AUJAYEB Swarnkumar Prabhakar

The Literature
Review
 The Literature Review:

Purposes of the Literature Review

The Literature Review Process

Organization of Search Aids, Key Words, Reading, &

this Lecture
Notes

Writing the Literature Review

Referencing
• Before we can create new knowledge, we
must first know the current state of
knowledge about our research subject.

• Effective researchers will use knowledge

and insights of others and draw on
elements of prior research.

• In the literature review, the task is to learn

as much as you can from the efforts and
work of others – which is published in the
“scientific literature”.
 • According to Cooper (1988) '... a literature review uses as its database
Definitions of reports of primary or original scholarship and does not report new primary
scholarship itself.
Literature
Review • The review of relevant literature is nearly always a standard chapter of a
thesis or dissertation. The review forms an important chapter in a thesis
where its purpose is to provide the background to and justification for the
research undertaken (Bruce 1994).
Bruce, (1994) who has published widely on the topic
of the literature review, has identified six elements
of a literature review;

• A search;
• A survey;
• A vehicle for learning;
• A research facilitator;
• A report
Purposes of the Literature Review
The central purpose of the Literature Review is to provide the
researcher (and the reader) with an understanding of literature
about the proposed research.

This includes the strengths and weaknesses!

The research problem is the focus of the literature review

But the literature may be related to the research project in several

ways – through the problem, the objectives, the conceptual
framework, and methods and procedures
• Prior research that addressed a similar problem or had
similar objectives is relevant –you should know how
others approached their problem and objectives.

• Likewise the approaches and procedures used by

others can suggest what is likely to work for you.

• Studies can be related through both similarities and

differences – the differences are especially important in
methods and procedures.
Specific Purposes, Functions and Benefits of a
Literature Review include:

A. Prevents duplication of what has already been done (Some

duplication or confirmation of research is necessary, but
excessive duplication is wasteful)

B. Help to identify new areas where research is needed (and

how new research can contribute)

C. Provides ideas and direction for:

1. How to handle problems encountered
2. Techniques
3. Sources of data
4. Novel approaches for the research
• D. Helps develop insights on design of your
own study by showing what has (and has
not) been previously successful.

• E. May reveal conceptual insights into the

problem and/or suggest possible
hypotheses for your own study.

• A formal (written) literature review may not

be necessary for all studies (eg. Problem-
solving research for industry)

• But research should never be undertaken

without a literature review. To do so risks,
unneeded duplication, repeating mistakes
and inefficient research.
Gall, Borg, and Gall (1996) argue that the literature review plays a role in:

• Delimiting the research problem,

• Seeking new lines of inquiry,
• Avoiding fruitless approaches,
• Gaining methodological insights,
• Identifying recommendations for further research.
• Seeking support for grounded theory.
 Hart (1998) contributes additional reasons for reviewing
the literature, including:

• Distinguishing what has been done from what needs to be

done,
• Discovering important variables relevant to the topic,
• Synthesizing and gaining a new perspective,
• Identifying relationships between ideas and practices,
• Establishing the context of the topic or problem,
• Rationalizing the significance of the problem,
• Enhancing and acquiring the subject vocabulary,
• Understanding the structure of the subject,
• Relating ideas and theory to applications,
 The
Not all literature should be included in the review – only “scientific
literature”.

Literature
Review Valid literature are those which have been through a peer review
process.

Process This includes professional journals, academic journals, research

papers, formal research reports, empirical findings, university
affiliated bulletins, reports and monographs.

Literature review may also include similar publications by research

foundations and international organizations.

This does not ensure that these are infallible, or even correct – but
they have been through independent checks of accuracy and
correctness.
Materials for Literature Review
• Journal articles
• Books
• Conference proceedings
• Government/corporate reports
• Newspapers
• Dissertations
• Internet
• Online Research Databases
• Magazines
“Popular” publications should not be
included eg. Newspapers, news magazines,
or industry or popular publications.

Even well respected publications, such as the

Wall Street Journal, or The Economist are not
appropriate sources for a literature review.

(However, these sources may be useful to the

researcher as background information
during problem formulation)

The literature review is intended to provide

an overview and summary of prior reliable
knowledge.
Search Aids

• Standard search aids include indexes, abstracts, and bibliographies.

