Lesson 1 Chapter 2: Review of
Related Literature and Studies
What is a literature review?
A literature review is a survey of
scholarly sources on a specific topic. It
provides an overview of current
knowledge, allowing you to identify
relevant theories, methods, and gaps in
the existing research that you can later
apply to your paper, thesis, or
dissertation topic.
 For instance, if the present study
deals with drug addiction,
literature to be reviewed or
surveyed should be composed of
materials that deal with drug
addiction.
These materials are classified as:
 Local
 Foreign
Related studies are studies, inquiries,
or investigations already conducted to
which the present proposed study is
related or has some bearing or
similarity.
Why do we need to review related
literature and studies?
1. They help or guide the
researcher in searching for or
selecting a better research
problem or topic. By reviewing
related materials, a replication of
a similar problem may be found
better than the problem already
chosen. Replication is the study
of a research problem already
conducted but in another place.
2. They help the investigator
understand his topic for research
better. Reviewing related
literature and studies may clarify
vague points about his problem.
3. They ensure that there will be no
duplication of other studies.
There is duplication if an
investigation already made is
conducted again in the same
locale using practically the same
respondents. This is avoided if a
survey of related literature and
studies be made first.
4. They help and guide the
researcher in locating more
sources of related information.
This is because the bibliography
of a study already conducted
indicate references about similar
studies.
5. They help and guide the
researcher in making his
research design especially in
 the formulation of specific
questions to be
researched on
 the formulation of
assumptions and
hypotheses if there should
be any;
 the formulation of
conceptual framework;
 the selection and
application of the methods
of research;
 the selection and
application of sampling
techniques;
 the selection and/or
preparation and validation
of research instruments for
gathering data;
 the selection and
application of statistical
procedures;
 the analysis, organization,
presentation, and
interpretation of data;
 the making of the
summary of implications
for the whole study;
 the formulation of the
summary of findings,
conclusions, and
recommendations
6. They help and guide the
researcher in making comparison
between his findings with the
findings of other researchers on
similar studies.
Characteristics of Related
Literature and Studies
a. The surveyed materials must
be as recent as possible. This
is important because of the rapid
social, economic, scientific, and
technological changes. Findings
several years ago may be of little
value today because of the fast
changing life style of the people.
b. Materials reviewed must be
objective and unbiased. Some
materials are extremely or subtly
one-sided, either political, or
religious, etc. Comparison with
these materials cannot be made
logically and validly. Distorted
generalizations may result.
c. Materials surveyed must be
relevant to the study. Only
materials that have some bearing
or similarity to the research
problem at hand should be
reviewed.
d. Surveyed materials must have
been based upon genuinely
original and true facts or data
to make them valid and
reliable. There are cases where
fictitious data are supplied just to
complete a research report
(thesis or dissertation). Of
course, this kind of deception is
hard to detect and to prove.
Thus, this is a real problem to
honest researchers.
e. Reviewed materials must not
be too few nor too many. They
must only be sufficient enough to
give insight into the research
problem or to indicate the nature
of the present investigation. The
number may also depend upon
the availability of relate materials.
There are five key steps to writing
a literature review:
1. Search for relevant literature
2. Evaluate sources
3. Identify themes, debates, and
gaps
4. Outline the structure
5. Write your literature review.
A good literature review doesn’t just
summarize sources—it analyzes,
synthesizes, and critically
evaluates to give a clear picture of
the state of knowledge on the
subject.
What is the purpose of a literature
review?
The literature review gives you a
chance to: a. Demonstrate your
familiarity with the topic and its
scholarly context
b. Develop a theoretical framework
and methodology for your research.
c. Position your work in relation to
other researchers and theorists
d. Show how your research
addresses a gap or contributes to a
debate
e. Evaluate the current state of
research and demonstrate your
knowledge of the scholarly debates
around your topic
how to write a literature review?
