ASSIGNMENT: SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE: CRITICALLY REVIEWING THE LITERATURE

Literature reviews serve two major purposes

1. Preliminary search – Helps refine research ideas.
2. Critical review – Essential for demonstrating knowledge, identifying gaps, and
situating research within the existing body of work.
Reviewing literature is crucial even if you believe you know the subject well, as it ensures
awareness of current knowledge, its limitations, and the relevance of your research. Research
builds on prior work rather than existing in isolation. A literature review organizes and critically
assesses published research to establish a strong foundation for new studies.
The significance or key points on Critically Reviewing the Literature
The significance of research is determined by its connection to prior studies, requiring
researchers to identify published and ongoing work. Reviewing literature deepens subject
knowledge, refines research questions, and involves critically evaluating the quality, relevance,
and limitations of past studies.
Common mistakes in literature reviews include lack of clear purpose, superficial summaries,
poor organization, no critical analysis, and failure to connect ideas
A proper critical literature review should synthesize information, compare perspectives,
highlight gaps, and show how the research builds on existing knowledge.
The Literature Review Process
The process of conducting a critical literature review is iterative and evolves as the research
progresses. It follows an upward spiral leading to the final written review.
Key Stages:
1. Define Research Parameters: Establish the research questions and objectives.
2. Generate Keywords: Identify key terms for searching relevant literature.
3. Conduct Initial Search: Find sources related to the research topic.
4. Obtain Literature: Collect books, articles, and reports.
5. Evaluate Sources: Critically assess the quality and relevance of the literature.
6. Record Key Ideas: Summarize insights and themes from the literature.
7. Draft the Literature Review: Begin structuring the review.
8. Refine Parameters: Adjust focus based on findings and emerging insights.
9. Repeat the Process: Conduct further searches, update the review, refine research
questions.

Critical Literature Review in Business and Management Research

A critical literature review in business and management research goes beyond summarizing
sources; it involves analyzing and evaluating them to refine research questions and objectives.
It draws from a variety of disciplines, including finance, marketing, economics, psychology, and
sociology.
A critical review forms the foundation of your research, enabling a thorough understanding of
previous studies and emerging trends. Its purpose varies based on research approaches:
 Deductive Approach: Develop theories or frameworks and test them using data.
 Inductive Approach: Analyze data first, then link findings to the literature.
It selectively focuses on relevant and significant studies, avoiding an exhaustive summary of all
existing research. Key benefits include:
Refining research questions and objectives involves highlighting unexplored opportunities,
avoiding duplication, and identifying future research recommendations to justify your study. It
also includes gathering insights from media and journals and exploring appropriate research
methods and strategies.
A critical review in a research project evaluates existing studies in your field, identifies
relationships between published findings, and provides essential context for your research. It
includes the following elements:
A critical review highlights key theories, trends, and gaps in the literature, establishes your
study's relevance by aligning with or critiquing prior research, references sources for accuracy,
and acknowledges others' work to maintain ethical standards.
A critical literature review requires you to evaluate literature with skepticism, using reasoned
judgment and effective argumentation. Mingers highlights aspects such as:
 Critique of rhetoric: Evaluate problems using effective language and logical reasoning.
 Critique of tradition and authority: Question conventional wisdom and dominant views.
 Critique of objectivity: Recognize the value-laden nature of knowledge.
Dees (2003) emphasizes assessing expert research, discussing supporting and opposing studies,
making logical judgments, and distinguishing facts from opinions. A critical review involves a
detailed and justified analysis of the literature's merits and faults, establishing a connection
with your research.
The structure of a critical literature review involves describing and critically analyzing the work
of other authors, focusing on your research questions and objectives. The review should
explore how existing research addresses your questions, highlighting gaps to be addressed in
your project.
Common Structures: A single chapter, A series of chapters, Integrated throughout the project
report.
Compare and analyze different authors' ideas to draw conclusions, refine your draft as you
continue reading, and revisit key literature issues in the discussion and conclusion sections of
your work.
Starting early allows for continuous refinement as your understanding deepens.
A common mistake in critical literature reviews is turning them into uncritical lists or annotated
bibliographies. Instead, a useful approach is to think of the review as a funnel:
Start broadly and narrow down to your research questions. Summarize key ideas, compare
relevant studies, and focus on the most significant findings. Highlight research gaps for new
insights, explain your selection process, critically evaluate sources, and connect the review to
your objectives and upcoming work.
This structured, critical approach ensures a coherent argument and justifies your research
within the context of existing literature.
The Literature review examines organizational justice and trust, starting broadly and narrowing
to key research. It defines three justice types:
 Distributive justice: Focuses on perceptions of fairness in organizational outcomes
 Procedural justice: Relates to fairness in decision-making processes
 Interactional justice: Concerns fairness in interpersonal treatment

Trust theory explores favorable expectations, vulnerability, and socially constructed

