The Literature Review

A Brief Introduction
 Definition

• A literature review surveys books, scholarly

articles, and any other sources relevant to a
particular issue, area of research, or theory,
• provides a description, summary, and critical
evaluation of these works in relation to the
research problem being investigated.
• designed to provide an overview of sources
explored while researching a particular topic and
to demonstrate how your research fits within a
larger field of study.
 Importance of a Good Literature Review

• a literature review usually has an

organizational pattern and combines both
summary and synthesis.
• A summary is a recap of the important
information of the source.
• a synthesis is a re-organization, or a
reshuffling, of that information in a way that
informs how you are planning to investigate a
research problem.
 Analytical features of a literature
review
• Give a new interpretation of old material or
combine new with old interpretations.
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field,
including major debates.
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review,
identify where gaps exist in how a problem
has been researched to date.
The purpose of a literature review
• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the
research problem being studied- provide a background to your work.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research- classify the
research into different categories and demonstrate how the research in a
particular area has changed over time by indicating historical background
(early research findings in an area) as well as explaining recent
developments in an area
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies- clarify
areas of controversy and agreement between experts in the area as well
as identify dominant views
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature-evaluate the previous research
and identify gaps (i.e. unexplored areas)
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature -help
justify your research by indicating how it is different from other works in
the same area
 Types of Literature Reviews

1. Argumentative Review:
• This form examines literature selectively in order to
support or refute an argument, deeply imbedded
assumption, or philosophical problem already
established in the literature.
• The purpose is to develop a body of literature that
establishes a contrarian viewpoint.
• Given the value-laden nature of some social science
research [e.g., educational reform; immigration
control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the
literature can be a legitimate and important form of
discourse.
 Contd..
2. Integrative/Traditional Review:
Considered a form of research that reviews,
critiques, and synthesizes representative
literature on a topic in an integrated way such
that new frameworks and perspectives on the
topic are generated.
The body of literature includes all studies that
address related or identical hypotheses or
research problems.
This is the most common form of review in the
social sciences.
 Contd..
3. Historical:
Historical literature reviews focus on examining
research throughout a period of time, often
starting with the first time an issue, concept,
theory, phenomena emerged in the literature,
then tracing its evolution within the discipline.
The purpose is to place research in a historical
context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art
developments and to identify the likely directions
for future research.
 Contd..
4. Methodological
A review does not always focus on what someone said [findings],
but how they came about saying what they say [method of
analysis].
Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding
at different levels [i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research
approaches, and data collection and analysis techniques], how
researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from
the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork,
quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing,
data collection, and data analysis.
This approach helps highlight ethical issues (right and wrong)which you
should be aware of and consider as you go through your own study.
5. Systematic:
This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a
clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and
standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant
research, and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies
that are included in the review.
The goal is to deliberately document, critically evaluate,
and summarize scientifically all of the research about a clearly
defined research problem. Typically it focuses on a very specific
empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as
"To what extent does A contribute to B?" This type of literature
review is primarily applied to examining prior research studies in
clinical medicine and allied health fields, but it is increasingly being
used in the social sciences.
6. Theoretical:
The purpose of this form is to examine the corpus of theory
that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory,
phenomena.
The theoretical literature review helps to establish what
theories already exist, the relationships between them, to
what degree the existing theories have been investigated,
and to develop new hypotheses to be tested.
Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate
theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for
explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of
analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole
theory or framework.
 Structure and Writing Style

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under

consideration, along with the objectives of the literature
review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories
[e.g. works that support a particular position, those against,
and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it
varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their
argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make
the greatest contribution to the understanding and
development of their area of research.
 The critical evaluation of each work
should consider:
• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's
arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material,
case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and
analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem?
Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively
interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or
prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent
information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing
or least convincing?
• Value -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing?
Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an
understanding of the subject?
Development of the Literature Review
Four Stages
• 1. Problem formulation -- which topic or field is
being examined and what are its component
issues?
2. Literature search -- finding materials relevant
to the subject being explored.
3. Data evaluation -- determining which
literature makes a significant contribution to the
understanding of the topic.
4. Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the
findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.
 Issues before writing the literature
review
• Clarify- If your assignment is not very specific about what
form your literature review should take, seek clarification
from your professor by asking these questions:
1. Roughly how many sources should I include?
2. What types of sources should I review (books, journal
articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)?
3. Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by
discussing a common theme or issue?
4. Should I evaluate the sources?
5. Should I provide subheadings and other background
information, such as definitions and/or a history?
• Find Models
• Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to
examine how authors in your discipline or area of
interest have composed their literature review
sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of
themes you might want to look for in your own
research or to identify ways to organize your final
review. The bibliography or reference section of
sources you've already read are also excellent
entry points into your own research.
 Narrow the Topic
• The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of
sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of
relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to
read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make
your job easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A
good strategy is to begin by searching the HOMER catalog for books
about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that
focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books
to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of
your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt
has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the
pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text.
 Consider Whether Your Sources are
Current
• Some disciplines require that you use information that is as
current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in
medicine and the sciences where research conducted
becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are
made. However, when writing a review in the social
sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be
required. In other words, a complete understanding the
research problem requires you to deliberately examine how
knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort
through other current bibliographies or literature reviews
in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects.
You can also use this method to explore what is considered
by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.
 . Ways to Organize Your Literature
Review
• Chronology of Events
• If your review follows the chronological
method, you could write about the materials
according to when they were published. This
approach should only be followed if a clear
path of research building on previous research
can be identified and that these trends follow
a clear chronological order of development.
 Thematic [“conceptual categories”]
• Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue,
rather than the progression of time.
• However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a
thematic review.
• For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential
politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While
the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American
presidential politics, it will still be organized chronologically reflecting
technological developments in media.
• The only difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic"
approach is what is emphasized the most: the role of the Internet in
presidential politics.
• Note however that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away
from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift
between time periods within each section according to the point made.
 Methodological

• A methodological approach focuses on the

methods utilized by the researcher.
 other sections you may need to
include
• Current Situation: information necessary to understand the topic or
focus of the literature review.
• History: the chronological progression of the field, the literature, or
an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the
body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Selection Methods: the criteria you used to select (and perhaps
exclude) sources in your literature review. For instance, you might
explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed articles and
journals.
• Standards: the way in which you present your information.
• Questions for Further Research: What questions about the field
has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a
result of the review?
 Writing Your Literature Review
1. Use Evidence-A literature review section is, in this sense,
just like any other academic research paper. Your
interpretation of the available sources must be backed up
with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you
are saying is valid.
2. Be Selective
Select only the most important points in each source to
highlight in the review. The type of information you
choose to mention should relate directly to the research
problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or
chronological. Related items that provide additional
information but that are not key to understanding the
research problem can be included in a list of further
readings.
3. Use Quotes Sparingly- Some short quotes are okay if you
want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated
cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to
quote certain terminology that was coined by the author,
not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study.
Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for your own
summary and interpretation of the literature.
4. Summarize and Synthesize
Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources
within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the
review. Recapitulate important features of a research study,
but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance
and relating it to your own work.
5.Keep Your Own Voice
While the literature review presents others' ideas, your
voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For
example, weave references to other sources into what you
are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and
ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording.
6.Use Caution When Paraphrasing
When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure
to represent the author's information or opinions
accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing
an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that
work.
 Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research
problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevent
sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including
relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as
valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design
and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the
literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-
squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider
contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.
 Literature review matrix
• Literature review matrix is a table in which you
can represent the views, ideas, or data
according to thematic categories that
correspond to your research project.
AUTHOU YEAR TITLE OBJECTI METHO SAMPLE CONCLU COMME
R VES/AIM D SION NTS
S

• get a clearer view of how different sources are related,

• recognise patterns that may not have been immediately visible before.
•For example, you may see a correlation between sample sizes and types of
conclusions, or between specific kinds of aims and the methods chosen to address
them.