Secondary Data and

4
Literature Review
INTRODUCTION
Theplanning phase of the research comprises of problem formulation, developing a
research design, a sampling design and a set of measurement scales. The next stage is
data collection, which may be collected
of
through field survey. A more prudent approach is
a

tostudy and evaluate the existing data so that the researcher's time, effort and money can
be used optimally. However of
use
secondary data in research survey involves a careful
a

analysis of various related

issues like
sources of data, reliability and accuracy of
data, cost
involved in obtaining secondary data etc. The current chapter evaluates all these issues in
great detail. The amount of data available to a researcher is generally plentiful and he faces
a data explosion. To wade
through this sea of data the researcher should be aware of how to
critically evaluate the data and decide on the relevant data.

SECONDARY DATA : MEANING

Secondary date refers to information that is not specific to the research obiectives under
study. It has been
collected with a different purpose and is collected in response to another
problem. This data however has some relevance and utility associated with current research
problem. The data may not have been collected to answer the specific questions of current
research yet it finds relevance in understanding the current research problem better e.g. a
hotel may collect data on its customers whenever they book into their hotel and thus
maintain a regular database. Wlhen this data is used to understand and develop the consumer
profile and develop marketing strategies, then this data becomes secondary data as it had
been collected earlier with a different purpose.
 Seconddy Ddld
nd Lite
and Literature Review
4.2
ew
SEcONDARY
DATA
OF
advantage that
ADVANTAGES
seconda.

money: The most Significant data enjoys is

(a) Savestime
and front. In
case the nformation equired
rean
for a Stud
the 'savings on time and money ource
the source and
and this
this will take
wiln study is
on
that a
researcher has to
do 1s access ho
na
available. then all incurred in collecting thie Ore
litle cost. The expense data has
s
heen
afew days and
involve
has to pay for this secco been
than
borne the original compiler
by
and all that a researcher
incurred in collectino
ondary data is
of the total expense
a usage fee
which is a small proportion
The secondary data at at times
times may
data
problem completeh pro
(b) May sohe the For example the number of .
'solve the problem completely. potential
enough information to looking into the
appropriate census
basis can be identified by bu
customers on income
in sifuations where the research a
has particularly been
seen
report. This advantage
only a bal-park estimate.
Secondary data helps the r e c e n ,
Helps in understanding and defining problems
:
(c)
It helps in defining the problem
to better state the problem under investigation. and
in Deter understanding the
formulating the hvpothesis. It helps a researcher research
and a
before the researcher
problem. A sea of possible ideas and perception open up a
result he may have to change his earlier defined ideas in the light of new informatin
revealed by the secondary data.
(d) Helps in internreting priman data easily: Secondary data helps in interpreting the
primary data' with more insight. It allows the researcher to provide comparative data, to set
a reference base against which the validity and accuracy of primary data can be compared.
Further examining the methodology and techniques used by earlier researchers help in

planning the methods to be used for primary data collection.

DISADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA
(a) Does not suit the purpose of current research: The main drawback of secondary
data is that there is a 'mismatch between the original purpose and the purpose of current
study". By definition. secondary data is the data which has been conducted in the past for a
purpose other than the current study. Using this data without a careful analysis might lead
to deliberate or unintentional
biasotu
Out
(b) Data may be old and sedkndew Another problem is in context of the time of data
collection. Since secondary data has been collected in the past, the findings may not be that
relevant in the present time. The data may become old and redundant.
(c) Mismatch in unit of data collection: Secondary data also has the drawback that the
data may have been analysed in a different unit of
measurement than what is required' e.g.
export figures can be presented in rupee terms and in dollar terms. Similarly, the size of a
firm can be stated in the form of number of
employees or in terms of gross sales. Even if
the units are same, it can just happen that the class
boundaries are different from what is
desired e.g. Export data in relation to European Union is desired in
totality of members o
 4.3
and Literature Review
Data
Secondary
countries' data which include members
ion
European Unio. and what is available is European
and non members.

is difficult
The 'accuracy' of the secondary data
d) Difficultto judgeaccuracy of data research, then the entire results
inaccurate data is incorporated into the
to iudge.
In case
to know about the precautions and
affected. In most cases it is difficult
will be adversely However if the data has been collected by
that have been used in collecting the data.
rules then a degree of
or reputed research companies,
sources e.g. government agencies
reliable of the data.
on the accuracy and reliability
faith can be placed
DATA
,
sOURCES OF SECONDARY
of secondary Figure 4.1. The secondary
data have been shown in
The different sources

sources, (b)externalsources Internal

datacan be collected from two sources (a) internal the data that has been generated from within
Sources generates internal data which refers to
research is being done e.g. a company's annual reports are
the organisation for which the
External sources generate external data which refers to the
internal data for the company.
outside the organisation for which the research is being done eg the
data that is generated not
census data used by a social researcher, or data
taken from a journal or magazine
published by the organisation.
Sources of
Secondary Data

