Unit IV (Part A) Literature Survey and Review

Once a subject area of research has been chosen by a research scholar/ post graduate student for
his research/ dissertation work, the next important step in right direction is to do the Literature
Survey and Review.
What is a literature review?
A literature review is a piece of academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding of
the academic literature on a specific topic placed in context. A literature review also includes a
critical evaluation of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a literature
report.

The main objectives of a literature survey and review are

(i) To collect the relevant content covering existing research, theories and evidence about
the topic/ subject chosen for further study and investigation
(ii) To make an own critical evaluation and discussion of the available content.

A literature review forms a section or part of a dissertation, research project report or long
essay. However, it can also be set and assessed as a stand-alone piece of work.

During conduct of literature survey and review, first the written literature about the research
topic/problem is identified. The sources of literature are relevant books, journals, research articles
and internet. Next a critical study and analysis of the identified literature is carried out. While
doing this a researcher should
 Critically examine and evaluate all articles and papers identified in books, journals and other
sources and Identify areas of controversy,
 Compile questions involved in his area of interest. One should go through the identified
material with the purpose of finding out about or answering these questions. A researcher
should stick to this list of quires, unless something comes up, which is particularly important.
Because it is very easy to get sidetracked, particularly on the internet.
 Look at issues of theory, methodology, policy, quantitative research.
 Identify areas which need further investigation for improvement.

Page | 18
Purpose of the Literature Survey and Review
The main purpose of literature survey and review is that:
 It shows the work already done by other researchers in the field of one’s interest.
 It helps in relating the intended study to earlier research.
 It helps in knowing research contributions, propositions and opinions of researchers in the
field.
 It delimits the study, relates the methods used by other researchers, recommendations of earlier
works and provides the basis for the intended research task.
 It helps in revealing methods of dealing with the research problem that may be similar to the
difficulties one is facing.
 It increases the confidence of the researcher in his research topic if he finds that other
researchers have shown interest in this topic and have invested time, effort and resources
studying it.
IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE REVIEW:
Literature review and study is important because;
 It provides theoretical background to your study or field of interest
 It identifies and evaluate promising research methods
 It refines your Research Methodology
 It defines and narrow down the research area
 It helps in defining the objectives of the research
 It places your study in a historical perspective
 It avoids unnecessary duplication
 It relates or links one’s findings to previous findings, knowledge and suggests further
research
 It ensures Novelty in your research work
Aim of Literature Survey and Review
The aim of a literature review is to show particular reader that
 Researcher has read, and has a good grasp of the main published work concerning a
particular topic or problem in specific field.
 Literature review may be altogether a separate assignment.

Page | 19
  Literature review in most of the cases forms an introductory sections of a report,
dissertation or thesis. In this case the review will be guided by research objective or by the
issue or thesis, researcher is arguing and will provide the framework for researchers’
further work.
 Review should not be simply a description of what others have published in the form of a
set of summaries, but should take the form of a critical discussion, showing insight and an
awareness of differing arguments, theories and approaches.
 It should be a synthesis and analysis of the relevant published work, linked at all times to
one’s own purpose and rationale.
 This review work may be presented in any format, including online sources.
Sources for Literature Survey and Review:
 Primary review: Usually a report by the original researchers of a study (unfiltered sources).
This includes letters/correspondence, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, official or
research reports, patents and designs, and empirical research articles.
 Secondary review: Description or summary by somebody other than the original
researcher, e.g. a review article (filtered sources) academic journal articles (other than
empirical research articles or reports), conference proceedings, books (monographs or
chapters’ books), documentaries.
 Conceptual/theoretical review: Papers concerned with description or analysis of theories
or concepts associated with the topic
Steps in Literature Review
The various steps involved in Literature review are
 Search the existing literature in the area of interest
 Review the collected /identified literature
 Develop a theoretical framework
 Make a comparative study of the existing methods used by different researchers and
identify their merits and demerits.
 Identify any short comings of the study and methodology used by previous researchers
 Propose modifications in methodology for better outcomes
 Design the research problem with objectives to be achieved
 Propose the methodology for its investigation
Page | 20
  Lastly write up the detailed literature Review
Writing of Literature Review:
Researcher first needs to decide what he/she needs to read? In many cases researcher will be given
a booklist or directed towards areas of useful published work by his supervisor. Make sure to use
this help. It is important, therefore, to try and decide on the parameters of research. Write the
objectives of research work to be taken for investigation and the parameters that a researcher has
to investigate.
A good literature review needs a clear line of argument. Therefore, to express his academic
opinion, a researcher need to use the critical notes and comments he made while doing reading.
While writing a literature review one should make sure that:
 It includes a clear, short introduction which gives an outline of the review, including the
main topics covered and the order of the arguments, with a brief rationale for this.
 There should be a clear link between own arguments of the researcher and the evidence
uncovered in reading.
 It include a short summary at the end of each section. Use quotations if appropriate.
 It acknowledges opinions which do not agree with thesis. If researcher ignores opposing
viewpoints, argument will in fact be weaker.
 Literature review must be written in a formal, academic style.
 It should be clear and concise, avoiding colloquialisms and personal language.
 In literature review a researcher should always aim to be objective and respectful of others'
opinions; this is not the place for emotive language or strong personal opinions. If one
opinion or thought something was false, use words such as "inconsistent", "lacking in
certain areas" or "based on false assumptions".
 When introducing someone's opinion, don't use "says", but instead an appropriate verb
which more accurately reflects this viewpoint, such as "argues", "claims" or "states".
 Use the present tense for general opinions and theories, and the past tense when referring
to specific research or experiments.

