LECTURE 7

LITERATURE REVIEW

Many students are instructed, as part of their research program, to perform a literature review.
They always do this without understanding what a literature review is. The only knowledge they
have is that it is a process of gathering information from other sources and documenting it; but
have no idea where and how to find that information and how to present it. A literature review
can be a precursor in the introduction of a research paper or it can be a research paper itself. It is
often the first stage of a research project. It enables the supervisor to establish whether the
student is on the right track in terms of the literature reviewed or not.
A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars
and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment, but more
often than not, it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the
literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been
established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the
literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g. your research objective, the problem
or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the
material available, or a set of summaries.
Besides expanding your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review lets you gain and
demonstrate skills in two areas: information seeking (the ability to scrutinize literature
efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, so as to identify a set of useful articles and
books); and critical appraisal (the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and
valid studies).
A literature review must:
 be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are
developing
 synthesize results into a summary of what is known and what is not known
 identify areas of controversy in the literature
 formulate questions that need further research.
As you review various sources for relevant information to your study, it is important
to ask yourself the following questions:
What is the specific problem, or research question that my literature review helps to define?

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What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory, methodology,
policy, quantitative research? (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure) or qualitative
research (e.g. studies)
 What is the scope of my literature review?
 What types of publications am I using? (e.g. journals, books, government documents,
popular media)
 What discipline am I working on? (e.g. management, psychology, sociology, medicine)
 How effective was my information seeking? Has my search been wide enough to ensure
that I have found all the relevant material? Has it been narrow enough to exclude
irrelevant material?
 Is the number of sources I have used appropriate for the length of my
paper/project/thesis?
 Have I critically analyzed the literature I am using?
 Do I follow through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items to each other in the
ways they relate?
 Instead of just listing and summarizing items, do I assess them, discuss strengths and
weaknesses?
 Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective?
 Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate and useful?
A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece
of literature after another. It is bad practice to have every paragraph beginning with the name of a
researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify
trends, including the relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but
trying to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of the thesis or research
question of your study.
When writing an annotated bibliography, summarize each item briefly, but ensure you follow
through themes and concepts and do some critical assessment of the material. An overall
introduction and conclusion helps to state the scope of coverage of your review and to formulate
the question, problem, or concept of the chosen material. You can always explore the option of
grouping items into sections as this helps you to indicate comparisons and relationships. You
may also write a paragraph to introduce the focus of each section. Remember that the sections of

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the literature review should be in line with the defined variables, which form the objectives,
research questions or hypotheses.
The purpose of Literature Review
A literature review goes beyond the search for information and includes the identification and
articulation of relationships between the literature and the field of research. While the form of the
literature review may vary with different types of studies, the basic purposes remain constant:
Provide a context for the research, Justify the research, Ensure that the research hasn't been done
before (or that it is not just a "replication study"), show where the research fits into the existing
body of knowledge, enable the researcher to learn from previous theory on the subject, illustrate
how the subject has been studied previously, highlight flaws in previous research, outline gaps in
previous research, show that the work is adding to the understanding and knowledge of the field,
help refine, refocus or even change the topic.

Why write a literature review?

New discoveries do not materialize out of nowhere; they build upon the findings of previous
experiments and investigations. A literature review shows how the investigation one is
conducting fits with what has been done before and puts it into context.
Literature review demonstrates to the reader that the researcher is able to:
 understand and critically analyze the background research.
 select and source information that is necessary to develop a context for the research (this
is purely based on the objectives, research questions and, or hypothesis that are defined in
the conceptual framework where the independent and dependent variables are broken
down into sub-variables).
 show how his or her investigation relates to previous research studies.
 articulate the contribution that the investigation makes to the field of study (for instance,
filling a gap or building on existing research).
 provide evidence that may help to explain the research findings at a later stage of the
study.
In that regard, a literature review is an evaluative report of studies found in the literature related
to the selected area. The review should describe, summarize, evaluate and clarify this literature.
It should give a theoretical basis for the research and help you to determine the nature of your

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own research. It should also give the empirical studies (these are studies that are related to the
topic which the student intends to conduct research on). It should also have the review of the
variables under study as stated in the conceptual framework. It is the conceptual framework that
answers most of the questions that a student asks himself or herself when conducting the
literature review. This is because the conceptual framework defines the limits on how far the
student should go in reviewing literature. The conceptual framework also guides the student on
which type of material to review. Most of the time, students find it difficult to review literature
because they do not know where to find relevant material or on which subject(s) to focus their
review of literature. At the beginning of this book, it was mentioned that the conceptual
framework is the engine of research. We will, therefore keep referring to the conceptual
framework using the examples we used at the beginning up to the questionnaire level, which
marks the end of a research proposal in project/thesis. As mentioned earlier, literature review
entails theoretical basis and criticism of the theories, empirical reviews and reviewing of the
variables. Let us look at each of these elements of literature review in research.

