MODULE: DESK RESEARCH WORK/LITERATURE REVIEW AND DATABASES

WEEK 4: LITERATURE REVIEW

Meaning of Literature Review
A literature review is a piece of academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding
of the academic literature on a specific topic placed in context. A literature review also includes
a critical evaluation of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a
literature report. It is a process of reviewing the literature, as well as a form of writing. 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. Much more than a simple list of sources, an effective literature review analyzes and
synthesizes information about key themes or issues.

A literature review is the synthesis of the available literature regarding your research topic.
Your literature review needs to review all the significant sources on a topic, regardless of
whether or not they support the claims you will eventually be working toward.

Your literature review, like any other document, should contain an introduction, a body, and a
conclusion.

Introduction
Your introduction should clearly explain the overall research topic and the depth of the
information to be presented; it often also explains the types of sources that will be used. If your
literature review is part of a larger research proposal or project, its introduction can be combined
with the introduction of your paper.

Body
The body of your literature review is intended to give your audience an overview of the already
available research on your topic.
This can serve several purposes, including:
 Establishing your credibility as an informed researcher
 Illustrating the importance of a particular problem in a field

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  Identifying a gap in the knowledge of a particular subject
 Defining key terms and ideas that are used in a particular field
 Explaining research methods commonly used in a discipline
 Identifying potential problems with possible research methods
 Directing the reader toward the research question

Conclusion
Depending on the purpose(s) of your literature review, your conclusion may include the
following:
 Introduction to further research: The conclusion of your literature review can be used
to explain your intended research question.
 Summary of theories: Your conclusion can summarize central theories and ideas that
give your reader a better understanding of the topic.
 Discussion of the gap: If your literature review has revealed a gap in general
understanding, your conclusion can explain the significance of that gap.

Why you should write a literature review?

Consideration of prior, relevant literature is essential for all research disciplines and all research
projects. When reading an article, independent of discipline, the author begins by describing
previous research to map and assess the research area to motivate the aim of the study and justify
the research question and hypotheses. This is generally referred to as the “literature review,” or
“research background.” However, for a literature review to become a proper research
methodology, as with any other research, proper steps need to be followed and action taken to
ensure the review is accurate, precise, and trustworthy. As with all research, the value of an
academic review depends on what was done, what was found, and the clarity of reporting.

In a larger piece of written work, such as a dissertation or project, a literature review is usually
one of the first tasks carried out after deciding on a topic. Reading combined with critical
analysis can help to refine a topic and frame research questions. Conducting a literature review
establishes your familiarity with and understanding of current research in a particular field before

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carrying out a new investigation. After doing a literature review, you should know what research
has already been done and be able to identify what is unknown within your topic.
When doing and writing a literature review, it is good practice to:
 summarize and analyze previous research and theories;
 identify areas of controversy and contested claims;
 highlight any gaps that may exist in research to date

Objectives of Literature Survey

The main objective of the Literature survey is to:
(i) Know who writes, what, and where about (your topic name);
(ii) Identify the tools and sources of (your topic name), and
(iii) Prepare the relevant bibliographic entries with the abstract of the related topic

Steps for writing a literature review

The broad steps for writing a literature review are:
i. Do a literature search: Find out what has been written about your topic. A good starting
point is the list of references or bibliography of a recent article or book on the topic

ii. Read the selected articles thoroughly and evaluate them: Record the author and the
title (you already have the other bibliographical information) and take notes. Your aim is
to determine how the topic is approached and what is said about it. As you make notes,
ask yourself the following questions about each text.
• What sort of text is it?
• What is the methodology?
• What are the definitions used?
• What is the theoretical basis?
• What evidence is used to back up the research or thesis?
• What are the conclusions?

Write short summaries: For each relevant text, try to write a one-paragraph summary similar
to an abstract.