Page | 21
 Additional notes on Academic Literature Review

1. Literature Review

A literature review is simply a summary of what existing scholarship knows about a particular
topic. It is always based on secondary sources – that is, what other people have already written on
the subject; it is not concerned about discovering new knowledge or information. As such, it is a
prelude to further research, a digest of scholarly opinion.

A literature review should focus only on the relevant academic literature: popular or non-academic
sources may be brought in occasionally to illustrate a point, but the central interest is always on
the data collected or the theories put together by recognized experts in the field.

A literature review will try to look at as much of this existing research as possible. It will review
major scholarly books in the relevant area, but will also take a keen interest in journal articles,
which in many subjects give more up-to-date material.

Preparing a literature review thus involves:

 Searching for reliable, accurate and up-to-date material on the topic or subject of interest.
 Reading and summarizing the key points from this literature
 Identifying particular areas of debate or controversy
 Synthesizing the key ideas, theories and concepts into a summary of what is known
 Discussing and evaluating these ideas, theories and concepts
 Preparing the ground for the application of these ideas to new research

2. Choosing Material

While choosing/ selecting material for research review one should take into consideration

 Specific question, topic or focus of assignment

 Type of material required
* Theory
* Methodology
* Policy

Page | 22
 * Empirical data
 Type of available literature (e.g., journals, books, government documents)
 Type of authoritative literature available particularly in the interested academic discipline
(e.g. psychology, sociology, pharmacy)
 Search should be wide enough to ensure the identification of all the relevant material
 Search should be such to exclude irrelevant material
 Collected literature should be good enough sample for the level of Ph.D., Master’s or
undergraduate dissertation or thesis
 All the possible alternative points of view should be collected
 Finally the literature review should be relevant, appropriate, and useful to the reader.

3. Searching for Good Material

Make sure that all the literature you review is as up-to-date as possible. The sole exception would
be ‘classic texts’ such as major works written by the leading scholars setting out formative ideas
and theories central to your subject.

A good literature review will have a good range of material setting out as many different
perspectives as possible. Try to get a good balance between substantial academic books and more
recent journal articles.

A good place to start is with a bibliography. For undergraduate dissertations, look first at the
bibliography provided with the module documentation. Choose one or two likely looking books
or articles and then scan through the bibliographies provided by these authors. Skim read some of
this material looking for clues: can you use these leads to identify key theories and authors or track
down other appropriate material?

Another approach is to try entering a few keywords into library catalogue search engines. You will
almost certainly have to try a range of different words to capture as many items as possible. But
avoid over-generalizations: if you type in something as broad as ‘social theory’ you are likely to
get several thousand results! Try to be specific: for example, ‘Heidegger, existentialism’.