interpretations of reality and identifies four trust manifestations during organizational change:
Trust during organizational change involves confidence in favorable outcomes and the
fulfillment of obligations, belief in honesty with no deception, reliance on managers' abilities,
and trust in their benevolence and care for employee welfare. Positive and negative inequity
can lead to contrasting emotions, shaping organizational trust dynamics. Trust and justice
remain interwoven, affecting workplace relationships and change processes.
Literature sources available
1. Primary sources: The initial occurrence of work, also known as grey literature, including
reports, theses, emails, conference proceedings, and unpublished manuscripts.
2. Secondary sources: These build on primary literature and include books, journals, and
newspapers, often summarizing or analyzing the primary sources.
3. Tertiary sources: These include indexes, abstracts, catalogues, encyclopedias,
dictionaries, and bibliographies, offering a broader, less detailed view of primary and
secondary literature.
The section emphasizes recognizing the flow of information from primary to tertiary sources,
noting how details and authority decrease while accessibility increases. It also highlights how
the Internet has streamlined access to these resources, making certain "grey" sources, like
government publications, more readily available.
"Planning Your Literature Strategy" emphasizes the importance of developing a clear and
structured approach when conducting a literature review. The key points include:
 1. Defining Research Parameters: Start by outlining the boundaries of your research
questions and objectives. This helps ensure your literature review remains focused and
relevant.
2. Keyword Generation and Refinement: Brainstorm and refine a list of keywords based
on your research topic. These keywords will guide your literature search.
3. Iterative Searching: Conduct an initial search, evaluate the findings, and refine your
search terms as necessary. Literature searching is portrayed as a recursive process that
evolves alongside your research.
4. Source Evaluation: Carefully assess the relevance and value of the literature you find.
Aim to build a collection of sources that directly contribute to your research objectives.
5. Systematic Documentation: Record your search strategy, including the databases used,
key terms, and criteria for inclusion. This ensures transparency and aids in the
replication or expansion of your review.
6. Integration with Research Objectives: Continuously align your literature review with
your research aims, ensuring each stage contributes to a deeper understanding of your
topic.
By following this strategy, you can conduct a comprehensive and targeted review,
systematically navigating the vast body of available literature.
"Conducting Your Literature Search" outlines the practical steps involved in searching for
relevant literature. Key points include:
1. Keyword Creation: Develop an effective list of keywords that encompass your research
topic, including synonyms and related terms. This ensures a comprehensive search.
2. Selection of Databases: Choose appropriate databases and repositories for searching
literature based on the focus of your research. Academic journals, online libraries, and
institutional archives are emphasized.
3. Search Techniques: Utilize advanced search techniques such as Boolean operators,
truncation, and filters to refine your search results effectively.
4. Documentation: Keep systematic records of your search strategy, including keywords
used, databases accessed, and results obtained. This ensures transparency and aids
replication.
5. Evaluation of Sources: Critically assess each source for its relevance, reliability, and
credibility. This step helps in identifying high-quality literature that aligns with your
research objectives.
6. Iterative Approach: The process is iterative—refine keywords, revisit databases, and
explore new leads as your understanding of the topic develops.
This section encourages a meticulous and organized approach to ensure a focused and
productive literature search.
"Obtaining and Evaluating the Literature" discusses the systematic approach to acquiring and
critically assessing literature for research purposes.
1. Obtaining Literature:
o Key Word Strategy: The section highlights generating effective keywords and
search terms to locate relevant sources.
o Databases and Repositories: It emphasizes the importance of selecting
appropriate academic databases and repositories specific to the research field.
o Source Accessibility: Practical tips are provided for accessing hard-to-find
materials, such as grey literature (e.g., government reports, theses).
2. Evaluating Literature:
o Relevance: Each source should be evaluated for how closely it aligns with the
research objectives and questions.
o Credibility: The assessment focuses on the reliability of sources by examining the
author's expertise, peer-review status, and publication medium.
o Critical Reading: Readers are encouraged to identify biases, omissions, or
inconsistencies within the literature.
o Synthesizing Insights: Comparisons between sources are recommended to
develop a coherent understanding of the field.
The section stresses the importance of maintaining systematic documentation throughout the
process. This structured approach ensures that the literature review is thorough, relevant, and
grounded in credible scholarship.
"Recording the Literature," focuses on the importance of systematically documenting the
insights gained during a literature review.
1. Organized Note-Taking: The section emphasizes maintaining structured and clear notes
to ensure all key details from reviewed sources are captured effectively. This includes
noting down author names, publication dates, and key arguments.
2. Use of Reference Management Tools: It highlights leveraging digital tools such as
EndNote or Zotero to catalog citations and references systematically, which can save
time and improve accuracy.
3. Critical Annotations: Beyond simply recording information, it stresses the need to
annotate sources critically, noting their relevance, strengths, weaknesses, and
applicability to your research objectives.
 4. Developing a System: Creating a consistent method for categorizing and organizing
literature is recommended, such as grouping sources by themes or research questions.
5. Transparency: The section underlines the importance of transparency in documenting
your process, enabling others (and yourself) to trace your steps and understand your
rationale.
This approach ensures that your literature review is comprehensive, well-documented, and
easy to reference as your research progresses.
Checklists and Examples
The article includes practical checklists to evaluate the content and structure of reviews,
ensuring they align with research objectives and aid readers in understanding the context and
contributions of your work.
By following these steps, the literature review becomes a foundational element of your
research, connecting previous studies to new inquiries and insights.
Conclusion
The article "Critically Reviewing the Literature" emphasizes the importance of evaluating
existing research to establish a strong foundation for any study. It outlines the key purposes of
a critical literature review, including refining research questions, identifying gaps, and
understanding prior findings. The process involves defining parameters, generating keywords,
conducting iterative searches, obtaining relevant literature, and systematically evaluating
sources for credibility and relevance. It highlights the necessity of maintaining proper
documentation and using tools like reference managers to streamline the process.
It highlights the importance of evaluating existing research to refine questions, identify gaps,
and connect findings to broader knowledge. The process involves systematic searching,
evaluating credibility, documenting insights, and structuring the review to form coherent
arguments. Using strategies like the funnel method and ensuring objectivity and transparency,
researchers can create impactful reviews that advance understanding and support their unique
contributions.
The article further discusses structuring a review, recommending approaches such as the funnel
method to move from general themes to specific research findings. It stresses the importance
of linking ideas cohesively, critiquing literature objectively, and identifying areas for new
insights. By applying these strategies, researchers can produce a comprehensive and well-
organized review that connects existing knowledge to their study's unique contribution.