Rachel E.

Khan
Associate Professor
Journalism Department
University of the Philippines
Old definition:
The RRL is the selection and annotation
of available documents (both published
and unpublished), which contain information, ideas,
data and evidence related to the topic that a person
proposes to research on.

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New definition:
The RRL is “the use of ideas in the literature to justify
the particular approach to the topic, the selection of
methods, and demonstration that this research
contributes something new. (Hart, 1998)”

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The Review of Related Literature (RRL) is an
important component of the research process
and the research itself.

Two ways of looking at the RRL

- from the - from the

point of view of the point of view of the
researcher reader

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  It helps shape the research :
 earlier studies can help you identify a research
- from the problem;
point of view of
the researcher  broaden your knowledge in the research area;
 provides important clues/leads to help you
determine the topic of inquiry;
 shows “what is already known” vs. “what needs to
be known”;
 provides the foundation and justification for your
research problem;

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  helps you Framing the valid research methodologies,
approach, goals, and research questions for your
study
- from the
point of view of
 provides clues/leads with regards the theoretical
the researcher framework and methodological approach.

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  It provides the bigger picture:
 shares with the reader the results of other
- from the studies that are closely related to the
point of view of
the reader
proposed study;
 relates the proposed study to the on-going
conversation on the topic;
 provides the reader a benchmark for
comparing your study with other studies;
 helps the reader identify & appreciate the
value-added information of your study
(originality).

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 input process output
• data gathering • know your literature • exhibits the impact
• journals describe of the body of
• conference summarize literature as a
proceedings • analysize and synthesize whole
• non-refereed compare-contrast • what did you learn
materials combining from the literature
• dissertations/theses integrating
• internet-based • evaluate
sources selecting/deselecting
Identifying its
relevance to your study

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 Source: Ashford University
• write references in 3x5 index cards in
APA Style; take note of page #s,
keywords, ideas in each reference so
that its easy to go back to
• group together references from:
a. books
b. journals and periodicals
c. unpublished researches
(dissertation/theses)
d. newspapers/magazines
• write notes to yourself about the article you are reading
regarding issues, thoughts, or general comments such as “nice
methodology for …”, “interesting definition of…,” etc.
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 Source: Ashford University
What to include in the review:
• Consider what material is to be
extracted from a previous study or journal
article.
• Potential points to be “extracted” for RRL:
 problem being addressed
 central topic/purpose or theme of the study
 briefly state information about the sample,
subjects of the study
 review key results/conclusions of the study
 methodology –strengths and/or flaws

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• To avoid plagiarism:
review the literature,
don’t reproduce it.
refrain from copying verbatim what
authors and researchers say;
paraphrasing the literature in your own
Words also helps your analysis of the text
make sure that the source of text or idea is
also indicated with your notes.

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There are two basic types of search engines:
the Crawler-based, also known as the
“spiders” and the human-powered
directories.
Yahoo! Google, Alta Vista, Ask Jeeves, Lycos…

• Phrase search (“Asian Congress for Media and Communication")

• Search within a specific website (site:) [ Philippines site:nytimes.com ]
• Terms you want to exclude (-) (journalism –citizen)
• Search exactly as is (+) (kris+aquino)
• The OR & AND operator (journalists killings 2009 OR 2010)
(journalists killings 2009 AND 2010)

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5Cs of Evaluating Web Sources:
 Credibility
 Content
Currency
Construction
Connectivity

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 Check the domain extention or the top level domain (TLD).

http://www.cnn.com:9988/frontpage/weather.html#typhoon

protocol domain name directory path spot

port address object name

For example, if the TLD is a “.gov” it is an official government website; but, if it is a

“.com” or a “.org” then the website was created by private persons. Other domains:
edu - Educational institutions
org - Organizations (private)
mil - Military
com - commercial business
net - network organizations
org – non-profit organization
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 How much literature to review?
The sky is NOT the limit.
• Provide parameters around your literature
review, so that you don’t review ad
infinitum.
• Parameters may be the variables; the type
of research or the time frame.
Some examples:
An analysis of foreign news content in local primetime news programs.

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Characteristics of the Review
1. The text of the review should be brief and to the point.
• To ensure brevity and conciseness, you have to summarize or
paraphrase important points. Avoid direct quotations of the
author’s ideas or the results of the studies you are reviewing.
2. Have a plan on how you are to present the review.
• Prepare an outline before finally writing the review. This will ensure
coherence and unity of ideas presented. The problem you are going
to work on can serve as your outline for discussion of related
literature and studies that are relevant to your proposed research.

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Characteristics of the Review
3. Emphasize relatedness
• Keep the reader aware of the manner in which the literature you
are discussing is related to your problem.
• Try to point out what that relationship is.
4. Review the literature, don’t reproduce it
• Refrain from copying verbatim what authors and researchers say.
Critically review and discuss the literature in relation to your
research work.

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1. Chronological
Literature and studies are presented according to the
year they were written. Sample outline:
A. Introduction
B. Recent literature & studies
C. Least recent literature & studies
D. Synthesis of the review

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2. Thematic
Literature and studies with the same findings are
grouped together. Sample outline:
A. Introduction
B. Studies on independent variable
C. Studies on major dependent variables
D. Synthesis of the review

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3. Country of origin
Literature and studies are categorized based on the
country/continent where they came from. Sample
outline:
A. Introduction
B. Foreign studies
C. Local studies
D. Synthesis of the review

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Writing the Review
Some notes:
• It is in the introduction where you make your readers
aware of your approach in presenting the related
literature;
• It is the synthesis where you specify the uniqueness of
your study vis-à-vis the literature you had just discussed
in the review.

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Bautista, Victoria (2000). Research and Public
Management. UP Open University: Los Baños.

Creswell, John (1994). Research Design: Qualitative

and Quantitative Approaches. Sage Publications:
California.

Hart, C. (1998). Doing a literature review: Releasing the social

science research imagination. London,UK: Sage Publications.

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