recent? Published in the last five years? Or historical? If
looking to forecast, you may need to look back over a long
period to assess statistical trends for example.
• Range—do you need local information only? Regional?
National or international? If a variety, assess the part each type
will play in your project.
• Most importantly, select the key concepts your search will
involve. From these concepts, generate a number of subjects or
keywords.
26
• There are many sources of literature including journals, books,

reports, abstracts, and electronic websites among others.
• Searching for the appropriate literature can be very time
consuming, and you need to be very specific when using library
search engines, Internet search engines and other databases.
• Once an appropriate article is obtained, there are various ways of
reading it for research purposes. In doing the reading for the
review, one must consider the credibility of the article.
• Articles published in referred journals tend to be the most
reliable. Articles obtained from the World Wide Web (www)
have to be treated with a great deal of caution, although there is
good material on the Web. If you plan to use the Internet as a
major source of research material, the most reliable sites are
those of academic departments in universities.
27
2. Review the literature selected.

• Once an appropriate article is obtained, there are various
ways of reading it for research purposes.

• Reviewing academic literature is not the same as just
reading it.
• You need to think about the ideas, the research methods,
how the data was collected, and how the findings have
been interpreted. This is what we mean literature review.
• To start with critical review, put together themes and issues
that are associated. When you find relevant articles or

books, note down the full bibliographic reference.
28
3. Develop Theoretical and empirical framework

The information obtained from different books and
journals need to be sorted under the main themes and
theories, highlighting agreements and disagreement
among the authors and identifying the unanswered
questions or gaps.

Steps in conducting literature
29
review
4. Writing up the Literature: recording and organizing
the literature in an organized manner

Evaluating the literature
30
• Relevance and Sufficiency are important considerations in

evaluating the literature.
• Checklists for evaluating the relevance of literature:
 How recent is the literature?
 Is the item likely to have been superseded?
 Does the literature support or contradict your arguments?
 Does the literature appear to be biased?
 Is the context sufficient?
 What are the methodologies used in the study and are they
appropriate?

4.6 The Research Proposal
31
 Introduction
 Types of Research Proposal
 Sections of a Research Proposal
 Sources of Research Funding
 Evaluating the Research Proposal

The Research Proposal
32
What is research proposal?

 A written statement of the research design that includes
a statement explaining the purpose of the study.
 Detailed outline of procedures associated with a
particular research methodology.
 It includes information on cost and deadlines.
 The proposal must communicate exactly what

information, how and where it will be obtained through
the study. Questionnaires and other supporting
documents should be attached for reference.

The Research Proposal
33
• A research proposal is intended to convince others

that you have a worthwhile research project and that
you have the competence and the work-plan to
complete it.
• Generally, a research proposal should contain all the
key elements involved in the research process and
include sufficient information for the readers to
evaluate the proposed study.
• Regardless of your research area and the methodology
you choose, all research proposals must address the
following questions: What you plan to accomplish,
why you want to do it and how you are going to do it.

The Structure of Business Research
Proposal:
34
 A specific structure of the business research

proposal depends on the institutional and
organizational requirements and may vary from
institutions to institutions.
 However, the variability does not usually affect the
basic structural model, which includes six major
components:

35
Proposal:
Though the exact format of the proposal is variable, most
research proposals contain the following.
A. Title of the research
B. Background to the study
C. Statement of the problem
D. Objectives of the study
E. Hypothesis/research questions
F. Significance of the study
G. Limitations of the study
H. Scope of the study
I. Literature review/Theoretical framework
J. Methodology
K. A budget break down
L. Plan of action or work plan
M. References

Proposal:
36
• The Title: The title of the business research proposal is

informative and concise. It gives the readers enough information
to attract their attention and to trigger their curiosity.
• The background of study/Introduction:
A research proposal should provide relevant
background for the proposed study. Specifically, the
proposal should precisely define the problem at hand.
This section should be used to put the work into
context, what has been done before, and how will the
proposed work adds to it. The introduction situates the
research subject within a larger business context. The introduction
section identifies the problem that needs to be resolved as a result of
the research and outlines the proposed activities and describes the
expected outcomes.

The Structure of Business Research Proposal:
37
Statement of the problem:

 A clear, concise statement of the problem to be
solved by the proposed research, usually in few
sentences.
 The problem provides the context for the research
study and typically generates questions which the
research hopes to answer. The problem statement
should “hook” the reader and establish a
persuasive context for what follows. The problem
statement should close with question.

38
Objectives of the study:

 Statement(s) identifying the purpose of the
research. The objective(s) should be phrased in
positive terms (e.g., to develop, to determine, to
measure, rather than broad generalities, such as, to
investigate, to study)

39
Hypothesis:
• is proposed explanation on observable
phenomenon. A hypothesis is a logical supposition,
a reasonable guess and educated conjecture. It
provides a tentative explanation for a phenomenon
under investigation. A useful hypothesis is testable
statement which may include a prediction.
• States on expected relationships or difference
between two variables.
• A good hypothesis is stated clearly and concisely,
express the relationship between two variables and
defines those variables in measurable form.
Proposal:
40
Significance of the study:

• It briefly includes the findings of the literature search (also
known as literature review) related to the research to be
conducted.
• There should be well justification for conducting and
choosing your topic and research problem in such a way

that either there has been no other research on the problem
with the same approach or that the proposed research
project will extend, modify or refine prior research.
• Thus the proposed research should be related to past
research accomplishments and how it builds upon rather

than duplicating any previous research.
Proposal:
41
Literature Review
• The review of related literature should provide an
overview of the topic and present references related
to what is known about the topic.
• The literature sets a context for the topic and
identifies prior research that can support the
significance of the study. The literature review also
provides a basis of identifying hypothesis.
• Literature review provides justification for the
future research as well as for the effort that the
writer has already contributed to studying the
subject area

42
• The goal of the Literature review is to demonstrate that the

researcher has extensive knowledge of the field and of the
specific problem; and that s/he has studied both the works
of recognized authorities and the new trends in the theory.
Moreover, the writer should be an experienced practician
capable of applying theory to real-life contexts. However,
more importantly, the Literature review has to prove that
there is a gap in either theory or business practice; the
proposed research will eliminate this gap.
• Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the
introduction section. However, most of the time a separate
section is preferred, which allows a more thorough review
of the literature.

