4.

Literature review
Objectives

 At the end of this chapter, learners will be able to:

 Analyze the importance of literature review
 Describe approaches to literature review
 List the steps in literature review
 Describe the different ways of acknowledging scientific

papers and referencing

 Identify the commonly used electronic data bases
 Design conceptual frame work of a study
 Literature review
 The term ‘review’ means to organize the knowledge of the
specific area of research to evolve an edifice of knowledge
to show that his study would be an addition to this field.

 A research literature review is a written summary of the

state of existing knowledge on a research problem.
 The literature review is the ‘intellectual ancestor’ of the
research project.
 Importance of literature review

 It helps further your understanding of the problem you plan to

research, and may lead to refining of the “Statement of the
problem”.
 It helps you find out what others have learned and reported on
your topic, and take account of this in the design of your study.
 It gives you a familiarity with the various types of methodology that
might be used in your study.
 It prevents you from “reinventing the wheel”
 It provides a framework for establishing the importance of the
study
 It serves as a benchmark for comparing the results with other
findings
 Sources of Literature Review
1. Individuals, groups, and organization
 Opinion, observation, experience, routine reports,

etc
2. Unpublished information
 Raw data, annual reports, documentation
 Local surveys, etc

3. Published information
• Books, Journals, abstracts, indexes
4. Computer-based searches
• Internet, MEDLINE, PUBMED
 Steps for Writing a Literature Review

1. Planning
2. Searching
3. Analyzing
4. Drafting
5. Revising
1. Planning
 Focus
 What is the specific thesis, problem, or research
question that my literature review helps to define?
 Identifying a focus that allows you to:
Sort & categorize information
Eliminate irrelevant information
 Type

 What type of literature review am I conducting?

 Theory; Methodology; Policy; Quantitative; Qualitative
Planning …
 Scope
 What is the scope of my literature review?
 What types of sources am I using?

 Academic Discipline
 What field(s) am I working in?
 2. Reading and Researching
 Collect and read material.
 Summarize sources.
 Who is the author?
 What is the author's main purpose?
 What is the author’s theoretical perspective? Research
methodology?
 Who is the intended audience?
 What is the principal point, conclusion, thesis, contention, or
question?
 How is the author’s position supported?
 How does this study relate to other studies of the problem or
topic?
 What does this study add to your project?
 Select only relevant books and articles.
 3. Analyzing Sources
10

 A literature review is never just a list of studies—it always

offers an argument about a body of research
 Analysis occurs on two levels:
 Individual sources
 Body of research
 Four Analysis Tasks of the Literature
11
Review

TASKS OF
LITERATURE
REVIEW

SYNTHESIZE CRITIQUE COMPARE

SUMMARIZE
 3.1. Summary and Synthesis
12

 In your own words, summarize and/or synthesize the key

findings relevant to your study.
 What do we know about the immediate area?
 What are the key arguments, key characteristics, key
concepts or key figures?
 What are the existing debates/theories?
 What common methodologies are used?
 3.2. Comparison and Critique
13

 Evaluates the strength and weaknesses of the work:

 How do the different studies relate? What is new, different,
or controversial?
 What views need further testing?
 What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradicting, or
too limited?
 What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory?
 Analyzing: Putting It All Together
14
 Once you have summarized, synthesized, compared, and
critiqued your chosen material, you may consider whether
these studies
 Demonstrate the topic’s chronological development.
 Show different approaches to the problem.
 Show an ongoing debate.
 Center on a “seminal” study or studies.
 Demonstrate a “paradigm shift.”
 Analyzing: Putting It All Together
15

 What do researchers KNOW about this field?

 What do researchers NOT KNOW?
 Why should we (further) study this topic?
 What will my study contribute?
 4. Drafting: An Overview
16

 To help you approach your draft in a manageable fashion,

this section addresses the following topics:
 Exigency - urgency
 Thesis Statement
 Organization
 Introduction and conclusion
 Citations
 4.1. Thesis Statements
 The thesis statement offers an argument about the
literature. It may do any of or a combination of the
following:

 Offer an argument and critical assessment of the literature

(i.e. topic + claim).
 Provide an overview of current scholarly conversations.

 Point out gaps or weaknesses in the literature.

 Relate the literature to the larger aim of the study.

4.2. Organization
Five common approaches to organizing the body of your
paper include:

 Topical
 Distant to close

 Debate

 Chronological

 Seminal Study
 Topical: Characteristics
Most common approach
19


 Breaks the field into a number of subfields, subject areas,

or approaches
 Discusses each subsection individually, sometimes with
critiques of each
 Most useful for organizing a large body of literature that
does not have one or two studies that stand out as most
important or a clear chronological development
Distant to Close: Characteristics

 A type of topical organization, with studies grouped by

their relevance to current research.

 Starts by describing studies with general similarities to

current research and ends with studies most relevant to
the specific topic.

 Most useful for studies of methods or models.