STEP 1: Search For Relevant
Literature
Before you begin searching for
literature, you need a clearly defined
topic. If you are writing the literature
review section of a dissertation or
research paper, you will search for
literature related to your research
problem and questions.
a. Make a list of keywords
Start by creating a list of keywords
related to your research question.
Include each of the key concepts or
variables you’re interested in, and list
any synonyms and related terms.
You can add to this list as you
discover new keywords in the
process of your literature search.
b. Search for relevant sources
Use your keywords to begin
searching for sources.
 Some useful databases to search
for journals and articles include:
 Your institution’s library
catalogue
 Google Scholar
 JSTOR
 EBSCO
 Project Muse (humanities and
social sciences)
 Medline (life sciences and
biomedicine)
 EconLit (economics)
 Inspec (physics, engineering
and computer science)
You can also use Boolean
operators to help narrow down
your search. Make sure to read
the abstract to find out whether
an article is relevant to your
question. When you find a useful
book or article, you can check the
bibliography to find other relevant
sources.
STEP 2: Evaluate and Select
Resources
You likely won’t be able to read
absolutely everything that has been
written on your topic, so it will be
necessary to evaluate which sources
are most relevant to your research
question.
For each publication, ask yourself:
1. What question or problem is the
author addressing?
2. What are the key concepts and how
are they defined?
3. What are the key theories, models,
and methods?
4. Does the research use established
frameworks or take an innovative
approach?
5. What are the results and conclusions
of the study?
Make sure the sources you use are
credible, and make sure you read any
landmark studies and major theories in
your field of research.
What are credible sources and how
to spot them?
A credible source is free from bias and
backed up with evidence. It is written by
a trustworthy author or organization.
There are a lot of source out there, and
it can be hard to tell what’s credible and
what isn’t at first glance.
Evaluating source credibility is an
important information literacy skill. It
ensures that you collect accurate
information to back up the arguments
you make and the conclusions you
draw.
Three Types of Sources
 Primary sources - Primary
sources are often considered the
most credible in terms of
providing evidence for your
argument, as they give you direct
evidence of what you are
researching. However, it’s up to
you to ensure the information
they provide is reliable and
accurate. You will likely use a
combination of the three types
over the course of your research
process.
 First-hand evidence giving
you direct access to your
research topic.
Example: Empirical or statistical
results, Newspapers and magazines,
Letters or diary entries, Photographs,
Audio clips, such as speeches or
interviews
 Secondary sources - Second-
hand information that analyzes,
describes, or evaluates sources
(primary)
Examples: Books, Journal articles,
Blog posts, Textbooks,
Documentaries
 Tertiary sources- Sources that
identify, index, or consolidate
primary and secondary sources.
Examples: Encyclopedias,
Dictionaries, Almanacs,
Bibliographies, Indexes
How to identify a credible source?
There are a few criteria to look at
right away when assessing a
source. Together, these criteria form
what is known as the CRAAP test.
 The CRAAP test is a method to
evaluate the credibility of a source
you are using. When conducting
research, it’s important to use
credible sources. They ensure the
trustworthiness of your argument
and strengthen your conclusions.
The CRAAP test is a catchy
acronym that will help you evaluate
the credibility of a source you are
thinking about using. California State
University developed it in 2004 to
help students remember best
practices for evaluating content.
Five Components of the CRAAP
Test
1. Currency
Is the source up-to-date?
2. Relevance
Is the source relevant to your
research?
3. Authority
Where is the source published?
Who is the author? Are they
considered reputable and
trustworthy in their field?
4. Accuracy
Is the source supported by
evidence? Are the claims cited
correctly?
5. Purpose
What was the motive behind
publishing this source?
Books
While books are often considered
among the most reliable sources, it is
still important to pay attention to the
author, publisher, motive behind the
publication.
Some books are commercially-
motivated or sponsored, which affects
their credibility. As a general rule,
academic publishers and university
presses are often considered credible.
When evaluating a book, ask yourself:
 When was the book published?
Is this the most current book
available on the topic that I’m studying?