Internal External

CyuidsiAIAL Published
Data
Computerised
Databases
Syndicated
Services

Fig. 4.1 Types of Secondary Data

I. Internal Data
Thedata which is available internally within the organisation conductingresearch is
termed as internal data. The main advantage of this data is that it is easily available and
greater reliance can beplaced on the degree of accuracy and relevance tothe study e.g. a
sOcial researcher belonging to NGO might be carrying out a research on 'awareness of
human rights in women'. Then if the NGO database has any information on status of
women, their awareness level. then this data would be classified as internal data. Internal
data may be ready to use or require further processing e.g. if a study has been conducted on
awareness levels in women then this data can be used directly. However if the database has
just the record of cases where women have stood up for their basic human rights tnen ne
researcher would have to workout the level of awareness from this data. Thus whereas the
former data is available in a ready to use form, the latter requires further processing before
 Secondary Data and
Literat
4.4 Review
significant adua.

be incorporated into
the research. Internal data lhas two antages lirstly
it can
data types and secondly hey are easily
they are the least costly
of the secondary
available.
II. External Data
that the organisation
is available trom outside the
oroo.

External data is the secondary data for

conducted. It can be classified as
which the research is being
databases and (c) syndicated services
(a) published data (b) computerised
the most popular of the external sources of data
(a) Published Data. These are
researcher.
data available to a
Is always a plethora of published
Different sources of published data are
Guides-Thej are a source of standard recurring data. They generally ct as
good starting point_for the search tor secondary data. Some useful guides
are
Asian Social Science Bibliography which cOvers an annual bibliography o
selective english language publication. Indian National Bibliography prepares the
monthly list of documents, both official and non official documents, that are

published in India.
.Directories-They generally contain a list of all the related organisations or
sources of ftrther data e.g. the Directory of Social Science Research Institutions
and Directory of Professional Organisation in India. There is the National
Register of Social Scientist in India which contains information on scholars who
have contributed through teaching and research in social science.
Thus these guides, directories and indexes serve as a good starting point for researcher
to look for published external data.
Government sources like the census data, Economic Survey data are also good
sOurces of external published data. The government periodically brings out
information on various economic and social indices of the country which can
provide valuable data to the researcher.

Computerised Databases. Computerised databases refer to the data which is

(b)
available in an electronic form. Computer databases can be classified in various type on the
basis of the form in which they are lying in the storage media as shown in Figure 4.2.
Broadly speaking there are three distinet categories (i) online database (ii) internet
database, and (i1i) offline database. Online database refers to data which is lying in a central
data bank and can be accessed from anywhere through a telecommunications
network.
Internet database reters to the data which can be accessed, searched and retrieved from the
internet. An internet data when downloaded and stored on a
secondary storage becomes an
offline data. Offline database is the data which is available on various
storage media like
diskettes CDs and DVDs. Ihese databases can be accessed from these media through a
personal computer.
 4.5
Review
Data and Literature
Secondary

Computerised Databases

Offline
Internet
Online

Full Text Directory

Bibliographic Numeric

Databases
Fig. 4.2 Classification of Computer

Computer database
can be in the from of:
composed of citation to articles in journals,
.Bibliographic Database : They are

research studies, technical reports, governiment

magazines/newspapers, marketing
available in
these database have information
documents and the like.' Generally

an abstract form or a summary torm.

the nunerical and statistical database. They may
Numeric Database: They are data is a
in a time series form e.g. the census
be economic data that is provided
type of numeric data.
contain the complete text of the document. Generally
Full text database: They retrieve the
A researcher can
archives of newspapers lie in a full text form.
base.
complete article form a newspaper online data
complete listing of
Directory Database : As the name suggests, it provides a

services e.g. manufacturing association of various

individuals, organisations or

industries provides online as well as offline listing of all the member firms.

The amount of inforniation available to a researcher on computer databases is

large amount of data.
overwhelming and it becomes cumbersome to sort through such a

researcher conduct a database search.