Debate: Characteristics

 Another type of topical approach, with a chronological

component.

 Emphasizes various strands of research in which

proponents of various models openly criticize one
another.

 Most useful when clear opposing positions are present

in the literature.
 Chronological: Characteristics
22
 Lists studies in terms of chronological development
 Useful when the field displays clear development over a
period of time
 Linear progression
 Paradigm shift
 Seminal Study: Characteristics
23

 Begins with detailed description of extremely important

study.
 Later work is organized using another pattern.
 Most useful when one study is clearly most important or
central in laying the groundwork for future research.
Structure of literature writing

Introductions
 Indicate scope of the literature review.
 Provide some background to the topic.

 Demonstrate the importance or need for research.

 Make a claim.

 Offer an overview/map of the ensuing discussion.

Body

• Contains your discussion of sources.

Conclusions
 Summarize the main findings of your review.
 Provide closure.

 Explain “so what?”

 Implications for future research.

OR
 Connections to the current study.
5. Revising

Some Tips on Revising

 Title: Is my title consistent with the content of my paper?

 Introduction: Do I appropriately introduce my review?

 Thesis: Does my review have a clear claim?

 Body: Is the organization clear? Have I provided

headings?
 Topic sentences: Have I clearly indicated the major

idea(s) of each paragraph?

 Transitions: Does my writing flow?

 Conclusion: Do I provide sufficient closure?

 Spelling and Grammar: Are there any major spelling or

grammatical mistakes?
 Develop a conceptual framework
27

 The conceptual framework stems from the

theoretical framework and concentrates, usually, on
one section of that theoretical framework which
becomes the basis of your study.
 Examples of conceptual framework
28

Complaint Satisfaction
Handling with Service
Strategies Recovery
 compensation
Complaint handling strategies

Problem solving

facilitation
Satisfaction
Response speed with
complaint
apology
handling
Being courteous

explanation

effort

29
 Referencing
30

 A standardised method of acknowledging sources of

information and ideas that you have used in your assignment
in a way that uniquely identifies their source.

 Texts (direct quotation), facts and figures, as well as

ideas and theories, from both published and unpublished
works, must be referenced.

Reference List
 A list of sources that you have quoted from or cited in your text.
 Bibliography
 A full list of books that were consulted for a particular
31
document, regardless of whether quotes or citations came
from those book.

Quoting
 It means including in your document the actual words or data
taken directly from another source, without changing it.

Citing
 It means acknowledging ideas or data from other authors, but
not using their exact words. Instead, we paraphrase or
summarise the ideas using our own words. We then include
the citation at the end, inside brackets.
 Referencing systems
32

 A number of referencing systems are in common use today

including:
 Harvard - (author, date).
 Vancouver (number) .
 APA (American Psychological Association)
 MLA (Modern Linguistics Association) –
 … many many many…
 The Harvard system
33 The Harvard referencing system is commonly used in most journals and in
many disciplines.

edition
Author initials Name of the
date book

Senn J. A. (1990). Information Systems in Management. 4th Ed.

Wadswoth, California. P38.

N am e
Place Page Publi of
publi of num b she r
catio er
n
 The Numeric System (Vancouver System)

34

 This type of system is most often seen in journals as it

uses less space than other methods, yet still allows a
brief acknowledgement to an author when their ideas or
words have been used.
 The differences
35

 The numeric system uses numbers in the text rather than

the author's name.

 Each reference in the text is tagged with a number according

to the order in which it first appeared.

 The reference list is arranged in numerical NOT

alphabetical order.
  For an article the following information should be noted:
36
Author(s)’ Surname followed by initials. Title of article.
Name of Journal. Year, Volume(number): page numbers of
article.

 For a book the following information should be noted:

Author(s)’ Surname followed by initials. Title of book. Place:
Publisher, Year, Edition

 For a chapter in a book, the reference can include:

Author(s) of chapter (Surname(s) followed by initials).
Chapter title. In: Editor(s) of book, (Surname(s) followed by
initials) (eds). Title of book. Place: Publisher, Year: Page
numbers of chapter.
 Very important!!!!
37

 When citing in the text, put references where they make

the most sense.
 Put each citation close to the information you wish to

acknowledge.
 e.g. The vocal excellence of Bourbaxians has been

studied both in the lab (Kassahun 1990) and the field

(Tesfahun 2000)
 Do not always include citations at the end of sentences
 Very important!!!!
38

 Don’t overuse citations. Citing a large number of papers may

be more confusing than enlightening.

 Decide which references are most important & use them.

 Use correct format in Literature Cited section.

 Always check and double check the literature cited

section for accuracy, completeness, and consistency!!
 Very important!!!!
39

 Check that every reference you cite in the text is listed in the
literature cited.

 Check that no reference appears in the literature cited section

that is not cited in the text

 Make sure dates in text mach dates in literature cited

 Check all punctuation marks, abbreviations, spacing, and

spelling
40

Thank you!