CPPC 15 Methods of Research Lecture Notes 4

Lecture Notes 4 - Literature Search and Review

Purpose of the Literature Review

―A substantive, thorough, sophisticated literature review is a precondition for doing substantive,

thorough, sophisticated research.‖ – Boote and Beile, 2005

What is a Literature Review?

 Develops your understanding of the literature in a field of study

 A synthesis
 A critical analysis and narrative
 Current (and historical if necessary)
 Defined by a guiding concept

What a Literature Review CAN BE?

 Part of a larger research study (like a thesis or dissertation)

 The literature review…
o Sets the broad context of the study
o Sets the scope of the study
o Justifies the scope and context of the study
o Establishes the theoretical framework
o Justifies the methodology of the study
o Makes an argument
 A standalone assignment for a class
 Part of the introduction to a paper for a class or a journal article
 A full article published in an academic journal
 Basic or advanced

What a Literature Review is NOT

 It is not an annotated bibliography

 It is not just a descriptive list
 It is not a basic summative report of what you've read on the topic – you need to be
saying something

What a Literature Review Must Do

 Be ORGANIZED around your thesis statement or research question(s)

 SYNTHESIZE results into a summary of what is known and not know on your topic
 Identify areas of CONTROVERSY
 Formulate questions for FURTHER RESEARCH
CPPC 15 Methods of Research Lecture Notes 4

General Guidelines in Review of Related Literature

 Introduce the literature review by pointing out the major research topic that will be
discussed
 Identify the broad problem area but don‘t be too global (for example, discussing the
history of education when the topic is on specific instructional strategy)
 Discuss the general importance of your topic for those in your field
 Don‘t attempt to cover everything written on your topic
 You will need to pick out the research most relevant to the topic you are studying
 You will use the studies in your literature review as ―evidence‖ that your research
question is an important one
 It is important to cover research relevant to all the variables being studied.
 Research that explains the relationship between these variables is a top priority.
 You will need to plan how you will structure your literature review and write from this
plan.

Organizing Your Literature Review

1. Topical Order — organizes by main topics or issues; emphasize the relationship of the
issues to the main ―problem‖

2. Chronological Order — organize the literature by the dates the research was published

3. Problem-Cause-Solution Order — Organize the review so that it moves from the problem to
the solution

4. General-to-Specific Order — (Also called the funnel approach) Examine broad-based

research first and then focus on specific studies that relate to the topic

5. Specific-to-General Order — Try to make discuss specific research studies so conclusions

can be drawn

A Few Considerations

 If your literature review is part of an original research study, read about your chosen
methodology to determine when you should review the literature

 For some methods, the literature should be reviewed before, during, or after data
collection
CPPC 15 Methods of Research Lecture Notes 4

The Literature Review Process

Select a
Topic

Search
Write the
the
Review
Literature

Critique Develop
the your
Literature Argument

Survey
the
Literature

From The Literature Review (2009) by Machi and McEvoy

Select a Topic

 Talk over your ideas with someone

 Scan academic journals
 Read professional blogs
 Look for Research Agendas on professional association websites

Focus your topic

 Search the Literature

 Types of sources that can be included: Books, Articles, Abstracts, Reviews,
Dissertations and theses, Research reports, Websites, Films, Etc.
 Identify the most important / useful databases for your discipline
 Develop an understanding of the academic terminology for your field of study
 Determine time frame
 Look for empirical and theoretical literature
 Include primary and secondary sources
 Identify classic or seminal studies
 Identify important authors who are contributing to the development of your topic
 Use a system to organize and manage material
CPPC 15 Methods of Research Lecture Notes 4

 From the very beginning

 RefWorks or other bibliographic management software

Develop your Argument

 This step is a planning step – you will develop these arguments in the next two steps:
surveying and critiquing the literature

―you must build a case for what is known about your topic and determine how this
knowledge addresses the research question.‖ – Machi and McEvoy, 2009

Develop two types of arguments:

 Argument of discovery – develop findings that present the current state of

knowledge about your research interest
 Argument of advocacy – analyze and critique the knowledge gained from
developing the argument of discovery to answer the research question

 Analyze the claims within the literature to develop your arguments

 Claim – the argument‘s declaration or assertion
 Evidence – data that define and support the claim

Types of claims

 Fact
 Worth
 Policy
 Concept
 Interpretation

 You must present all sides of a question; your argument must be balanced

+ Survey and Critique the Literature

 Develops the discovery argument and the advocacy argument

 Answers the questions:

―What do we know about the subject of our study?‖

CPPC 15 Methods of Research Lecture Notes 4

―Based on what we know, what conclusions can we draw about the research
question?‖

 Critically assess each piece of literature you have gathered to analyze its content
 You need to be:
 Methodical
 Systematic
 Rigorous
 Consistent

Stage 1: Skim and Read

 Skim first – note topic, structure, general reasoning, data, and bibliographical
references
 Go back and skim the prefaced and introduction, trying to identify main ideas
contained in the work
 Identify key parts of the article or key chapters in books

Stage 2: Highlight and Extract Key Elements

 Trying to understand historical context and current state

 Identify themes, trends, patterns
 Also looking for gaps and anomalies
 Key questions to ask of the literature:
What are the origins and definitions of the topic?
What are the key theories, concepts, and ideas?
What are the major debates, arguments, and issues?
What are the key questions and problems that have been addressed to
date?
Are there any important issues that have been insufficiently addressed to
date?

 When analyzing research studies, must also identify some of the key elements that all
research studies should include:
 Problem
 Purpose
 Research questions
 Sample
 Methodology
 Key findings
 Conclusions
 Recommendations
CPPC 15 Methods of Research Lecture Notes 4

Write the Review

 Use the results of your analysis and critique of the literature to develop the organization
of your review
 Develop a detailed outline
 Identify the themes and/or patterns that have emerged
 Translate these into headings and subheadings
 Be sure your outline is logical
 Be selective with the literature you include
 Synthesis! Synthesis! Synthesis!
 Reorganize and reassemble all of the separate pieces and details to create an
integrated whole
 Make connections between and among ideas and concepts
 Never present a chain of isolated summaries of previous studies
 The synthesis needs to build a knowledge base AND extend new lines of thinking
 Remember – this is your entry into the conversation
 Writing a literature review is a creative activity
 ―An imaginative approach to searching and reviewing the literature includes having a
broad view of the topic; being open to new ideas, methods, and arguments; ‗playing‘ with
different ideas to see whether you can make new linkages; and following ideas to see
where they might lead.‖ – Bloomberg and Volpe, 2008

Literature Review

 After reviewing the literature, summarize what has been done, what has not been done,
and what needs to be done
 Remember you are arguing your point of why your study is important!
 Then pose a formal research question or state a hypothesis—be sure this is clearly
linked to your literature review
 All sources cited in the literature review should be listed in the references

To sum, a literature review should include introduction, summary and critique of journal
articles, justifications for your research project and the hypothesis for your research
project

Common Errors Made in Literature Reviews

 Review isn‘t logically organized

 Review isn‘t focused on most important facets of the study
CPPC 15 Methods of Research Lecture Notes 4

 Review doesn‘t relate literature to the study

 Too few references or outdated references cited
 Review isn‘t written in author‘s own words
 Review reads like a series of disjointed summaries
 Review doesn‘t argue a point
 Recent references are omitted

Writing the Literature Review

Plagiarism includes (Galvan, pg. 89):

 Using another writer‘s words without proper citation

 Using another writer‘s ideas without proper citation
 Citing a source but reproducing the exact word without quotation marks
 Borrowing the structure of another author‘s phrases/sentences without giving the source
 Borrowing all or part of another student‘s paper
 Using paper-writing service or having a friend write the paper

Exercises No. 4

1. Use the topic you choose from your exercise No. 3. Search and write at least 10 related
literature review of the chosen topic using the Literature Review Process. Submit it on the FB
group page on or before December 21, 2020 until 11:59pm.