Literature Review (LR)

Before LR primarily you have to select your topic or

question. And in selecting the topic there should
have a clear concept of the aspects of problem.

Research revolves around four Ps:

 People
 Problem
 Program
 Phenomena
 Literature Review (LR)
The emphasis in a particular P may vary from study to
study, but generally, in practice, most research studies are
based upon at least a combination of two Ps.
i) To select a group of individuals (People) either
ii) to examine the existence of certain issues or
problems relating to their lives, to ascertain
attitude of a group of people towards an issue
(Problem),
iii) to establish existence of a regularity (Phenomenon)
or
iv) to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention
(Program).
Literature Review (LR)
The functions of the literature review in research
 The functions of the literature review in research

In relation to our own study, the literature review

can help in four ways:
1. Clarification;
2. Improvement;
3. Broadening; and
4. Contextualization.
5. Research Gap
 Literature Review

Literature Reviews survey, discuss and evaluate the existing

research relevant to one’s topic.
Purposes of Literature Review-
Literature review provides answers to the following questions:
 What has already been done in this area? (Historical
background for research)
 What is the current state of knowledge? (Recent
developments; contemporary debates, issues and
questions in the field)
 Who are the key players? What are the key
works/texts/developments?
 Literature Review

• What are the main trends, patterns, themes,

approaches?
• What are the problems, issues and
controversies in your topic area?
• Have you spotted any gap, any missed
opportunities? (Research Gap)
• What further research is needed? Why is it
needed? (Justification/rationale)
What does being critical review actually mean?

Being critical review 1. Developing and

means: presenting your own ideas

3. Justifying or supporting
2. Having a particular this viewpoint:
stance or viewpoint explanations, reasons,
evidence

4. Engaging in existing
critical/theoretical debates
 What does being critical actually
mean?

Effective literature reviews are

 critical and analytical rather than descriptive: they
evaluate rather than report.
 It is thus important to remember that a Literature
Review is not:

 a descriptive list of all the work published in your

field
 a chronological account of existing research
 The difference between critical and descriptive writing

Descriptive (what?) Critical analytical (so what?!)

States what happened Identifies the significance

Notes the method used Identifies whether something is
appropriate or suitable
Says when something occurred Identifies why the timing is of
importance
Lists details Evaluates the relative significance
of the details
Lists in any order Structures information in order of
importance
Gives information Draws conclusions
 Purpose of the critical review

Reviewing the literature critically will

• provide the foundation on which your research is built.
• help you to develop a good understanding and insight
into relevant previous research and
• let you know the trends that have emerged.
• The very research gap that must be studied on.
 Purpose of the critical review

Example-
You would not expect a scientific researcher
inquiring into the causes of dengue death to start his
or her research without first reading about the
findings of other dengue death research.
Likewise, you should not expect to start your
research without first reading what other
researchers in your area have already found out.
 Purpose of the critical review

The precise purpose of your reading of the literature

will depend on the approach you are intending to use
in your research.
Deductive
Inductive
 Purpose of the critical review

There are several ways to present information when writing,

including those that employ inductive
and deductive reasoning.
The difference can be stated simply:
Inductive reasoning presents facts and then wraps them up
with a conclusion.
Deductive reasoning presents a thesis statement and then
provides supportive facts or examples.
Which should the writer use?
It depends on content, the intended audience, and
your overall purpose.
Purpose of the critical review

Here is an example:

‘My dog Max wants to chase every non-

human living creature he sees, whether it is
the cats in the house or rabbits and squirrels
in the backyard. Sources indicate that this is
a behavior typical of Jack Russell terriers.
While Max is a mixed breed dog, he is
approximately the same size and has many
of the typical markings of a Jack Russell.
From these facts along with his behaviors,
we surmise that Max is indeed at least part
Jack Russell terrier.’
 Purpose of the critical review

What is the paragraph about?

Within that short paragraph, you learned about
Max’s manners and a little about what he might look
like, and then the concluding sentence connected
these ideas together. This kind of writing often keeps
the reader’s attention, as he or she must read all the
pieces of the puzzle before they are connected.
Purposes for this kind of writing include creative
writing and perhaps some persuasive essays,
although much academic work is done in deductive
form.
 Purpose of the critical review
If your audience is not likely going to read the entire written piece,
then deductive reasoning might make more sense, as the reader can
look for what he or she wants by quickly scanning first sentences of
each paragraph.
Here is an example:
‘My backyard is in dire need of cleaning and new landscaping. The
Kentucky blue grass that was planted there five years ago has been
all but replaced by Creeping Charlie, a particularly invasive weed. The
stone steps leading to the house are in some disrepair, and there are
some slats missing from the fence. Perennials were planted three
years ago, but the moles and rabbits destroyed many of the bulbs, so
we no longer have flowers in the spring.’
 Purpose of the critical review

The reader knows from the very first sentence that

the backyard is a mess!
This paragraph could have ended with a clarifying
conclusion sentence; while it might be considered
redundant to do so, the scientific community tends to
work through deductive reasoning by providing
(1) a premise or argument – which could also be
called a thesis statement,
(2) then evidence to support the premise, and
(3) finally the conclusion.
 What steps should you take in summarizing an
article?
1. Take a quick overview of the article by
reading
The title
The abstract
The introduction
The subheading
The conclusion
2. Read the article without taking notes in order
to gain an overall idea of its aim and main idea.
 What steps should you take in summarizing an article?
3. Read the article again analytically and make
notes of main ideas and main topic.
Highlight important ideas.
Make brief notes in the margin or on
paper
4. Check your notes to ensure that they include: ‘
the main aim of the article, e.g. to analyze, explain,
evaluate, argue, criticize, discuss opposing views ‘
• the methodological approach, e.g. empirical
research, financial analysis, textual analysis
‘
 What steps should you take in summarizing an
article?

5. Use your notes to write a summary

6. In your summary ensure that you have

paraphrased not plagiarized the authors'
words and used quotations sparingly.
7. Finally you have to find out the research gap
that has to be addressed. (This should be at the
end of reviewing all the literatures)
 What is involved in commenting critically on an article?

Commenting critically on an article involves

analysis and evaluation. Analysis of the article
involves dissecting the information presented in
order to-
 identify the purpose,
 the main points,
 the methodology and
 the findings or
 conclusions of the article (This is done in the
initial summarizing step).
What is involved in commenting critically on an article.

In addition, analysis for critical comment involves identifying:

1. unstated assumptions
2. steps in the argument that are not logical
3. any additional purposes of the article that are
not explicitly stated.

evaluation of the article involves making judgments about the

value (both positive and negative) of the article against
specific criteria.
 What is the structure of a critical review?
Like most other writing you do at university a critical review
has an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
1. Introduction
• provide a context for the article (background information
or shared knowledge)
• give the title of the article and name of author
• identify the writer by profession or importance if
appropriate
• include some indication as to why the subject is important
and thus worth writing about
• identify the purpose of the article
• give an indication of your overall impression of the article
in general terms.
 What is the structure of a critical
review?

2. Body In the body you should:

• summarize and analyze the contents of the
article
• make clear by frequent reference to the author(s)
of the article that you are presenting the author(s)
views, not yours
• evaluate the article.
 What is the structure of a critical review?
3. The following is a suggested structure:
•an analytical summary of main
findings/arguments/conclusions of article
• strengths/usefulness of article
• weaknesses/limitations/problems of the article
especially for your purposes (Or you might put these
together so that each paragraph includes all four.)
4. Conclusion In the conclusion you should:
• summarize the previous discussion
• make a final judgment on the value of the article
• comment on the future of the issue/topic or
implications of the view expressed.