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Process of Literature Review

1. A literature review surveys and critically evaluates sources on a research topic to provide context and demonstrate how the research fits within the field of study. 2. The major steps in conducting a literature review are to select a focused topic, systematically search for relevant literature, gather and analyze sources by reading them and grouping them, and write the review with an introduction, body, and conclusion while citing sources accurately. 3. Conducting a literature review is important to justify and situate the research, ensure it has not been done before, illustrate how the topic has previously been studied, and highlight gaps in the existing research.

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44 views

Process of Literature Review

1. A literature review surveys and critically evaluates sources on a research topic to provide context and demonstrate how the research fits within the field of study. 2. The major steps in conducting a literature review are to select a focused topic, systematically search for relevant literature, gather and analyze sources by reading them and grouping them, and write the review with an introduction, body, and conclusion while citing sources accurately. 3. Conducting a literature review is important to justify and situate the research, ensure it has not been done before, illustrate how the topic has previously been studied, and highlight gaps in the existing research.

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Hina Kaynat
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture 06

Process of Literature Review

Definition
A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other
sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and
by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation
of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated.
Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you
have explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate
to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study.
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 your
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 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

Major steps in literature Review:


The literature review process:

1. Selecting a review topic


Selecting a review topic can be a daunting task for students and novice
reviewers (Timmins and McCabe, 2005). A common error for novices is to
select a review title that is all encompassing, such as ‘pressure ulcers’ or
‘pain’. Although this may be a useful initial strategy for determining how
much literature is available, subjects such as these generate a considerable
amount of data making a review infeasible. Therefore, it is advisable to
refine this further so that the final amount of information generated is
manageable. For example, to focus the topic of interest, consider what
aspects of pressure ulcers or pain are of particular significance. Is there a
specific element of this topic that is of interest, such as prevention or
management? Identifying what exactly is of interest and why can help refine
the topic (Hendry and Farley, 1998). Talking to others, such as clinical
specialists, or reading around a topic can also help to identify what areas of
the subject the reviewer is interested in and may help indicate how much
information exists on the topic (Timmins and McCabe, 2005).
Having sufficient literature is also important, particularly when the review is
an academic assignment. These academic exercises usually have short
deadlines, so having enough literature is key from the perspective of being
able to do the review and submit it on time. Attempting to change the topic
close to the deadline for submission is usually a recipe for disaster so select
an area that will hold your interest and ensure that there is enough data to
meet your needs.

Literature reviews that are part of academic coursework usually have strictly
enforced word limits and it is important to adhere to that limit. Topics that
are too broad will result in reviews that are either too long or too superficial.
As a rule of thumb, it is better to start with a narrow and focused topic, and
if necessary broaden the scope of the review as you progress. It is much more
difficult to cut content successfully, especially if time is short.
2. Searching the literature
Having selected a topic the next step is to identify, in a structured way, the
appropriate and related information. A systematic approach is considered
most likely to generate a review that will be beneficial in informing ractice
(Hek and Langton, 2000).
3. Gathering, reading and analyzing the literature
At this point of the process, what has been determined as appropriate
literature will have been gathered. While the focus of the literature may vary
depending on the overall purpose, there are several useful strategies for the
analysis and synthesis stages that will help the construction and writing of
the review. Initially, it is advisable to undertake a first read of the articles
that have been collected to get a sense of what they are about. Most published
articles contain a summary or abstract at the beginning of the paper, which
will assist with this process and enable the decision as to whether it is worthy
of further reading or inclusion. At this point, it may also be of benefit to
undertake an initial classification and grouping of the articles by type of
source.

4. Writing the review


Once the appraisal of the literature is completed consideration must
be given to how the review will be structured and written. The key to a good
academic paper is the ability to present the findings in such a way that it
demonstrates your knowledge in a clear and consistent way.
The basis of good writing is to avoid long and confusing words and
keep jargon to a minimum. Sentences should be kept as short as possible
with one clear message and spelling and grammar should be accurate and
consistent with the form of English being used.
Many universities provide facilities for developing and improving
writing skills and it is a good idea to try to attend such a course. Study skills
books, such as that of Ely and Scott (2007), offer some good tips for writing
competently.
The organization of material in an objective manner and the structure
of the review are crucial to its comprehensiveness. To some extent, the
structure will depend on the purpose of the review. For example, systematic
reviews have a clear structure that must be followed and that will dictate for
the most part show the writing should be undertaken.
However, for most students or practitioners a review is either part of
a coursework assignment, research proposal or research dissertation, and as
such, there is some freedom in how the writing is structured. Nonetheless, it
is important to be logical and there are some key elements that need to be
included in all literature reviews. Primarily, the written report should include
an introduction, body and conclusion (Burns and Grove, 2007). The length
of literature reviews vary and word limits and assignment criteria must be
considered in the overall construction. If it is a stand alone review, an
abstract may also be necessary. An abstract is a short summary of the
findings of the review and is normally undertaken last (Hendry and Farley,
1998).

5. References:

The literature review should conclude with a full bibliographical list of all
the books, journal articles, reports and other media, which were referred to
in the work. Regardless of whether the review is part of a course of study for
for publication, it is an essential part of the process that all sourced material
is acknowledged. This means that every citation in the text must appear in
the reference/bibliography and vice versa. Omissions or errors in referencing
are very common and students often lose vital marks in assignment because
of it. A useful strategy is to create a separate file for references and each time
a publication is cited, it can be added to this list immediately.
Some universities offer their students access to referencing systems, such as
Endnote, and while they may initially appear difficult to learn they are worth
the effort later in terms of ensuring the reference list is accurate. Remember,
the reference list may be a useful source of literature for others who are
interested in studying this topic (Coughlan et al, 2007), and, therefore, every
effort should be made to ensure it is accurate.

References:
➢ Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the
Internet to Paper. Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

➢ Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature


Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-
132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for
Students. 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

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