Research in Action

Week 3 Lectures
Literature review and Research Question
Dr Gauri Misra
 Key Readings:
https://methods-sagepub-com.libezproxy.bournemouth
.ac.uk/

https://methods.sagepub.com/book/doing-your-underg
raduate-project/n8.xml
Stage 2: Literature Review and
Research Question/s
This section should:
• Introduce and explain the chosen research and how it relates to the overall research
aim and objectives.
• Outline the relevant theoretical perspectives that inform the area of research.
• Provide a critical review of the relevant literature.
• Build a case for research.
• Highlighting gaps in present (academic) knowledge of your chosen topic.
• Your research questions.
What is a
literature review?
Literature review is a demonstration of 3
things:
1. Your familiarity with knowledge in the
subject area which you have chosen to
research/your topic is situated.
2. Your capability to be a
researcher/conduct research.
Relevant, insightful, quality of
arguments.
3. The clarity, fluency, precision, accuracy,
systematic and logical
communication/presentation of
research.
 Why do a literature review?
• Gain an understanding of the subject of
interest.
• Find out what has already been
researched.
• Critically influence and inform your study.
• Find out how it was researched –
understand appropriate methodology
and methods used.
• Find out who key authors are.
• Find out key theories used.
• Identifies research gap.
• Gain confidence.
Why do a
literature review?

• Key ideas • Key concepts

• Themes • Characteristics
• Opinions • Arguments
• Issues • Controversies
• Theses • Hypothesis/Research
• Problems
Question
• Ways of thinking
What should be
reviewed?

• Academic journals that present a scholarly

perspective. For example – Journal of Consumer
Research.
• Professionally oriented journals. For example –
Harvard Business Review.
• Conference papers.
• Data/statistics to back up literature.
• Contemporary debates and concerns in your
subject area.
What a literature
review is not
• It is not an exhaustive, critical, annotated
bibliography.
• It is not a list of unconnected, critical
evaluations of papers.
• It is not a combination of extracts from
relevant papers.
• It is not a selection of quotations connected
to texts/phrases.
• It is not an arrangement of abstracts from
relevant papers.
Doing a literature review and developing your
strategy

1. Terms that describe your topic.

2. Use individual terms or in combinations of some such.
3. Start with simple terms.
4. Establish how the source of ideas is used and referenced.
5. Establish the structure and how ideas are woven together from different sources.
6. Explain key terms and concepts and how they are used in your project.
7. Identify the development of the argument.
 Key question – How is it done?

1. Literature searches.
2. Organizing reading.
3. Writing up.
What should you look for in
literature?
Critical literature review

• Extracting data and information that is useful.

• You do this by challenging assumptions.
• Challenging assumptions provides information on which you build your
knowledge around your topic.
• It is important to engage in this task from the start of your project with an
objective, questioning and analytical approach.
• Being critical is not criticizing/slating/tearing apart/ demolishing someone’s
work!
Critical literature review
READING CRITICALLY WRITING CRITICALLY
• What is the author’s purpose? • Present logical arguments
• How clearly defined is the issue? • Provide appropriate evidence to
support your arguments
• What is the problem (clearly
identified)? • Compare and contrast different
theories, concepts & terms
• What is missing – different
perspectives? • Highlight strengths and weaknesses
• What is the author’s theoretical of existing work
framework? • Make clear why you are commenting
• How good is the author’s research? on/using the literature you are.
Example:
Man-of-Action Heroes: The Pursuit of Heroic
Masculinity in Everyday Consumption
Douglas B. Holt, Craig J. Thompson
Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 31, Issue 2, 1
September 2004, Pages 425–440

ABSTRACT:
• This paper looks at how heterosexual men in the US are
engaging in consumption practices that help them define a
masculine ideal considering traditional masculinity models
(the bread winner for example) being challenged by
socioeconomic developments. The result is the construction of
a new masculine ideology (Man of Action hero) that manifests
in consumption practices such as DIY.
METHOD:
• Qualitative interviews with heterosexual men in the US
CRITIQUE:
• The central argument? Methods? Theories used?
Conclusion/s?
By now you should have a broad
topic of interest.
You should have reviewed 7+ if
not more than relevant journal
articles each.
You are starting to narrow down
your topic

You can start by writing:

• What is being investigated?
• Why is the topic significant now?
• How are you adding a fresh perspective to existing knowledge?
• Developing a clear logical structure.
• Writing in an easy-to-follow manner for the reader.
This will start forming part of your assignment
• Stage 1: INTRODUCTION
• This stage provides an overview of the research project – what it is setting out
to achieve (research aim and research objectives) and why this research is
important and relevant.