• These search tools are located in the research library and many now are
computerized.
• But not all relevant materials are available electronically, so computer and
hard copy searches are necessary.
• Also, many indexing and abstract services lag behind current literature (as
much as several years) so it is useful to check current issues of major
journals for relevant literature.
• Dissertation abstracts should not be overlooked.
 Key Words
• These are individual words and phrases
which describe the topic you are studying.
• Selecting good key words is very important.
– if too limited, you may overlook relevant
literature;
– if too broad, you may spend time locating
and reviewing literature with little relation
to your topic.
• The best advise is to start with broad key
words, then narrow to a more confined list.
• Defining key words may be difficult – there are no
specific guidelines.
• Focus on key words and phrases which define the
topic.
• This includes words relevant to the problem,
objectives, conceptual framework and methods
or procedures.
• It may be helpful to review prior research that
used analytical techniques or certain issues that
you intend to study. These techniques or issues
would be included in the key words.
Reading
• It is often useful to start reading with the most
recent publications. This allows:
1) Focusing more quickly on current knowledge,
2) Recent research often includes references to relevant
earlier research.
• First read the abstract or summary to determine
relevance and whether to review the article.
• As you read, keep in mind that the central purpose is to
identify and describe the relevance of the study to your
research.
Notes
Be sure you have a complete citation of each source.

Keep written notes – don’t rely on memory.

Be thorough and systematic in keeping notes; note problem,

objectives, methods, findings and conclusions

Note questions, shortcomings or problems with the study.

Notes can be on note card, full sheets of paper, or directly in

word processing files (which can use the “search” function).
Writing the Literature Review
1. Literature reviews, like any part of a proposal, need
organization.
2. It should not be a series of unconnected summaries
of studies, but rather a synthesis of previous related
literature.
3. Develop an outline of the literature review, before
you start to write.
4. Start with an introduction section, and end with a
short summary that pulls all the main points
together.
• Use subheadings to organize the literature review and
direct the reader’s attention.
• These are usually subject-matter headings, which
logically group studies with a similar focus.
• The literature review should summarize, but not repeat
information. Seek to analyze.
• Compare and contrast the literature reviewed.
• Direct quotations can be useful, but use sparingly.
• Be reluctant to reproduce graphs or tables.
• Be sure to include the economic foundations literature related to your
research.
• An overview of conceptual thinking, analytical procedures, and the
progression of research can put your work in perspective.
• It can be difficult to know when to summarize the published information and
when to just refer to it. This primarily depends on the background of your
audience.
• Do not reference a source of an idea without actually having read it.
• (Another person’s summary and interpretation may differ from your own)
Referencing
• Referencing previous literature occurs throughout
research proposal and research reports, but is used most
in the literature review.

• We reference other literature to:

– Provide supporting (or contrary) evidence for the views
we write about.
– Assign credit for an idea, concept or result.
– Add information and details on matters discussed.
• Giving credit for thoughts, ideas, efforts
and contributions of others is an
important ethical issue.
• Plagiarism is the failure to give credit for
an idea or research result to it’s originator.
• Presenting someone else’s words or ideas
as your own is not only wrong but can
hurt your professional standing.
• By properly referencing and giving credit
for other’s work, you show that are aware
of the state of knowledge in your subject
and are familiar with the work of leaders
in the field.
• The style used in referencing may vary with the type of
publication, as well as your personal preference.

• Footnotes (notes at the bottom of the page) or Endnotes

(similar notes placed at the end of the paper) can be used, if
allowed.

• Most commonly used is parenthetical referencing, which

provides the author’s last name, year of publication, and
sometimes the page number. eg. (Ethridge, 2004, p.122).

• The cited references then all appear in the reference section

at the end of the paper.
• Another possible style is to use a number in
parentheses eg. (4), with a numbered References
list at the end of the paper.

• Many different styles are used for the References

section. It is best to refer to the style used by the
agency or publication to which you are submitting
the paper eg. Ethridge, Don. 2004. Research
methodology in applied economics. Ames, IA:
Blackwell Publ.

• Finally, the referencing of internet sources is not

fully resolved. Generally, include the full web
address and date of access of the website.
 Questions your literature review should answer:  

• What do we already know in the immediate area concerned?

• What are the characteristics of the key concepts or the main
factors or variables?
• What are the relationships between these key concepts, factors or
variables?
• What are the existing theories?
• Where are the inconsistencies or other shortcomings in our
knowledge and understanding?
• What views need to be (further) tested?
• What evidence is lacking/inconclusive/contradictory/too limited?
• Why study (further) the research problem?
• What contribution can the present study be expected to make?
• What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory?