Chapter 2
Review of the Literature
Chapter Outline
The Research Topic
The Literature Review
The Use of the Literature
Design Techniques
Steps in Conducting a Literature Review
A Priority for Selecting Literature Material
A Literature Map of the Research
Abstracting Studies
Style Manuals
The Definition of Terms
A Quantitative or Mixed Methods Literature
Review
Identifying a Topic
Before considering what literature to pursue in a
project, first identify a topic to study and reflect
whether it is practical & useful to undertake the
study.
The topic is the subject or subject matter of a
proposed study
Describe in a few words
The central idea you want to learn about
There are several ways that researchers gain
some insight into their topics:
One way is to draft a brief title for the study. But most
people fail to do this early in their projects.
Identifying a Topic
A common problem of beginning researchers is
that they frame their study in complex & erudite
language.
Be brief and avoid wasting words. Eliminate
unnecessary words such as “an approach” or “a
study of”
Use single title or double title. An example of
double title. “An Ethnography: Understanding a
Child’s Perceptions of a War”
Consider a title no longer than 12 words.
Another strategy for topic development is to
pose the topic as a brief question.
A Researchable Topic
The topic can be researched if
You have access to participants
You have resources to collect and analyze information
The topic should be researched if
The research will add to the literature about the topic,
replicates past studies, lifts up the voices of
underrepresented groups or individuals, helps address
social justice, or transforms the ideas and beliefs of the
researcher. This is the most important issue.
Scholars will be interested in the topic. Address to broad
audience as compared to narrow audience. Example cross
country research is better than country specific topics.
A study of it will advance your personal goals, such as the
opportunity to do more research, obtaining a future
position, or getting a degree
You better seek reaction from colleagues, known
personalities in the field, academic advisors and
others
The Literature Review
Shares the results of other studies that are
closely related to the study being reported.
Relates the study to the larger dialogue in the
literature about the topic, filling gaps and
extending prior studies
Provides a framework for establishing the
importance of the study
Provides a benchmark for comparing the results
to other findings
Literature Review in Qualitative Studies
In this type of research, inquirers use the literature consistent
with the assumptions of learning from the participants and
not prescribing the question that need to be answered from
the researcher’s standpoint.
The use of literature in qualitative studies varies
considerably.
In theoretically oriented qualitative studies such as
ethnographies, the literature is introduced by researchers
early in the study as an orienting framework.
In grounded theory, case studies, phenomenological studies,
literature will serve less to set the stage for the study.
In qualitative studies the literature can be placed at three
different places. It can be placed at the introduction, in a
separate “Literature Review” section like quantitative studies,
and at the final section of the study in grounded theory.
Literature Review in Quantitative Studies
This study includes substantial amount of literature at the
beginning of the study to provide direction for the research
question /hypothesis.
It also is presented at a separate section with detail account of the
literature.
In addition, the literature is included at the end of the study in
which the researcher compares the result of the study with the
existing findings in the literature.
In this model the quantitative research uses the literature
deductively as framework for the researcher question/hypothesis.
The literature review can be presented in different formats.
Integrative: the researcher summarizing broad themes in the literature
Theoretical review: the researcher focuses on extant theory that relates to the
problem under study.
Methodological review: this review may provide not only a summary of the
studies but an actual critique of the strength and weakness of the method
section.
Literature Review in Mixed Methods
The researcher may use either the qualitative or
quantitative approach to the literature depending
on the type of mixed method design used
The Use of Literature
Quantitative studies use literature to
Provide direction to the research questions and
hypotheses
Introduce a problem
Introduce a theory
Compare results with existing literature or predictions
Qualitative studies use literature to
Introduce the problem or issue
Describe an orienting framework (but not set the
direction)
Compare and contrast findings
Mixed methods studies use
Either a quantitative or qualitative approach
Steps in Conducting a Literature Review
1. Begin by identifying key words useful in locating material in an
academic library /Google scholar/
2. With these keywords in mind, next go to the library and begin searching
the library catalogue. Initially go for journals, next to books. See also
citation index.
3. If the journals or books are not available at your library, consider inter-
library loan or purchasing from publishers.
4. Using an initial group of articles, read their abstract to identify their
relevance.
5. As you identify useful literature, begin designing a literature map, a
visual picture of the research literature.
6. Draft summaries of the most relevant article. This is called annotated
bibliography. These summaries are combined in the final literature
review. In addition include precise reference to the literature using
appropriate style such as American Psychological Association (APA) ,
Harvard or Chicago Style.
7. After summarizing the literature assemble the literature either
thematically or across theories.
8. End your literature review with a summary of the major themes found
in the literature and suggest that we need further research on the topic
along the lines of the proposed study.
Selecting Literature Material
Researchers should establish a priority of resources in search of the
literature. What type of literature might be reviewed & in what
priority? Consider the following
1. Especially if you are examining a topic for the first time and are
unaware of the research on it, start with broad syntheses of the
literature such as overviews found in encyclopedia /Wikipedia/
2. Next turn to articles found in peer reviewed international and
national journals. Start with the most recent publication of a
journal and work backward. In these journals follow up on
references at the end of the articles for more sources to examine.
3. Turn to books related to the topic. Begin with research monographs
that summarize the scholarly literature, then consider entire books
that are on a single topic or contain chapters written by different
authors.
4. Follow this search by looking for recent conference papers on a
topic.
5. If time permits look at the abstract of dissertations. Dissertations
vary immensely in quality and one needs to be selective in
examining these studies.
A Literature Map of the Research
Literature map can be organized hierarchically
(chronologically), as flow chart from left to right, as
a circle with each section of the circle representing a
body of literature & the intersection of circles
indicating the contribution of the proposed
research.
A literature map help readers to visualize how the
study relates to the larger literature on the topic.
Example in corporate finance, if you are studying
capital structure issues in firms you should began
with the Miller & Modigliani (1958) celebrated
hypotheses that capital structure doesn’t matter for
firm value. In Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
studies you should began with Sharpe (1962)
proposition. In Agency theory, you should quote
Jensen & Merkling (1976) theory and like that.
Abstracting Studies
Draft abstracts that summarize selected articles
Researchers need to consider what material to
extract from a research study and to summarize in
“the review of the related literature” section.
A good review of an article shall include
The problem addressed in the study
The central purpose (objective) of the study
Information about sample, population or
participants
Key results of the study
If it is a methodological review it should include
technical and methodological flaws of the study
The Definition of Terms
Identify and define terms that readers need to
understand a proposal
Define terms introduced in all sections of the
research plan
The title of the study
The problem statement
The purpose statement
The research questions, hypotheses, or objectives
The literature review
The theory base of the study
The methods section
A Quantitative or Mixed Methods
Literature Review
A suggested model
Introduce the review with a statement about the
organization of the sections
Review literature about the independent variables
Review literature about the dependent variables
Review literature that relates the independent
variables to the dependent variables
Provide a summary
Highlight important studies
Capture major themes
Suggest why more research is needed
Advances how the proposed study will fill this need