Ideally, you should narrow the field down so you get just a few dozen results. Skim through these
quickly to identity texts which are most likely to be helpful.

Page | 23
If this does not produce enough material, browse along the library shelves in the relevant subject
area and look at any of the books that catch your eye. Check the contents and index pages to see if
they are likely to help; if not, put the book back and try again.

You could also ask one of the subject librarians for further help. Your supervisor might be able to
point you in the direction of some of the important literature, though remember this is your
literature search, not theirs!

For recent journal articles you will almost certainly need to use one of the online search engines.
These can be found on the ‘Indexing Services’.

There is no answer to the question ‘how many books and journal articles should I review?’ It all
depends on the length of the dissertation, the nature of the subject, the focal point of interest, the
level of study (undergraduate, Masters, Ph.D.) and so on. Obviously, if your dissertation is going
to be mostly an interaction with existing scholarship you need a longer literature review than if
your subject involves new empirical research. Nor are you expected to know about everything
written on your subject, especially at undergraduate level.

The key point is that you should aim to use the literature review to set out the boundaries of existing
knowledge in your chosen area: what have other important scholars already said about this subject?
Watch out for the obvious gaps!

So, how many books and articles? Enough! Maybe – as a very rough and ready rule of thumb – 8-
10 significant pieces (books and/or articles) for a 8,000 word dissertation, up to 20 major pieces
of work for 12-15,000 words, and so on. But use your judgment!

4. Assessing the Literature

One has to necessarily skim through the books and articles identified as potentially relevant. Focus
should be particularly on chapter summaries, journal abstracts, and even the index. Look for clues
that will indicate the relevance of any piece of literature to your study. If the answer is ‘not much’
then choose something different. This way one can chose a good amount of literature.

Next step is to read the chosen material carefully and the researcher needs to look especially for:

 The key point discussed by the author and is this clearly defined?

Page | 24
  The evidence the author has produced to support this central idea.
 The convincing reasons given by the author in support of his point of view.
 Interpretation of the evidence in alternative way.
 Methods employed by author in his research method (e.g. qualitative, quantitative,
experimental, etc.)
 The theoretical framework employed by the author. (e.g. psychological, developmental,
feminist)
 Relationship assumed by the author between theory and practice.
 Critical examination done by the author of the other literature in the field.
 Does the author include literature opposing her/his point of view?
 Validity of the research data used– i.e. based on a reliable method and accurate
information?
 The strengths and limitations of this study.
 The contribution of this book chapter or article to one’s own topic or thesis.
 Lastly Can you "deconstruct" the argument – identify the gaps or jumps in the logic?

Make sure you also take careful notes on the content of each book or journal article. You will need
these notes for your later summary. Keep the references!

5. Developing the Literature Review

A literature review is made up of a series of ‘minibook reviews’ on material read for the
assignment. A good book/article review always has at least two distinct components:

 A brief summary of the content of the book/article together with an equally brief
description of the importance of this piece of research for your own study. Remember, most
books or articles are usually making just ONE key point; so, you need to identify and
understand that one important point in this particular book/article, and its relevance to your
own research project or assignment.
 A critique of the book or article: this involves an analysis of the argument, including an
assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the evidence presented such as
(a) Sufficient evidence produced by author to establish his view point
(b) What has conveniently been left out or skated over?

Page | 25
 (c) Where is the counter-argument, and has the author dealt with this adequately?
(d) What is the author not saying, what would contradict their argument, and so on?
(e) Look carefully for the holes in the presentation; remember, every author is spinning the
evidence to make it show what they want it to show.
(f) Can you spin the same evidence in another direction? If so, what impact would this
have on the overall argument?
(g) What if this particular author is completely wrong or, perhaps more likely, only
partially right? What difference would that make to your understanding of the topic?

6. Placing the Literature Review in the Dissertation/Thesis

There is some discussion amongst academics about the position of the literature review:

 The ‘traditional’ place is immediately after the introduction to the dissertation or thesis –
the second section or chapter after an initial sketch of the project
 Some scholars prefer the literature review to be placed after the presentation of empirical
evidence so that the literature review acts as a kind of foil to the main findings. This is
fairly common in the qualitative (broadly ethnographic) tradition
 Some scholars, especially in the qualitative tradition, prefer the literature review to be
distributed over the assignment as a whole, so the entire dissertation or thesis reads like an
on-going conversation between empirical research and scholarly theory So, this is probably
one of the (many!) things you will want to discuss with your supervisor. But unless you
have been told otherwise, it is almost certainly better to play safe and put the literature
review in the ‘traditional slot’ after the introduction.

7. Structuring the Literature Review

Build the literature review around your key topic or thesis: be relentless – show how each piece of
literature contributes to, or challenges, your central theme.

The overall structure of the section or chapter should be just like any other: it should have a
beginning, middle and end. In other words, you need to guide the reader through the literature
review, outlining the strategy you have adopted for selecting the books or articles, presenting the

Page | 26
topic theme for the review, then using most of the word limit to analyze the chosen books or articles
thoroughly before pulling everything together briefly in the conclusion.

By far the most common approach to the central ‘presentation of the evidence’ section is to work
systematically through the books or articles selected. A paragraph or two is usually enough on
each item, but remember you will need for each book or article comments on:

 The content – a brief summary of the main ideas and evidence

 The strengths and weaknesses of the argument – the all-important critique
 The relevance of the book or article for your particular project i.e. its contribution to your
own thinking and/or research.
 Size of review depends on the level of dissertation you are working on. Always consult
your supervisor.
o The literature review is typically one chapter (perhaps 8000-10,000 words), for a
Ph.D. thesis. But this can vary enormously, depending on your subject.
o For a Master’s dissertation, your literature review should probably be around 2000-
3000 words, again depending on a wide range of factors.
o If you are writing an undergraduate dissertation, your literature review will
probably be about 2000 words – but the same principle applies:
 One variation on the traditional linear approach is to organize your literature review into
historical order. Others prefer to start with the main theories and give more space to these,
leaving the less important stuff for later.
 Some people prefer a less linear approach. Instead of simply working through a list of 8-
20 items on your book review list, you might want to try a thematic approach, grouping
key ideas, facts, concepts or approaches together and then bouncing the ideas off each
other. This is a slightly more creative (and interesting) way of doing the review, but a little
more risky – it is easy with this approach to lose coherence and logical sequencing.

Whichever approach you adopt, make sure everything flows smoothly – that one idea or
book leads neatly to the next. Take your reader effortlessly through a sequence of thought
that is clear, accurate, precise and interesting.

Page | 27
8. Writing Up the Literature Review
 Only attempt to write up the literature review when it is ‘ripe’ – that is, when you have
done all the reading, note-taking and planning for the chapter or section, and allowed
yourself adequate thinking-time’, then start writing.
 Find a neat way of introducing the review, then guide the reader through the material
clearly and directly.
 Use evidence – never make unsubstantiated claims, but back everything up with argument
and data. Avoid too many quotes and always give references for any quotation.
 Don’t use long quotation as a way of padding out the essay or in an attempt to cover up a
lack of understanding. It always shows, and will be picked up by the marker.
 Always summarize material in your own words as much as possible. Save the quotes for
‘punch-lines’ to drive the point home
 Be selective in the number of points you draw out from each piece of literature; remember
that part of the object of the exercise is to show your tutors that you can use your judgment
to identify what is central and what is secondary
 Summarize and synthesize – use your own words to sum up what you think is important or
controversial about the book or article
 Be cautious - never claim more than the evidence will support. Too many dissertations and
theses are ruined by exaggerated or sweeping generalizations. Be tentative and careful in
the way you interpret the evidence
 Keep your own voice – you are entitled to your own point of view provided it is based on
the evidence presented. Having said that, make sure you back up your opinions with clear
argument, and on the whole, it is usually better to avoid too much ‘I’ language; better to be
a little more indirect and tentative (‘this tends to suggest’, ‘it could be argued’ and so on)
 Revise, refine and edit the draft as much as you can. Check for fluency, structure, evidence
and referencing. Don’t forget the basics: grammar and spelling!

Page | 28