Hence a strategy should be designed by a to

The following strategy may be followed for conducting database search:

1. The first step is to develop key words which will be entered into the system for
actual search e.g. if you are looking for inflationary trends in India then the key
search words are Inflation and India.
2. In the next step you log on to the desired database and feed in the key search
words that have been identified in previous step.
3. The results displayed should be viewed by the researcher eritically in terms of
their suitability. He should see if the detail provided by the search matches his
criteria. Once satistied the results can be stored or printed.
(c) Syndicated Services. These refer to companies that collect and sell data to various
clients having different information needs. Myers and Mead^ have statcd that yndicate
services are _provided by certain organisations which collect and tabulate marketing
 Secondary Data and Literatur
4.6 them
collected by hem has the abilit
Review
The data to
continuing basiS. organisations. suit
information on a

number of
ndiyigualS Or ia. Centre the
for
requirements
large
of a (CMIE) IS
an Organisation that llects
collecte
large
Monitoring
Indian Economy can avail the use of this data by pay amount
da of
individual or firm
ing a
economic data
and any
certain
charge. services has the advant
from syndicated hat it is
The
information
collected
with primary data, curre
and

generally
associated per unit cos
a
characteristic
he by himselc
had to collect it
in nature, less than it Al the
client (researcher) is the same
the data to the rganisation other than
than the esearcher,
collected by any
information is client
that the client
(resen.Carcher
a
time this
characteristic of secondary
data, it has the disadvantage (researcher) does noy
the same mation is available to others
information
also
exclusive advantage since
enjoy any research agencies
there are several ike
behole Ernst &
sources,
Other than the
syndicated
exclusIvely for a client on his his d
research activities
who undertake
the client. Howess dat
Young, oUtside agency Is
the sole property of
collected by an
syndicated services cost
although more than that provided by
of this data will
be relatively

EVALUATING SECONDARY DATA

by Somebody other than_the

secondary data has been collectedthe researcners to develop a skeptical
ro

The afti
It is natrural for
conductingthe current study. data in their research.
Before a decision is tob
towards the utility of secondary
evaluate the data apainc.
the researcher must the
incorporating the data into the study,

criteria shown in Table

4.2

TABLE 4.2. Criteria

for Evaluating Secondary Data
ISSUE
CRITERIA

I. SUITABILITY
i) Unit of measurement

(i) Class definitions

(iii) Publication currency
(i) Data collection methodology
1. ACCURACY
() Purpose of publication
(ii)Quality of data
II. DEPENDABILITY (i) Source of origin

I. Suitability
the problem defined. In certain
Suitability refers to the extent to which the data fits
cases the problem of fit becomes so acute that it is rendered inappropriate for the study

Suitability can be studied on three fronts.

(a) Unit of measurement. The unit in which the underlying data has been measuc

may not meet the researcher s criteria e,R, the industrial production may be availabie
th
units of goods instead of in rupee terms as required by the researcher. This would makc
data unsuitable.
 Review
4.7
Literature
Data and
Secondary
be suitable
definition. The criteria used to define the categories may
not e.R.
(b) Class
wants to develop income groups with a class
interval of 10,000 and the
if the researcher
with class interval of 15,000 then there is a
information is available acrosS income group
mismatch,.
the secondary data may be outdated. It could be
Publication currency. Thirdly
(c)
could be due to lack of
time lag between collection and publication or it
because of a large
frequentupdating. The more the time gap between the data available and the data required
the less suitable it
is for the research study.

II. Accuracy
check on the errors in the data collected. These errors can arise
Accuracy involves a
due to data collection method, wrong sampling design, faulty analysis or reporting.
faulty
should be checked by looking into the
Accuracy of secondary data

methodology. Whenever possible, the researcher should look into

(a) Data collection
various methodological
considerations like sampling technique, sample size, instrument
choice and design, response rate and quality, data analysis and reporting procedures. These
checks help a researcher in establishing the reliability and validity of data.

(b) Purpose of publication. Ithas been seenthat whenthe data is collected selelyfor
the purposeof data collection, and not for Aspecific purposeil xill.beEOLprealer.use as
therewould be no bias. When data has been collected to further the interest of a particular
group, it is obvious that the datais biased. Ifthe data has been collected with some specific
objectivesin mind then itsapplicabilityto other studies is doubtful
(c) Quality of data. The quality of secondary data can bejudged by evaluating the
ability of supplying organisation to collectthe data. The quality can also be judged by
studying the methodology adopted for collection of data.