43
Importance of Literature Review

• Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research.
• Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
• Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues
related to your research question.
• Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information.
• Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature.
• Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the
conceptual framework for your research.
• Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a significant
and substantial contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important
theoretical issue or filling a major gap in the literature).

44
Most of the time literature reviews suffer from the

following problems:
• Lacking organization and structure
• Lacking focus, unity and coherence
• Being repetitive and verbose
• Failing to cite influential papers
• Failing to keep up with recent developments
• Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
• Citing irrelevant or trivial references
• Depending too much on secondary sources

45
Research Methods
• The methods section is an outline of all the activities that the researcher is
planning to perform in the pursuit of his/her research goals.
• The methods section includes a descriptions of the research participants,
measuring instruments, procedures and data analysis.
• The key to a successful research is to identify appropriate data collection
techniques, to gather relevant and usable data. Surveys, face-to-face
interviews, focus groups are the three methods of collecting primary data.
• Secondary data can be gathered from annual and market reports, financial
and legal documentation, organizational structure-charts, executive
publications and speeches, and so on. The focus of this section is on the
details: the timeframe for each activity, the list of participants, the scripts
for the interviews, the materials, and so on. The more detailed is the
description of the methods of the data collection and analysis the more
thoughtful the research sounds to the reader

46
The method section typically consists of the following

sections:
• Design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory
experiment? What kinds of design do you choose?
• Subjects or participants - Who will take part in your
study? What kind of sampling procedure do you use?
• Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or
questionnaires do you use? Why do you choose them?
Are they valid and reliable?
• Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study?
What activities are involved? How long does it take?

47
In short the methods section should clearly outlines-

• What will be the research methodology e.g. survey or secondary
data analysis or observation?
• Who are the population for the study?
• What would be sample size?
• How this sample would be selected – applying probability or non-
probability method?
• What instrument would be used to collect data or how the data
would be collected from the sample?
• How the data would be analyzed? What statistical tool would be
used to analyze and interpret data? (Proposed method of data
analysis).
• Research Period Provide detail work plan mentioning the activities
and time schedule in a bar chart. For example: Gantt Chart
48
 References
 Research Period or Work Plan: Provide detail
work plan mentioning the activities and time
schedule. Preferably in Gantt Chart
 Budget

49
S.No Phase name Period

1 Topic identification Sept 01– October 01/2010
2 Literature review October 05—December 05/2010
3 Development of instruments December 10– January 10/2011
4 Data Collection January 15– May 15/2011
5 Data Analysis May 20– July 20/2011
6 Report writing July 22– September 01/2011

50
Financial plan/Cost of Research

 Remuneration / fees for employed research associates / assistants
(where applicable).
 Cost for support services (field workers, laborers, conveyance etc.).
 Cost of consumable materials with break up.
 Construction of pilot study with break up (if necessary).
 Cost of experimental work (if necessary).
 Cost of report preparation, binding etc.
 Others
Bibliography: Bibliography will contain all research materials

including books, magazines, Periodicals, websites, and scientific
papers which you have referred.

51 Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing

• Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.
• Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
• Failure to cite landmark studies.
• Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions
by other researchers.
• Failure to stay focused on the research question.
• Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed
research.
• Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.
• Too much rambling — going "all over the map" without a clear sense of
direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a
seamless river.)
• Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
• Too long or too short.
• Failing to follow the appropriate referencing style (APA or Harvard style.

52
Guideline for Technical evaluation of Research proposal

 Appropriateness and clarity of conceptual/theoretical
framework
 Logical relationship between the conceptual/theoretical
framework and the problem of the study.

 clarity and adequacy of research method
 Realistic work Plan/Activities
 itemized financial breakdown of the total project cost.

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Chapter Four: Review of literature

and Research Proposal

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

 Literature review is an organized critical account of

As a researcher, you need to know the answers to the

• The only way you can satisfactorily answer these

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Has the work already been done?

changing your research topic or its focus.

first question above is something that needs to start immediately

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Who are the experts in the field?

What are the main theoretical perspectives?

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

What are the Common Research Methods in the Topic?

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

• In business research, quantitative methods tend to be

What are the Main Problems in Researching the Topic?

Are there Any Major Controversies in this Topic Area?

Is the Topic Open to Hypothesis Testing?

and testable using an accepted statistical method.

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Is the Topic a Trivial One?

which are more significant and with the potential

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

 The ‘literature’ involved may be in the form of:

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

discussion of the literature in terms of its coverage

large number of research projects focused on a specific

from these projects when the findings are directly

• It provides a theoretical background to your study

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

• There are four main steps in conducting a literature

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

1. Search for existing literature

several separate information searches.

Consider the following aspects of your search:

• There are many sources of literature including journals, books,

2. Review the literature selected.

ways of reading it for research purposes.

that are associated. When you find relevant articles or

3. Develop Theoretical and empirical framework

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

• Relevance and Sufficiency are important considerations in

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

What is research proposal?

 The proposal must communicate exactly what

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

• A research proposal is intended to convince others

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

 A specific structure of the business research

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

• The Title: The title of the business research proposal is

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Statement of the problem:

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Objectives of the study:

Research Methods in Accounting and Finance,, Gadisa A

Significance of the study: