brt- chapter 2-review of related literature (2)

CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Alice T. Valerio, Ph.D

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Research is to see what everybody has seen and to think what nobody else had thought.” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi.

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Review of Related Literature

Chapter 2 is the scholarly core of the thesis

You must locate current research studies (usually found in professional journal articles) that have contributed to the field in a theme similar to your own thesis.

You need to review these documents with a critical eye!

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Review of Related Literature The Literature Review plants the seeds that

will grow from studies that came before it.

Usually 100+ sources primarily from current peer-reviewed and refereed journals.

You need to cite appropriate literature to provide a rationale for the study’s research design, instruments, and methods of data collection, analysis, and conclusions.

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What is a Review of Literature?

It is an analysis and synthesis of primary source materials, written in a specific style which flows from broad to narrow, and takes into account both the theoretical and empirical issues of the problem without over citing any source or sources.


… A chapter that summarizes and discusses what has been previously published on a topic. It explores the past researches and their strengths and weaknesses.

A literature review should include: The major discoveries in your topic; the gaps in the research; the major authors; and scholars’ opinions.

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A literature review is an examination of the research that has been conducted in a particular field of study.

Hart (1998) defines it as: • The selection of available documents (both published

and unpublished) on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence.

It is an effective evaluation of selected documents on a research topic.

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Basically, you "look again" (re + view) the literature in the area related to your own area of study

Involves the comprehensive documentation of published and unpublished materials relevant to the research problem

is composed of discussions of facts and principles to which the present study is related

Shows what has been done in the area by others, and set the stage for your work.

What is a Literature Review

“The literature review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to the work that you are carrying out…”

Language Centre, Asian Institute of Technology

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Scholarly Writing

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Scholarly Writing

Your job as a thesis writer is to show that you know what you're talking about, that what you're writing is true, and that it will pass the critical read of the audience in the authoritative style and voice of a scholarly writer.

The Literature Review shows you know where your research fits in with others.

DO NOT editorialize – just the facts! DO connect your study to what you find in the review. DO make certain that every review relates to YOUR

study -- and show us HOW.

Why Write LR?

In the context of a research paper on a thesis, the literature review provides a background to the study being proposed.

The background may consider one or more of the following aspects depending on the research question being posed: Theoretical background – past, present or future Methodology and/or research methods Previous findings Rationale and/or relevance of the current study

Why write a review?

The literature review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to your project.

You should evaluateevaluate what has already been done, show the relationshipsrelationships between different work, and show how it relates to youryour research.

It is not supposed to be just a summary of other people's work.

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Why a literature review?

The literature review, “through a critical analysis of selected documents” will:

(1) provide knowledge of the problem area,

(2) clearly identify the need for the proposed study,

(3) identify gaps and strengths in previous scholarly studies, (Patton, 2003, Sep).

Importance of the Review of Related Literature

Serves as a source of research problems which can be gathered from existing studies

Familiarizes the reader with previous studies done related to the present topic

They help the investigator understand his topic for a better research

They ensure that there will be no duplication of other studies


They help and guide the researcher in locating more sources of related information

Provides a historical background/perspective about the study

Establishes the need/significance/justification in conducting the present study

Ensures that important variables relevant to the study are not overlooked


They help and guide the researcher in making comparison between his findings with the findings of other researchers on similar studies

Helps the researcher in determining the research gaps.

Serves as a basis for the development of the

conceptual or theoretical framework


It gives you a feeling of confidence by comparing the proposed study with research methods used, the population and sampling considered, the instruments used in gathering the data and the statistical computation in previous research

It provides findings and conclusions of past investigations

Writing a Review of the Literature

Writing a Review of the Literature

• Outline

–Introduction

–Empirical literature

–Summary

IntroductionIntroduction

• Indicates focus or purpose of review• Describes organization of review• Indicates basis for ordering

– Most important to least– Earliest to most recent

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Sample Introduction This chapter presents the theoretical

literature on achievement motivation that served as the foundation for the study. The chapter begins with an historical review of the experimental and quasi-experimental research that examines the foundation and development of achievement goal theory from its earliest form in the 1950s through the present.

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Sample - Introduction

The next section explores the complex aspects of achievement goal theory, introducing and examining the primary orientations of mastery goal orientation and performance goal orientation and their impact on academic achievement and intrinsic motivation.