III. Dependability
Thedependability
of data can be judged by examining the credibility, reputation and
expertise of the source. The preyious users, who have used data provided by the same
source, can provide valuable input on how dependable their data has been _in the past.
Secondary data can be secured from a
prima Source (i.e. the originating source of the
secondary data) or a secondary source (i.e. the source that has procured the secondary data
from a source other than the
primary source). Greater dependency can be placed on
secondary data that is secured from a primary source.
Thus secondary data may be
fraught with certain drawbacks, however its relevance in
Tesearch is significant. An analysis of
data collection, should be the rule
secondary data, before a move towards the primary
followed by every researcher. 'A
to consider a good operating rule is
survey akin to surgery- to be used only after other
exhausted. possibilities
have been
 4.8 Secondary Data and Lilerature Review

SYNDICATED SERVICES X
The data available from the syndicated services has not deen collected for the purn
of study at hand, however that does not reduce its usability. The data coliected h
syndicated services can be modified and customized to meet the specific requirements of the
the
marketing research problem. There are different types of syndicated sServices available an.
and
they have been shown in figure 4.3

Types of Syndicated
Services

Household Consumer Institutions

Surveys Panels Electronic Scanner Audit Industrial Firms

services Retailer/Wholesaler
FIG: 4.3: TYPES OF SYNDICATED SERVICES

I. HOUSEHOLD/CONSUMER SYNDICATED DATA

Household/consumer data refers to the general values and lifestyles, media use, or
product-purchase patterns. The data for the household and the consumers is collected by the
syndicated services through surveys. panels or captured electronically via scanners
1. Surveys

Consumer surveys are used to obtain information on beliefs, values, attitudes,

preterences and intentions. Surveys help us to gather information on the demographic
characteristics of the target population which can be used for market
segmentation
purposes. These surveys help the firms to decide on product positioning, calculate the brand
image and brand goodwill and also helps them to understand the dimensions of pricing a
product. On the basis of methodology there are two types of surveys; periodic surveys,
panel surveys and shared surveys.
Periodic surveys are carried out for a stretch of time in order to test the same variables.
They are quite similar to longitudinal studies. However the difference lies is the fact that
the periodic surveys use a different sample of respondents for each
survey. The respondent
pool keeps on changing
Panel surveys/Omnibus panels are opposite of periodic surveys. The survey is carried
for a long stretch of time on the same pool of respondents. However the variables of study
keep on varying with every new survey. This survey involves selecting a large pool of
respondents. Thereafter these respondents are divided into different sub-groups. Since the
variables do not remain the same hence the content of the survey vary in each survey. The
panel surveys are a much more economical method of collecting data than the random
Sampling methodology as the respondeniS are chosen from a pool of respondents where
source list is easily availabicC. Sice ue consumers or respondents are a part of the panel the

response rate is higher than in any other method.

 4.9
Literature Review
Data and
Secondary
hence the expenses
which is done for multiple clients,
a kind of survey
Shared Survey is syndicated service
clients. In these kinds of surveys the
are shared mutually
by all the one set of questions
are general
information for the client;
collects two sets of These questions are
organization and economic profile.
like the demographic
in nature on topics sets of questions
are

the requirements of all. The second

accessible by all and
meet for a
have been collected specifically
The a n s w e r s to these questions
proprietary in nature. are relevant to
the
set of questions that
client access only those
single client and each
can
massification, where the
syndicated
client organization. There
is customization between
is also answering organization
specific questions.
service while answering general questions
a span of time.
can be spread over
can be a one time study or it
The survey
as psychographic/lifestyle
the surveys can be classified
On the basis of contents
evaluation and general surveys
advertising
surveys,
psychographics refers to psychological
.

Psychographic/lifestyle surveys.
The term
measurement of psychological
and lifestyle
of individuals. It refers to the
make-up the people live in
like brand preference, brand loyalty and risk taking. The way
parameters
the society e.g. nuclear families or joint working women, double income single
families,
to the distinetive modes of living
within a society. The psychographic
kids or DISK refers
measure the activities, interests, and opinions,
of the people within the
and lifestyle surveys in
the household level and is generally demographic
society. This data is collected at

nature.