• Stage 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

• Introduce the chosen research area to review and explain how it relates to the
overall research aim and objectives.
• Outline the relevant theoretical perspectives that inform the area of research.
• Provide a critical review of the relevant literature, identifying implications for
the project.
• Build a case for research, highlighting gaps in present (academic) knowledge of
your chosen topic, and your research questions (that will be explored through
primary research).
Research Question
What is a research question?

• In addition to research objectives, a research question/s focuses on key issues

to be researched in practice.
• Hence a crucial task in any research project is defining its core objectives and
question/s.
• What is the central goal or purpose of the research?
• What research topics, questions or problems does the project intend to
address, and why?
How do you arrive at one?

• You start by narrowing down your focus.

• In practice, you develop your final research question/s at the end of your
literature review.
• You could explore the following approaches to arrive at your research
question/s:
Developi
ng your
research
question-
• You may decide to work
1st Approach on a general description
of a social context and
focus on aspects of that
context which are
interesting.
Developing your • You may decide to test a hypothesis. Which means
research you would have constructed/formulated a
statement which needs to be tested. In other
question: words, can it be falsified.
2nd Approach
Explore and Explain

• Exploration is about description – where

we explore, we describe.
• Explanation is concerned with specific
causes – where we say how something
came to be.
How do you know if your research
question is suitable?

• It must be one you can work with.

• You can answer using your knowledge.
• Your research skills allow to investigate and address it.
• Practically possible within time available.
Types of research questions:
Why? When? Who? How?
Where?
“Why” questions.

SEEK CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS. IF YOU ASK WHY YOUR

ANSWER WILL BE “BECAUSE….”
“When” questions

• Locate event/s in relation to time at which it /they happened.

• Locate processes in relation to when they happened and their duration.
• Locates the setting of things in order or sequencing.
• Locates boundaries of context of your research.
“Who” questions.

• Addresses agency.
• Seek to identify the persons, or institutions responsible for what you are
researching.
“How” questions.

• They are about the mechanisms.

• The answer describes ways in which things are done.
“Where” questions.

• They set your research in context.

• The answer helps understand the world in terms of contextual spaces and
circumstance
Overall, your research should tell
you enough about the topic of
interest to answer a research
question
 Research question
Research aim
Research objectives
The answer to your research question will be linked to your overall
research aim and objectives.
Example of a research aim

Research Aim
• To investigate factors associated with partner violence.
• The research aim usually refers to the main goal or overarching purpose of a
research project. Sentences stating the aim of a project are usually quite brief
and to the point.
Example or research objectives

Research Objective
• Objective 1: To examine whether alcohol consumption is associated with increased
partner violence.
• Objective 2: To examine whether labour force status (employment, unemployment,
not in the labour force) is associated with variations in the incidence of partner
violence.
• Objective 3: To explore differences between couples with an extended history of
partner violence and couples with only a brief, recent history of partner violence.
Example

• The research aim and objectives we discussed in the previous lecture –

‘To investigate factors associated with partner violence’ will lead to what
research question/s?
Checklist- what makes a question
researchable?

• Do you know enough about the area you are proposing to formulate a
research question about?
• Do you know the methods you will use ,and do you have the competence to
use them?
• Can you access the research field.
• Do you have the resources: software, support, time.
• How will you analyse the data and write up the project.
For Next
Week
Work on:
Stage 1 and 2:
• Introduce your research topic
• Rationale of your study
• Research aim
• Research objectives
• Start thinking of your research
question