 Is there more than one edition of this
book?
Publishing multiple editions is a
signal that the author is motivated to
keep the information current.
 Who is the author?
Are they a trusted expert in their
field?
 Who is the publisher?
It should be clear what criteria
the publishing house follows for editing,
fact-checking, and publishing.
 Is the purpose behind publishing the
book clear?
The main purpose should be to
educate the reader, not to try to
convince them to buy or believe
something.
Journal Articles
Academic journals are one of the best
resources you can turn to during your
research process. They are often peer
reviewed, which means they have
undergone a rigorous editing process
prior to publication.
When evaluating a journal article, ask
yourself:
 Does the journal have a peer
review process? Who participates on
each review panel should be readily
available within each article.
Peer review is a process that evaluates
submissions to academic journals. For
this reason, academic journals are often
considered among the most credible
sources you can use in a research
project-provided that the journal itself is
trustworthy and well-regarded
 What else has the author
published, and how many times has it
been cited?
A quick Google Scholar search
will show you if the author has published
other articles or been cited by other
scholars. The function called “Cited by”
can show you where the author has
been cited. A high number of “Cited by”
results can often be a measurement of
credibility.
 Is the journal indexed in
academic databases? Has it had to
retract many articles?
News articles can be tricky to evaluate.
Many news sources are eminently
reliable, with long histories of fact-based
and trustworthy journalism. Others,
however, can be heavily biased or
targeted at a specific audience. Some
are poorly-written or researched, while
some are mere “clickbait” or satire,
designed to mislead or entertain an
audience.
In the age of “fake news”, it’s more
important than ever to carefully evaluate
news articles, especially those found
online. News sources are often best
used to situate your argument or ground
your research, with more academic
sources making up the “meat” of your
analysis.
When evaluating a news source, ask
yourself:
Who published the article?
Is it a reputable and established
news source? Reputable news sources
commit to fact checking their content,
issuing corrections and withdrawals if
necessary, and only associating with
credible journalists.
 Who is the author? Are they a
credible journalist? Credible journalists
commit to reporting factual information
in an unbiased manner, and prescribe to
a code of ethics shared within a
profession.
 Is the article fact-based and
impartial? The article shouldn’t favor
one side of the story or one point of
view, but present all sides fairly.
 Does the article link back to,
credit, or refer to credible primary
sources? Links in news articles can
often be a great place to find valuable
primary source material.
Citation
Plagiarism- Whenever you quote or
paraphrase a source (such as a book,
article, or webpage), you have to include
a citation crediting the original author.
Citations are required in all types of
academic texts.
When do you need to cite sources?
 To avoid plagiarism
 To give proper credit to the
author
 To allow the reader to consult
your sources
Citation is needed when integrating a
source into your writing.
 Quoting-
 Paraphrasing
Quoting means copying a passage of
someone else’s words and crediting the
source.
To quote a source, you must ensure:
 The quoted text is enclosed in
quotation marks or formatted as a block
quote
 The original author is correctly cited
 The text is identical to the original
The exact format of a quote depends on
its length and on which citation style you
are using. The most common styles
are:
1. APA,
2. MLA
3. Chicago
Citing a quote in APA Style
To cite a direct quote in APA, you must
include the author’s last name, the
year, and a page number, all
separated by commas. If the quote
appears on a single page, use “p.” ; if it
spans a page range, use “pp. ”
For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170).
An APA in-text citation can be :
1. Parenthetical- In a parenthetical
citation, you place all the information
in parentheses after the quote.
According to new research…
(Smith,2020)
2. Narrative- In a narrative citation, you
name the author in your sentence
(followed by the year), and place the
page number after the quote.
Punctuation marks such as periods (.)
and commas (,) are placed after the
citation, not within the quotation marks.
Smith (2020) notes that…
APA in-text citation Evolution is a
gradual process that “can act only by
very short and slow steps” (Darwin,
1859, p. 510). Darwin (1859) explains
that evolution “can act only by very short
and slow steps” (p. 510).
Introducing quotes
Make sure you integrate quotes
properly into your text by introducing
them in your own words, showing the
reader why you’re including the quote
and providing any context necessary to
understand it. Don’t present quotations
as stand-alone sentences.
Three main strategies to introduce
quotes in a grammatically correct
way:
 Add an introductory sentence
 Use an introductory signal
phrase
 Integrate the quote into your own
sentence
A. Introductory Sentence
If you name the author in your
sentence, you may use present-
tense verbs, such as “states,”
“argues,” “explains,” “writes,” or
“reports,” to describe the content of
the quote.
Introduce the quote with a full
sentence ending in a colon. Don’t
use a colon if the text before the
quote isn’t a full sentence.
B. Introductory Signal Phrase
You can also use a signal phrase
that mentions the author or source,
but doesn’t form a full sentence. In
this case, you follow the phrase with
a comma instead of a colon.
C. Integrated into your own
sentence
To quote a phrase that doesn’t
form a full sentence, you can also
integrate it as part of your
sentence, without any extra
punctuation
Quotes within quotes
When you quote text that
itself contains another quote, this
is called a nested quotation or a
quote within a quote. It may
occur, for example, when quoting
dialogue from a novel.
To distinguish this quote from the
surrounding quote, you enclose it
in single (instead of double)
quotation marks (even if this
involves changing the
punctuation from the original
text).
Make sure to close both sets of
quotation marks at the
appropriate moments. Note that if
you only quote the nested
quotation itself, and not the
surrounding text, you can just use
double quotation
Shortening or altering a quote
Incorporating a quote smoothly
into your text requires you to make
some changes to the original text. It’s
fine to do this, as long as you clearly
mark the changes you’ve made to the
quote.
Shortening a quote
If some parts of a passage are
redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten
the quote by removing words, phrases,
or sentences and replacing them with an
ellipsis (…). Put a space before and
after the ellipsis. Be careful that
removing the words doesn’t change the
meaning. The ellipsis indicates that
some text has been removed, but the
shortened quote should still accurately
represent the author’s point.
Altering a quote
You can add or replace words in
a quote when necessary. This might be
because the original text doesn’t fit
grammatically with your sentence (e.g.,
it’s in a different verb tense), or because
extra information is needed to clarify the
quote’s meaning Use brackets to
distinguish words that you have added
from words that were present in the
original text.
When should I use quotes?
1. When focusing on language
2. When giving evidence
3. When presenting an author’s
position or definition
Citation is needed when integrating a
source into your writing.
 Quoting
 Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means putting someone
else’s ideas into your own words.
Paraphrasing a source involves
changing the wording while preserving
the original meaning. Paraphrasing is an
alternative to quoting preserving the
original meaning. Paraphrasing is an
alternative to quoting.
Correct Paraphrasing
Here, we’ve:
 Only included the information
that’s relevant to our argument
(note that the paraphrase is
shorter than the original)
 Introduced the information with
the signal phrase “Scientists
believe that …”
 Retained key terms like
“development and pollution,”
since changing them could alter
the meaning
 Structured sentences in our own
way instead of copying the
structure of the original
 Started from a different point,
presenting information in a
different order
Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing
A paraphrase puts a specific
passage into your own words. It’s
typically a similar length to the
original text, or slightly shorter. When
you boil a longer piece of writing
down to the key points, so that the
result is a lot shorter than the
original, this is called summarizing.
Multiple authors and corporate
authors
The in-text citation changes slightly
when a source has multiple authors or
an organization as an author.
Pay attention to punctuation and the
use of the ampersand (&) symbol.
One author
(Smith,2020)
Smith (2020)
Two authors
(Smith & Jones,2020)
Smith and Jones (2020)
Three or more authors
(Smith et al., 2020)
Smith et al. (2020)
Subsequent Citation
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC,2020) CDC (2020)
Missing Information
No author
If the author of a source is
unknown, try to determine if there is an
organization or government responsible
for creating the content. If so, include its
name in the in text citation (and
reference entry).
