Unit 2Preliminary Stages Of Research

2/23/2014 1Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Main Contents….Literature Review

Source of the literature, Phases in the review

Format of review presentation

Problem Definition

Theoretical Framework – theory

Propositions, Concepts, Constructs and Variables

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

Research Questions

Hypothesis Formulation, Types and formats of Hypothesis

Features and Criteria of good hypothesis

2/23/2014 2Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Literature Review ……The process of reading, analyzing, evaluating, andsummarizing scholarly materials about a specific topic.

A literature review is an evaluative report ofinformation found in the literature related to yourselected area of study. The review should describe,summarize, evaluate and clarify this literature. Itshould give a theoretical base for the research and helpyou (the author) determine the nature of yourresearch. Works which are irrelevant should bediscarded and those which are peripheral should belooked at critically.

2/23/2014 3Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

A literature review is an assessment of a body of research that addresses aresearch question.A Literature Review is "a systematic, explicit, and reproducible methodfor identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the existing body ofcompleted and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, andpractitioners."

Purpose:A literature review:

Identifies what is already known about an area of studyIt may also:

Identify questions a body of research does not answer Make a case for why further study of research questions is important to a field

Process:It is a research journey with several steps:

Framing a research question Searching relevant bodies of literature Managing search results Synthesizing the research literature Writing an assessment of the literature

The process is iterative—as you gain understanding, you’ll return to earlier steps to rethink, refine, and rework your literature review.

2/23/2014 4Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Some Definitions…F. Cardesco and E. M. Gatner(1986): “ A literature

review is a self- contained unit in a study which analyzescritically a segment of a published body of knowledgethrough summary, classification and comparison ofprior research studies and theoretical articles.”

M. J. Polonsky and D. S. Waller (2005): “ A literaturereview is a classification and evaluation of whataccredited scholars and researchers have written on atopic.”

Nicholas Walliman (2006): “ A literature review is asummary and analysis of current knowledge about aparticular topic or area of enquiry.”

2/23/2014 5Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Some References….

2/23/2014 6Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

2/23/2014 7Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Four Phases of Review of Literature

Working with

Literature

Locating

Obtaining

Reading

Evaluating

2/23/2014 8Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Contd.Locating: Encyclopedias, Card or computer catalogues, Journal Indexes, International Bibliography

Obtaining: Libraries, Online Sources, CD-ROM Sources, Other sources

Reading: Efficient and selective reading, Keeping track of reference, Annotating your References, Developing a structure

Evaluating: Content Analysis, Criteria of Review, Critical review, Style and tone, Meta Analysis

2/23/2014 9Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Meta Analysis A meta-analysis refers to methods that focus on contrasting and combining results from

different studies, in the hope of identifying patterns among study results, sources ofdisagreement among those results, or other interesting relationships that may come to light inthe context of multiple studies. In its simplest form, meta-analysis is normally done byidentification of a common measure of effect size. A weighted average of that commonmeasure is the output of a meta-analysis. The weighting is related to sample sizes within theindividual studies. More generally there are other differences between the studies that need tobe allowed for, but the general aim of a meta-analysis is to more powerfully estimate the trueeffect size as opposed to a less precise effect size derived in a single study under a given singleset of assumptions and conditions. A meta-analysis therefore gives a thorough summary ofseveral studies that have been done on the same topic, and provides the reader with extensiveinformation on whether an effect exists and what size that effect has.

Meta analysis can be thought of as "conducting research about research."

Meta-analyses are often, but not always, important components of a systematic reviewprocedure. For instance, a meta-analysis may be conducted on several clinical trials of amedical treatment, in an effort to obtain a better understanding of how well the treatmentworks. Use of "meta-analysis" refer to statistical methods of combining evidence, leavingother aspects of 'research synthesis' or 'evidence synthesis', such as combining informationfrom qualitative studies, for the more general context of systematic reviews.

Meta-analysis forms part of a framework called estimation statistics which relies on effectsizes, confidence intervals and precision planning to guide data analysis, and is an alternativeto null hypothesis significance testing.

2/23/2014 10Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Some Definitions of Meta Analysis

Meta analysis is the application of strategies that limitbias in the assembly, critical appraisal and synthesis ofall relevant studies on a specific topic.

Meta analysis is the statistical synthesis of the datafrom separate but similar studies leading to aquantitative summary of the pooled results.

Meta Analysis refers to the statistical analysis of alarge collection of results from individual studies forthe purpose of integrating the findings.

Meta Analysis is a systematic review that usesquantitative methods to summarize the literature.

2/23/2014 11Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Step in Meta Analysis:

Identifying the relevant variables

Locating and Searching Relevant Research to Review

Doing the Meta Analysis

2/23/2014 12Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Drawbacks to Meta AnalysisAssessing Problems

Compiling Problem

Comparison Problems

Practical Problems

2/23/2014 13Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Guidelines for Conducting Literature Reviews Begin the task of literature review from a

comprehensive perspective, moving on to more specificstudies that are associated with your problem.

If the problem has a historical background, begin withthe earliest reference.

Avoid the extraneous details of the literature; do a briefreview of the information, not a comprehensive report.

Always refer to the original source. In this way, you willavoid any error of interpretation or transcription.

Review the important research objectives, methods,results and conclusions of the study under review.

2/23/2014 Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur 14

Asses how the literature applies or related to your study;show the weaknesses in the design, if any, discussing howyou would avoid similar problems.

Organize the literature you have reviewed in some logicalorder. The materials can be presented in a research reportdate wise or subject wise.

Close the literature chapter by summarizing the importantaspects of the literature and interpreting them in terms ofyour problem. Evaluate the current “ state of the art” forthe body of knowledge reviewed pointing out majormethodological flaws or gaps in research, inconsistenciesin theories and findings, controversies in the literature.Finally, based on this analysis, you should also justify theneed for your study.

Define the research problem as necessary in the light ofyour literature review.

2/23/2014 Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur 15

Problem DefinitionAny situation where a gap exists between the actualand the desired ideal state.

A problem does not necessarily mean that somethingis seriously wrong with a current situation or with theorganization under study. A problem simply indicatesan interest in an issue where finding the right answersmight help to improve an existing situation.

It should raise a question about a relationshipbetween variables.

The problem statement should suggest a method ofresearching the question.

2/23/2014 16Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur

Theoretical Framework- Theory Sekaran (2007): “The theoretical framework is the

foundation on which the entire thesis is based. It is alogically developed, described and elaborated networkof associations among variables that have beenidentified through such processes as interviews,observations and literature survey. These variables aredeemed relevant to the problem situation.”

Nicholas Walliman (2006): “ A theory is a statementof relations among concepts within a set of boundaryassumptions and constraints.”

2/23/2014 Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur 17

Criteria of good Hypothesis statement Hypothesis should be in declarative form.

Hypothesis should state the expected describe a relationship between two or more variables.

Hypothesis should be testable empirically.

Hypothesis should be limited in scope.

Hypothesis should be clearly and precisely stated.

Hypothesis should state the condition and circumstances under which it is supposed to apply. The context and study units must be clear.

Hypothesis should reflect a guess at a solution or to a problem based upon some knowledge, previous research or identified needs. It should be consistent with most known facts.

2/23/2014 Shiva Shrestha, HSM, Hetauda, Makawanpur 18