Advertising evaluation is done with the intention of measuring the advertising

basically
effectiveness. It studies the size and nature of the advertising audience.
These evaluation
media.
span across all types of print as well as broadcast
General Surveys are conducted for purposes other than those discussed earlier. These
surveys can be conducted to understand the consumer buying pattern, consumer satisfaction
etc

2. Panels
Panels are used in consumer research to gather information on purchases or media
consumption. These panels can be purchase panels or media panels
Purchase panels is used for forecasting sales, estimating market shares. judging brand-
loyalty and brand-switching and establishing profiles of specific
user groups and measuring promotional effectiveness. In these panels
the respondents maintain a record of their purchases in a diary or
is
a
computer. This record
comprehensive and it contains a detail of the brand purchased,
number of units and the
price at which it was purchased, the place of purchase and any kind of promoional or
discount offer availed.
Media Panels are used to record the
viewing behavior of the target audience. It usCs
mechanical devices like peoplemeter. This device
set is switched on, the
records the time duration the television
channels viewed and for how
long. The people
meter trarnsmits tne
 4.10 Secondary Data and Literature R
ew
data to a central computer through a telephone line. This data helps the he organizasi.
organizations to
decide the time in which to broadcast the advertisement such that it best suits
the time
the time their
target audience is watching.
3. Electronic Scanner Services
Electronic scanner services track the purchases at the point
use scanners to
the home. Most of the of sale or inn
bigger retail outlets use the Universal Product Code at the
register point to prepare the bill. The cash

purchase portfolio of the customer

product brand bought, the units bought, the
entire
gets recorded. It helps the firm to profile the
and this information is customers
valuable for the organization in taking the decision
placement of their product. The traditional scanner can be regarding the
made more useful by
Scanner panel. A
panel of respondents is formed and each one of them is issued forming a
card. This allows the
purchases to be linked to the identity of the customer. The identity
an

Scanner services is limited in India where most usage of

of the purchases made
from small grocery shop which neither have the funds nor the by the customers is
scanning devices in their shops. infrastructure to adopt

LITERATURE REVIEW
An
essential phase of the résearch
researcher in gaining process is the review of literature. This
familiarity with the problem and helps a
problem. The thereafter clearly formulating the
researcher reviews all the available
literature that is related to the conceptual literature as well as empirical
the topic being studied problem under study. A good literature
and clearly outlines the review first defines
is organised either in terms of its
boundary of study. Thereafter the literature
relevance i.e. the most relevant
or
according to the source of literature i.e., literature appearing first
literature piece is briefly summarised, research articles, book, journals etc. Each
present study. Lastly, the entire review clearly indicating the relevance of the
literature and how the present research
is summarised
in findings to the
terms of the status
draws reference and of current
literature. then contributes to the
current
Goals of Literature Review
1. To gain familiarity. The
first objective of the
with the existing body of knowledge in the area literature review is to gain
gaining confidence and estabishing being studied. It helps the familiarity
credibility about his research researcher in
2 To integrate and process.
recapitulate tne
prior studies. It providesknown.
A
aion finding of the literature review
the
researcher with a fairly
summarizes the
the methodology adopted, the drawbacks of Tairly good idea about
existing research about
the reséarch gap that exists n the, current
body of knowledoe endeavours and thus identify
3. Provides direction to research. Through
literature review the
understands the contribution of previous researches in researcher clearly
his research efforts. This will building knowledge. He can thus
prevent wastage
of time, effort and
Secondary Data and Literature Review 4.11

money. The researcher can use the findings of earlier research to define a new cause for
future research. He can avoid making the same errors and walking down a blind alley.

4. Provides context to current research. A review helps the researcher to link the
current project with the prior research. It helps in establishing a connection between the
present research and the existing body of knowledge.

Types of Literature Review

The various types of literature reviews are summarised below
(a) Self study reviews. When literature is reviewed by a researcher with the pure
intention of gaining knowledge about a particular topic, it is referred to as a self study
review. Such a review serves the dual purpose of not only increasing the researcher's
confidence in the topic, but also in making the reader confident in his ability to conduct
research.
(b) Methodological review. A methodological review serves the purpose of making the
researcher aware about the research methodology adopted in previous researches. The focus
of such a review is on the methodological aspects of research efforts.
(c)Historical review. A literature review that explores the development and growth of
a research topic over a period of time is called a historical review. The issue under research
is studied chronologically right from its inception to the current state.
(d) Theoratical review. When the literature review is conducted with the purpose of
comparing the various theoretical perspective related to an issue it is referred to as a
theoretical literature review.
(e) Integrative review. A more holistic approach to reviewing the literature is adopted
in an integrative review. The purpose of such a review is to understand the depth of
existing knowledge and summarize the known facts.

Content of Review
The process of writing a literature review is an exercise in converting the raw data into
information. A literature review is a complete exercise that includes an introduction, a main
body and a conclusion.