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Sample Introduction

Also, the chapter examines the on-going debate in the achievement motivation literature regarding the adaptive and maladaptive qualities of performance goals.

Finally, the chapter examines the classroom implications of achievement goal theory and concludes with a developmental perspective of achievement goals.

Empirical LiteratureEmpirical Literature

• Includes quality studies relevant to topic

• For each study, purpose, sample, sample size, design, and specific findings presented, using paraphrasing rather than direct quotes

• Scholarly, but brief, critique of study’s strengths and weaknesses

Kinds of Literature

Research Literature - refers to published and unpublished reports of actual research studies done previously

Conceptual Literature - pertains to articles or books written by authorities giving their opinions, experiences, theories or ideas of what is good and bad, desirable and undesirable within the problem area

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What You WILL Do in the Literature Review:

Your will compare, contrast, critique, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the major theorists' ideas critically.

Show your that you have examined and interpreted their work from a critical viewpoint. Important footnote: As you read about these theories, your reader wants to know that you've read the original works.

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A Literature Review …

Is not a summary or an abstract of articles. Many people simple create a list of one-paragraph

summaries in chronological order Is not an Op-Ed. Is not an annotated bibliography. Is not a rehashing of another authors work

An annotated bibliography…

includes descriptions and explanations of your listed sources beyond the basic citation information you usually provide.

Summary and evaluation of each of the sources used in the study

a list of citations to books, articles, and documents followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the

relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Example

Santiago wrote in a 2003 article that “homelessness had increased substantially under the philosophy of deinstitutionalization” (p. 736.) He says........................................

Another author writing about homelessness and the mentally ill is Bautista, whose article appears in the 2005 Journal of Social Service Research. He says that 36% of the deinstitutionalized individuals added to the homeless population. His study found........

Another article about the homeless mentally ill is one by Castillo (2007), who describes a practice of recruiting homeless mentally ill as temporary migrant workers. She says they are transported to.....

Synthesized material

Much of the literature discusses one plight of the deinstitutionalized mentally ill patient as being homeless. In 2003, Santiago reported that a certain proportion of the homeless people have always been mentally ill. He further stated that “the rate of homelessness has apparently increased substantially under the philosophy of deinstitutionalization” (p. 736). In a report published by the Journal of Social Service Research, Bautista agrees, claiming that 36 percent of the deinstitutionalized individuals added to the homeless population (2005). In her study, Castillo(2007) also agrees that some of the mentally ill end up .........

Evaluating other studies:

Evaluate and comment on each study's worth and validity.

If it runs counter to your hypothesis, you may want to critique it in your review. Don't just ignore it. Tell how your research will be better/overcome the flaws. Doing this can strengthen the rationale for conducting your research.

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Organizing the Review After deciding which studies to review, you must decide how to

order them. In making your selection, keep your research question in mind. It should be your most important guide in determining what other studies are relevant.. You should consider other ways, such as...

Organize review by topic Organize your review by argument and counter argument. For

example, You may write about those studies that disagree with your hypothesis, and then discuss those that agree with it. Yet another way to organize the studies in your review is to group them according to a particular variable, research method (case studies, experiments, etc.), or framework.

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What is a Good Related Literature?

A ‘good’ literature review…..

….. is a synthesis of available research ….. is a critical evaluation ….. has appropriate breadth and depth ….. has clarity and conciseness ….. uses rigorous and consistent methods

A ‘poor’ literature review is…..

…..an annotated bibliography ….. confined to description ….. narrow and shallow ….. confusing and longwinded ….. constructed in an arbitrary way

Ethical Issues

Content from studies must be presented honestly and not distorted to support a selected utilization project.

The weaknesses of a study need to be addressed, but it is not necessary to be highly critical of a researcher’s work.

Criticism should focus on the content, be related to your project, and be neutral and scholarly rather than negative and blaming.

Sources should be accurately documented.

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What to include:

1. What was done? Was it effective? 2. When did this take place? 3. What was the accepted belief at this

time? 4. Where did this study or event take

place? 5. How does this relate to your study?

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What to include:

6. Who was involved? 7. What methodologies were used?

Were they appropriate? 8. What were the limitations? How were

these limitations addressed? 9. What type of instruments were used?

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What to include:

10. What was the sample and population studied?

11. What did this add to the knowledge or solution of the problem?

12. What recommendations were made?

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What to include:

13. Who was affected by this study or program?

14. What are the similarities between this study and your study?

15. Was this an appropriate means of dealing with the problem?

16. How does this study relate to your study?

Transitional Devices

To Add: and, again, and then, besides, equally important,

finally, further, furthermore, nor, too, next, lastly, what's more, moreover, in addition, first (second, etc.)

To Compare: whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however,

nevertheless, on the contrary, by comparison, where, compared to, up against, balanced against, vis a vis, but, although, conversely, meanwhile, after all, in contrast, although this may be true

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To Prove: because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously,

evidently, furthermore, moreover, besides, indeed, in fact, in addition, in any case, that is

To Show Exception: yet, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, of

course, once in a while, sometimes

To Show Time: immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally,

then, later, previously, formerly, first (second, etc.), next, and then

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To Repeat: in brief, as I have said, as I have noted, as has been

noted

To Emphasize: definitely, extremely, obviously, in fact, indeed, in

any case, absolutely, positively, naturally, surprisingly, always, forever, perennially, eternally, never, emphatically, unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly, undeniably, without reservation

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To Show Sequence: first, second, third, and so forth. A, B, C, and so forth.

next, then, following this, at this time, now, at this point, after, afterward, subsequently, finally, consequently, previously, before this, simultaneously, concurrently, thus, therefore, hence, next, and then, soon

To Give an Example: for example, for instance, in this case, in another case,

on this occasion, in this situation, take the case of, to demonstrate, to illustrate, as an illustration, to illustrate

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To Summarize or Conclude: in brief, on the whole, summing up, to

conclude, in conclusion, as I have shown, as I have said, hence, therefore, accordingly, thus, as a result, consequently

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Concise presentation of the research knowledge about a selected topic—what is known and not known

SummarySummary

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Example of a Summary

As demonstrated in the foregoing literature review, Darte (1996) and Briones’ (1997) models of achievement goal orientation laid the foundation for much of the research that has been conducted over the last 13-14 years in the realm of achievement motivation (Harackiewicz et al., 1998; Pintrich, 2000). These models are useful for understanding how attitudes relate to behavior in achievement situations. The above review has offered an historical review of the experimental and quasi-experimental literature that lead to the development and refinement of achievement goal theory.

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Summarize

Also examined was the current debate in the literature regarding which types of achievement goals promote optimal motivation. While a number of theorists endorsed a mastery goal perspective, focusing on the adaptive consequences of mastery goals and the maladaptive consequences of performance goals (Ames, 1992; Meece et al., 1988), others endorsed a multiple goal perspective in which both mastery and performance goals can be beneficial (Barron & Harackiewicz, 2001; Covington, 2000; Harackiewicz et al., 1998).

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Summarize

Finally, the literature review addressed the impact of achievement goals in the workplace and offered a developmental perspective of achievement goals, thereby disclosing a gap in the literature concerning worker’s age and achievement goal orientation. This study addressed this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between achievement goal orientation and the workers’ demographic characteristics.

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How to find Sources Look for key authors within the field-- you can do

this by looking at bibliographies of research articles pertaining to your topic- big name authors will be found often within these bibliographies.

Computer literature searches-- most universities have an extensive on-line library with full text and citation databases- interlibrary loan is an excellent source for journals not accessible via the Internet

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How to find Sources

Write or call key authors-- ask for reprints of articles or book chapters.

Look at literature in other disciplines-- many topics overlap with various disciplines- thus further support of the study might be found in other disciplines

What literature should you review?

JournalJournal articlesarticles: these are good, especially for up-to-date information. They are frequently used in literature reviews because they offer a relatively concise, up-to-date format for research.

Depending on the publication, these materials may be refereed or non-refereed materials.

What are refereed journals?

Refereed materials are publications reviewed by "expert readers" or referees before publication.

Refereed materials are also referred to as Peer ReviewedPeer Reviewed.

Refereed materials assure readers that the information conveyed is reliable and timely.

What about non-refereed journals?

Non-refereed materials use less rigorous standards of screening prior to publication.

Non-refereed materials may not by checked as intensely as refereed materials, so they should be used with caution.

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Scholarly Journals

Generally have a sober, serious look. Scholarly journals always cite their sources in

the form of footnotes or bibliographies. Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by

someone who has done research in the field. Often present empirical data to test hypotheses

or answer research questions.

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Scholarly Journals

The language of scholarly journals is that of the discipline covered. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader.

The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world.

Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specific professional organization.


BooksBooks: remember that books tend to be less up-to-date, as it takes longer for a book to be published than for a journal article.

They are still likely to be useful for including in your literature review as they offer a good starting point from which to find more detailed and up-to-date sources of information.


ConferenceConference proceedingsproceedings: these can be useful in providing the latest research, or research that has not been published.

They are also helpful in providing information about people in different research areas, and so can be helpful in tracking down other work by the same researchers.


Government/corporate reportsGovernment/corporate reports: many government departments and corporations commission or carry out research. Their published findings can provide a useful source of information, depending on your field of study. An example would be the Department of Trade and Industry


ThesesTheses and dissertationsand dissertations: these can be useful sources of information. However there are disadvantages:

they can be difficult to obtain since they are not published, but are generally only available from the library or interlibrary loan

the student who carried out the research may not be an experienced researcher and therefore you might have to treat their findings with more caution than published research.


InternetInternet: the fastest-growing source of information is on the Internet.

bear in mind that anyone can post information on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable

the information you find may be intended for a general audience and so not be suitable for inclusion in your literature review (information for a general audience is usually less detailed)

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Other sources – use sparingly

Dissertations "Secondary sources, although useful to some

degree, should be considered hearsay." White papers Personal communications Popular journals, magazines, newspaper

articles Popular media

O'Leary, Z. (2004) The Essential Guide to Doing

Research. London: Sage Chapter Six

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Working with literatureWorking with Working with

LiteratureLiteratureWorking with Working with

LiteratureLiterature

Find itFind it!!Find itFind it!! Manage it!Manage it!Manage it!Manage it! Use it!Use it!Use it!Use it! Review it!Review it!Review it!Review it!

Knowing the

literature typesKnowing the

literature types

Reading

efficientlyReading

efficiently Choosing your research

topic Choosing your research

topicUnderstanding the

lit review’s purposeUnderstanding the

lit review’s purpose

Using available resources

Using available resources

Keeping track of references

Keeping track of references

Developing your question

Developing your question

Ensuring adequate coverage

Ensuring adequate coverage

Honing your

search skillsHoning your

search skillsWriting relevant

annotationsWriting relevant

annotations

Arguing your

rationale Arguing your

rationale

Informing your work with

theoryInforming your work with

theoryDesigning

methodDesigning

method

Writing

purposefullyWriting

purposefully

Working on style and toneWorking on

style and tone

A good literature review is:

Focused - the topic of the paper should be narrow; present ideas and only report on studies that are closely related to your topic.

Concise - Ideas should be presented economically. Don’t take any more space than you need to present your ideas.

Logical - The flow of the paper should be a smooth, logical progression from one idea to the next (both within and among paragraphs)

Reviewing the Literature (To recap)

Begin with a search of the available literature

Critically analyze each article (study) you select

Organize the review with an outline

Write the review Summarize the review Using the literature,

present a rationale for your study

And more questions:

• Have I critically analyzed the literature?

• Have I assessed and discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the literature?

• Have I discussed that literature that is contrary to my perspective?

• Have I cited my sources correctly?

Final Questions…

Finish by asking yourself:

• How good has my review been?

• Have I found all the material?

• Has irrelevant material been excluded?

Writing the Literature ReviewWriting the Literature Review Always begin with an

introduction to the review & end with a summary

Make the connection for the reader between the subtopics & the topic

Use direct quotations infrequently

Always cite your sources

Present your knowledge on the topics & subtopics

Summarize each subtopic

Include a transition paragraph from one subtopic to the next

Requirements for the Paper

Literature review should be in APA style. Include mostly empirical research studies from

scholarly journals Read every article you cite in the paper and paraphrase. Include a minimum of 100 sources, with no less than 10

years old. The body of the paper should be at least 10 pages long You should use headings to guide the reader through

your paper.

Writing

Use APA style & formatHave your work proofread before

submittingFollow all format guidelinesMust be a thorough review, reflected by

the depth of the discussionShould begin prior to the implementation

of the study

APA Use of Verb

Acknowledged agreed commented rejected

Admitted compared confirmed disputed

Added implied contended granted

Argued reasoned out reported contended

Observed emphasized wrote endorsed

Pointed out disputed thought declared

Suggested claimed noted refuted

Denied believed asserted illustrated

"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals”.... Larry Bird, NBA Superstar

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brt- chapter 2-review of related literature (2)

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