Theoretical Basis.
(a) Theoretical basis
Identification of theories that form a basis of the topic under study is a challenge to many
students. After going through this book, the student will find it very easy to find theories that he
or she can relate to in his or her study. There are many ways a student can find these theories, for
instance through the Internet. All that the student needs is to learn how to find the theories. The
student can get the theories by searching one of the variables, e.g. IV-theories. All sorts of
theories will appear and the student is expected to study them carefully and relate them to the
topic under study. This information can be found from the internet through search engines such
as Google, Yahoo and Google scholar, and electronic libraries that most universities or colleges
have subscribed to. The examples given in this chapter are those used in the previous topics so to
enhance the student’s understanding.
Example 1
Topic: “Transformational leadership theory and communication in organizations”
The four-core theory groups

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We will focus on each of the four core groups of theory and explore some of the tools and
models that apply to each (keep in mind that many other theories do exist).
(i) Trait theories – What type of person makes a good leader?
Trait theories argue that effective leaders share a number of common personality characteristics
or ‘traits’. Early trait theories say that leadership is an innate, instinctive quality that you have or
do not have. However, this belief has since been redefined as we now learn more about how we
can improve leadership qualities in others and ourselves. Trait theories help us to identify traits
and qualities (for example integrity, empathy, good negotiation skills, assertiveness, good
decision-making skills and likability) that are helpful when leading others. However, none of
these traits or any specific combination of them, will guarantee success as a leader. Traits are
external behaviours that emerge from the things going on within our minds – and it is these
internal beliefs and processes that are important for effective leadership.
(ii) Behavioural theories – What does a good leader do?
Behavioural theories focus on how leaders behave. For instance, do leaders dictate what needs to
be done and expect co-operation? Or do they involve their teams in decision-making to
encourage acceptance and support?
In the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a framework based on a leader's behaviour. He argued that
there are three types of leaders:
 Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This style of
leadership is considered appropriate when decisions need to be made quickly, when there
is no need for input, and when team agreement is not necessary for a successful outcome.
 Democratic leaders allow the team to provide input before making a decision, although
the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This style is important when team
agreement matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different
perspectives and ideas.
 Laissez-faire leaders do not interfere. They allow people within the team to make most
of the decisions. This works well when the team is highly capable, is motivated, and does
not need close supervision. However, this behaviour can arise because the leader is lazy
or distracted; and this can cause this style of leadership to fail.

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A leader’s behaviour affects his or her performance. Researchers have realized, though, that
many of these leadership behaviours are appropriate at different times. The best leaders are those
who can use many different behavioural styles, and choose the right style for each situation.
(iii) Contingency theories – How does the situation influence good leadership?
The realization that there is no one totally correct type of leader led to theories that the best
leadership style depends on the situation. These theories try to predict which style is best in what
circumstance.
For instance, when you need to make quick decisions, which style is best? When you need the
full support of your team, is there a more effective way to lead? Should a leader be more people-
oriented or task-oriented? These are all questions that contingency leadership theories try to
address.
(iv) Power and influence theories – What is the source of the leader's power?
Power and influence theories of leadership take an entirely different approach – these are based
on different ways that leaders use power and influence to get things done, and they look at the
leadership styles that emerge as a result.
The best-known of these theories is, perhaps, French and Raven's Five Forms of Power. This
model highlights three types of positional power – legitimate, reward, and coercive; and two
sources of personal power – expert and referent (your personal appeal and charm). The model
suggests that using personal power is the better alternative, and that you should work on building
expert power (the power that comes with being a real expert in the job) because this is the most
legitimate source of personal power.
The above theories are just but a few that can give a backing to the study in the case of our
research topic example. These theories are to justify that the study being conducted does have a
basis of other scholars who did research and their outcome was authenticated as an empirical
study, which has been tested over time and has been accepted as such. Note that the theories
mentioned may not work effectively if used on their own. A leader may opt to combine a number
of theories so as to be effective in his/her leadership. This justifies why students are asked to use
more than one theory in their projects/thesis, and why they have to criticize those theories. This
is because one theory may have shortcomings that can be filled by another theory.

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Discussion of the literature
Literature review is among the critical issues that any researcher should take into consideration.
In the previous pages, we discussed the importance of literature review. It is from the literature
review that a student gets a deeper understanding of the subject matter. It is important to note
that before choosing a research topic in a certain area of study, one should have a deeper
understanding of that area of study. In all types of research, discussion of the literature is
paramount as it introduces the researcher to the content available in that area of study. After one
has had a general understanding of the content of the subject matter, then he or she can embark
on the research process. To this point, the student will have a better understanding of what it
entails to conduct research in that area of study thus enabling him or her to come up with an
appropriate topic.
As mentioned earlier, when a student identifies a topic for research, he or she should be able to
identify the independent and dependent variables. The most crucial thing to do is to
conceptualize the topic so that the way forward for the study becomes clearer. In conceptualizing
the topic, the student needs to identify the independent variable and the dependent variable. The
best way to conceptualize the topic is to have a diagrammatic representation of it. This was
discussed earlier in this book under the conceptual framework, with examples given on how to
draw them. Before this diagrammatic conceptualization, the student is expected to get the
dimensions of the independent and dependent variables. These will guide the student on the
conceptual framework.
The discussion of the literature is based on the independent and dependent variables, and any
other variable that may have an effect on the study but may not directly be under study. It was
mentioned earlier that the dimensions of the independent and dependent variables are the sub-
variables of the same respectively, whereas the other variables can either be moderating or
intervening among others as earlier explained.

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To put the scope of the discussion of literature into focus, and for purposes of enhanced
understanding, we will use the examples provided earlier in this book. This helps the student to
remain within the confines of the subject matter as opposed to writing literature blindly thus
causing problems especially when formulating the questionnaire. The discussion of literature
guides quite a number of other items in the research process and therefore it is key for any
student to discuss relevant literature. Discussion of literature is guided by the variables in the
conceptual framework. This is also the reason that the conceptual framework is key in academic
research as it guides the writing of the project/thesis.

Empirical reviews
Most students confuse empirical reviews and literature review discussions. The two concepts are
often related but not similar. Empirical refers to something that is based on experiments or
experience rather than ideas or theories. In research, it refers to the research studies that have
been done and documented by other scholars. Therefore, if a student is carrying out empirical
reviews, it means he or she is reading the studies of other researchers. A point to note is that
empirical review has to be related to the topic under study in one way or another. The factors to
consider when conducting empirical review in order to establish that the studies under review are
related to the study include the following:
 The variables of your topic – some variables should be similar to the studies under
review.
 Geographical area where the study was done, author, year of publication
 The methodology – should be similar to the study being reviewed, even if the variables
that were studied are different.
 The analysis model – should be similar even if the variables under study are different.
 The outcome of the empirical research – should have some bearing on your variables.
 The target population, sample and sampling techniques– should have some common
elements with the target population of your study.
For the study under review to be empirical, at least some of the variables, methodology, model of
analysis and target population should be related to the student’s research topic. This means that
the study the student intends to embark on has indirectly been done before either by use of a

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similar model of analysis, target population, methodology, topic (IV or DV) or by one of the
variables.
Once a student establishes the existing relationship between the studies under review and his or
her study (they could either be one, two or even three forms of relationships), then he or she
should review such study under empirical review. Do not include a study that is totally similar to
yours as this will amount to plagiarism. Let us take an example from topics we have illustrated
above and see how an empirical study can be documented.
Example 1
Topic: “Transformational leadership theory and communication in organizations”
Assuming that the topic above is under study by a student. He or she can write the empirical
study as follows:
“A study conducted by Wasike, S.K. (2010) Transformational leadership theory and
organizational performance in private universities in Kenya found out that leadership is
key when it comes to production of employees. Organizations, therefore, need to be keen
in making sure that leadership is natured. In this study, the researcher took a qualitative
research approach and her target population was the university community. This study is
related to the above topic in such a way that its independent variable is transformational
leadership despite having the dependent variable as organizational performance.”
Therefore, depending on the student’s topic and the kind of methodology, and the model of
analysis that he or she intends to use after reading other studies, the student should be able to
identify the similarities in his or her study and other studies that were done by other people. The
studies done by other people do not have to be related word for word with the study the student
intends to do, because if it is so, then it would be considered as plagiarism. The student should
also be keen to look at any similarity that exists between his study and what other researchers
have done before. This is what will make the study done by other researchers to be considered as
empirical. In the example of the empirical study given above, the study done by Wasike (2010)
identifies the location where the study was done. These studies will become useful when the
student will be identifying the knowledge gap. Without these empirical studies, it becomes
impossible to identify the knowledge gap. In as much as the empirical review identifies the
similarities, the knowledge gap will require that the student identifies the differences between his
or her study and the study done by other researchers. In identifying the knowledge gap, the