Example: The costs of solar energy
have decreased by 34% in the past
three years (Tesla,2020) Alternatively,
use the source title in place of the
author. Italicize the title if it’s italicized in
the reference entry (except for court
cases, which are italicized in the in-text
citation but not the reference entry).
Otherwise, enclose it in double
quotation marks.
Example: (“U.S. Flood Risk,” 2015)
(Thinking, Fast and Slow,2017)
No Publication Date
If the publication date is unknown, write
“ n.d. ” (no date) in the in-text citation.
Example: (Johnson, n.d.).
No page number
(Alternative locators)
Page numbers are only required with
direct quotes in APA. If you are quoting
from a work that does not have page
numbers (e.g., webpages or YouTube
videos), you can use an alternative
locator, such as:
 (Liu,2020,03:26)
 (Johnson,2019, Chapter 3)
 (McCombes,2016, para.4)
 Davis, 2016, Slide 15)
 (Flores,2020, Table 5)
 (Streefkerk,2020, “No page number”
section)
Note that Bible citations always use
chapter and verse numbers, even when
page numbers are available:
(English Standard Version Bible,
2001, Josh. 2:7)
Multiple sources in one parenthesis
 If a statement is supported by multiple
sources, the in-text citations can be
combined in one parenthesis. Order the
sources alphabetically, and separate
them with a semicolon.
When citing multiple works from the
same author, list the years of publication
separated by a comma.
Example: Several studies have
replicated these results (Brown,
2009; Porter, 2004; Smith, 2015,
2017).
Citing indirect sources (“as cited in”)
If you want to refer to a source that you
have found in another source, you
should always try to access the original
or primary source. However, if you
cannot find the original source, you
should cite it through the secondary
source that led you to it, using the
phrase “as cited in”. Example :
(Parker,1978 , as cited in Bloom et al .
,2017 )
If the publication date of the primary
source is unknown, include only the
year of publication of the secondary
source. Example: Porter (as cited in
Johnson, 2017) states that…
Citing personal communication
Personal communications, such as
phone calls, emails, and interviews, are
not included in the reference list
because readers can’t access them.
The in-text citation is also formatted
slightly differently. Include the initials
and last name of the person you
communicated with, the words “personal
communication,” and the exact date in
parentheses. Example: Sales are
declining in the second quarter (P.G.
Brown, personal communication,
June 13,2019)
General mentions of websites and
software General mentions of a website
or software don’t have to be cited with
an in-text citation or entry in the
reference list. Instead, incorporate
relevant information into the running
text.
Example:
 The website of Scribbr
(www.scribbr.com) contains
various useful resources.
 Statistical software SPSS
(version 25) was used to
analyze the data.
Lesson 3: APA Format (7 th Edition)
References
APA references generally include
information about the author,
publication date, title, and source.
Depending on the type of source, you
may have to include extra information
that helps your reader locate the source.
Missing Information
Author: start the reference entry with
the source title.
Title. (Date).Source
Date: write “n.d” for “no Date”.
Author. (n.d.). Title. Source
Title: describe the work in square
brackets
Author. (date). (Description).
Source
Formatting the APA Reference Page
On the reference page, you list all the
sources that you’ve cited throughout
your paper. Place the page right after
the main body and before any
appendices. On the first line of the
page, write the section label
“References” (in bold and centered).
On the second line, start listing your
references in alphabetical order.
Apply these formatting guidelines to
the APA reference page:
 Double spacing (within and
between references)
 Hanging indent of ½ inch
 Legible font (e.g. Times New
Roman 12 or Arial 11)
 Page number in the top right
header
On the reference page, you only include
sources that you have cited in the text
(with an in-text citation). You should not
include references to personal
communications that your reader can’t
access (e.g. emails, phone
conversations or private online
material).