The introduction to a literature briefly explains the nature of the topic under research
and its scope. The scope is very clearly defined in terms of what is to be included and what
is to be excluded e.8. the research topic is "Investment opportunities....". Then the
literature review should begin with a clear statement of what is included in the term
investment'.
The body of the literature review
is the core and its should elaborate upon the
following: a historical perspective of research topic, the various theoretical and ideological
approaches to the research topic, the methodology adopted in the previous research, the
main objectives and the conclusions thereafter of various research efforts. Finally a secuo
should be devoted o n the current research efforts that are being undertaken related to u c

topic and how they are

contributing to knowledge base.
4.12
Secondary Data and Literature Review

The conclusion of
the literature review should summarize the major findings drawn
from the analysis of literature, the
agreements and divergence observed in these findings
and finally the research
gap as identified by the researcher. It is through this research
that the relevance of the current gap
research will be established.
Example of a Review On Indo-US Relation
"During Sino-Indian border dispute of 1962, the United States
the
government with limited assistance provided the Indian
2005) which
during the conflict
(Banerjee 2006, Ganguly and Scobell
was indicative of the US
Asia. Despite persistent recognizing
India as a
fears that India would leak sensitive potential balancing
force in
Union, in the late 1980s the US-Indian technologies to the Soviet
technical collaboration greatly
1990). The US imposed sanction on India expanded (Thomas
authorized five nuclear tests, but within (Banerjee 2006; Malik 2006) in 1998 when India
months many of the sanctions were
As can be seen in the withdrawn."
above example the literature review
relation. While writing a review care is a summary on the Indo-UUS
needs to be taken that it does not take
annotated bibliography where each the shape of an
article is reviewed
researchers which are related to a separately. Instead the views of
the above particular theme should be summed
up collectively. In
example the view of Banerjee and Malik on US
have been summed
up to present a collective
imposition of sanction on India
review progresses ahead in terms analysis the two sources. Further the
of
of how the relation have
Maintaining continuity in literature review is another evolved over the years.
Procedure for
important consideration.
Writing
a Review
The literature review is a
very methodical exercise that follows a
procedure. J.Galvan has given a very clear guide to clear step by step
I. Review the
writing review as shown on fig. 4.4.
a

Guidelines: Generally, the process of writing a review starts

becoming familiar with the review style. A researcher with
can use. The MLA
(discussed in detail in chapter on report or APA style
orient the researcher to writing) for writing a review. These guidelines
things like the method of citation, font
size,
2.
Understand the Problem: The researcher now needs to be margins.
aspects of the problem. The purpose is to familiar with various
understand the scope of the develop a
boundary of the research area and
and stream lines the research
problem. It helps in saving the time and effort of the
literature review task. researchn
3. ldentify the relevant literature : The reseàrch needs
sources of draw a list of all the available
to
secondary data. The
published, unpublished
considered. The researcher as well online database need to be
can start with abstract databases
full text database. The and then explore further imo
key to
identifying relevant literature lies
or key descriptors relevant to identifying
in key terms
well
your topic. The study should
as
empirical research. Whereas theorist encompass the theoretical
provide the required framework
as

empirical literature gives an insight into the

for study, uc
practical aspects of the problem.
 Data and Literature Review 4.13
Secondary

Review the Guidelines

Understand the problem

Identify the relevant literature

Analyse the literature

Summarise the literature

Prepare an outline

Write the Review

Fig. 4.4: Procedure of Writing A Review

4. Analyse the literature : Once the literature has been identified the next step is to
material into relevant
summarize, analyse and interpret it. The researcher categorises the
groups based on the thrust area. Each article is critically analysed for the research
methodology adopted and its the findings, in order to establish its strength and weaknesses.
The major trends and issues should be brought to the forefront. The research should be
able to spot the research gap and the reason for the existence of such gap.

5. Summarize the Literature : The entire literature now needs to be summarised across

major dimensions. For example, the researcher may develop a summary of the key terms
and concepts that he has come across in the course of his study, the research methods

and the major findings and relationships that have been observed in the course of
adopted
study.
6. Prepare an Outline: The process of writing the final review starts with preparing an
outline. It starts with an explanation of the line of reasoning adopted by the researcher
Thereafter each topic is discussed in terms of highlighting the variations in studies on each
topic and identifying the gaps in each topic. The outline should connect the literature with
a theoretical framework.
7. Write the Review: The last step in this process is to write the final review. A
literature review generally has three sections, the intrduction, the main body and tne

conclusion. At the end the literature review should leave the researcher armed wth a
clear knowledge of research problem context, the methodologies suitable for use and he

importance of research being conducted by him.