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student will be required to consider differences in the following aspects of his or her study and
those studies already conducted by other scholars:
 the variables of student’s topic
 the methodology
 the analysis model
 the outcome of the empirical research
 the target population
 location of the study
 time – the year of the study
 industry where the study was done
 author, etc.
It is possible that the student may find out that most empirical studies were done in other
countries. It is important to note that as the differences are identified, they should be related to
the student’s study so that the differences become easily noticeable.

Statement of the problem and knowledge gap

Many students find it challenging to write the statement of the problem mostly due to failure in
reviewing the context literature. It therefore becomes difficult for them to identify the
contradiction, or varying views of scholars, and this creates some knowledge gap that needs to be
filled on the same subject they intend to conduct research. Let us start by defining the statement
of the problem or problem statement.
A ‘problem statement’ is a description of a difficulty or lack that needs to be solved or at least
researched to see whether a solution can be found. It can also be described as either a gap
between the real and the desired or a contradiction between principle and practice.
One must have had an intensive literature review so as to understand the principles and compare
them with the practice in order to identify the gap, contradiction and varying views.

What is the goal of a statement of the problem?

The ultimate goal of a problem statement is to transform a generalized problem (something that
bothers you; a perceived lack) into a targeted, well-defined problem that one can be resolved
through focused research and careful decision-making.

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A problem statement helps you to clearly identify and define your motivation for undertaking the
research project that you propose. Often, the problem statement will also serve as the basis for
the introductory section of your final proposal, directing your reader’s attention quickly to the
issues that your proposed project will address and providing the reader with a concise statement
of the project itself.
A statement of the problem needs not be long. At most, two paragraphs are enough for a good
statement of the problem.
A good research problem should at least:
 Address a gap - this gap is established through a thorough review of the literature
 be significant enough to contribute to the existing body of the research
 be one that will lead to more research, and render itself to be investigated via  collection
of data
 be interesting to the researcher and suit his or her skills, time and resources
 be ethical.
What is the format (parts of a problem statement)?
 A persuasive problem statement consists of three parts: the ideal, the reality, and the
consequences.
The ideal describes a desired goal or ideal situation; explains how things should be, the reality
which describes a condition that prevents the goal, state, or value in the ideal from being
achieved or realized at this time; explains how the current situation falls short of the goal or
ideal, and the consequences which identify the way you propose to improve the current
situation and move it closer to the goal or ideal.
Four simple steps to writing a statement of the problem
Step 1 (statement 1)
Construct statement 1 by describing a goal or desired state of a given situation, phenomenon etc.
This will build the ideal situation (what should be, what is expected, what is desired)
  Step 2 (statement 2)
Describe a condition that prevents the goal, state, or value discussed in step 1 from being
achieved or realized at the present time. This will build the reality, the situation as it is and
establish a gap between what ought to be and what is
Step 3

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Connect steps 1 and 2 using a term such as "but," "however," "unfortunately," or "in spite of";
Step 4 (statement 3)
Using specific details show how the situation in step 2 contains little promise of improvement
unless something is done.  Then emphasize the benefits of research by projecting the
consequences of possible solutions as well.
 Examples 1
The ideal: According to XY university mission statement, the university seeks to provide
students with a safe, healthy learning environment. Hostels are one important aspect of that
learning environment since 55% of XY students live in hostels. Most of these students therefore
spend a significant amount of time working in their hostel rooms.
However,:
 The reality: students living in hostels A B C, and D currently do not have air conditioning units,
and during the hot seasons, it is common for room temperatures to exceed 80 ° F. Many students
report that they are unable to do homework in their rooms. Others report difficulties in sleeping
because of the humidity and temperature. The rooms are not only unhealthy, but they also inhibit
student productivity and academic achievement.
 The consequences: In response to this problem, our study proposes to investigate several
options for making the hostels more hospitable. We plan to carry out an all-inclusive
participatory investigation into options for purchasing air conditioners (university-funded or
student-subsidized) and different types of air conditioning systems. We will also consider less
expensive ways to mitigate some or all the problems noted above (such as creating climate-
controlled hostel lounges and equipping them with better study areas and computing space).

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