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Note: Refer to the Literature Matrix and How to read journal papers sections below

iii. Organise the summaries: Try to identify similarities and group the summaries
accordingly. The headings under which the summaries are grouped will vary, depending
on the topic and the subject.
Note the following:
• Findings that are common/contested
• Important trends in the research
• The most influential theories
iv. Write each section: Each section of your literature review should deal with a specific
aspect of the literature
v. Review your work

Evaluating Sources
The CRAAP (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) test is a widely used criterion
among academicians in evaluating the credibility of their web resources, information, and
sources. Because not all of the seemingly unlimited volume of information from a wide variety
of sources is true, learners and academics in the twenty-first century are required to have
important competence in appraising the credibility of information and web sources. The Table
below is an example of articles that have been selected from current research by a student
working on a dissertation focusing on emotional intelligence and having elements of ethics and
social change. The articles were evaluated by the student to determine their credibility in line
with his or her focus.

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Table 2 CRAAP Test of resources
Link/resources Currency Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose
This article, as The authors are affiliated
the title suggests, with the Department of
has direct Education & Psychology, According to the
connections to Kohat University of The author, the study's
my research Science & Technology, accuracy of purpose was to look
Article 1 - topic. It was Kohat, Pakistan, the into the association
Suleman, Q., about secondary Department information between emotional
Syed, M. A., school leadership of Education, University of provided in intelligence and job
Mahmood, Z., & in Pakistan. The Kotli, Kotli, Pakistan, and the article satisfaction among
Hussain, I. information Department of Education, is secondary school
(2020). provided in the Mohi-ud-Din Islamic supported principals in
Correlating study are University, Nerian Sharif, by the Khyber
Emotional Published on appropriate and I Pakistan. The authors have verification Pakhtunkhwa. The
Intelligence with the 13 March have no issue worked on the topic and of the article highlights
job satisfaction: 2020. The citing this source have other published works information the significance of
Evidence from a article has a in my paper. The related to the subject in another emotional
cross-sectional functional findings is very matter and gave active source and intelligence and job
study among link, and the crucial for ResearchGate and google personal satisfaction in
secondary school year of leaders in scholar profiles. The article knowledge. improving an
heads in Khyber publication is secondary was published in The article overall
Pakhtunkhwa, within the schools to Organizational was peer organizational
Pakistan. last 5 years, develop Psychology, reviewed. I performance.
Frontiers in which is appropriate skills a section of the journal did not Because the article
Psychology, 11. current and and attribute for Frontiers in Psychology. come met all of the
https://doi.org/10. satisfactory effective The corresponding author across any CRAAP criteria, I
3389/fpsyg.2020. for my leadership and email address is provided grammatica will use it in my
00240 dissertation. mentoring. for contact purpose. l error. paper.

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Information sources, Database searching, and Search Strategy
• Topic selection – Tentatively selection of a topic for your project

• Selection of appropriate keywords: Select appropriate keywords based on the research

topic and research questions

• Relevant Databases - commonly used databases include ScienceDirect, ABI/INFORM

Collection, Academic Search Complete, Taylor and Francis Online, SAGE Journals,

SAGE Knowledge, SAGE Research Methods Online, and ScholarWorks etc. One or

more of these can be selected as aligned with the research focus.

• Linking concepts - The search criteria are critical in choosing articles for a literature

review based on the project's research problem, purpose and research question. These will

include certain selection and exclusion criteria. Take great care in linking concepts

together using the Boolean terms AND, OR, and NOT in my searches. For instances,

AND is used to find articles that uses two or more concepts such as emotional

intelligence AND job satisfaction. Use OR to find either of the keyword or the

synonym, example, organizational performance OR firm performance.

• Review matrix – This is essential in organizing the key components of the articles and

papers with the aid of an Excel spreadsheet.

• Citations and references management – These aid in organizing the references of the

articles

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Literature Review Matrix
The "Matrix Method" is an approach to organizing, monitoring, and documenting your search activities.
Title/Reference Abstract Purpose Method and Sample and Major Similarities Information not
and Design Population Findings/Results and found in the
Research (Qualitative, Characteristics differences study/Limitations
Questions Quantitative, to other
Mixed Case studies
Study, reviewed
Experimental,
etc.)

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How to read journal papers
“There is an art of reading, as well as an art of thinking, and an art of writing.” (Clarence Day).
At first glance, a journal article might appear intimidating for some or confusing for others with
its tables and graphs. Reading a research article can be a frustrating experience, especially for
one who has not mastered the art of reading scientific literature. Just like there is a method to
construct a building or design and fabricate a machine, one can also learn to read research
articles by following a systematic approach. Most scientific articles are organized as follows:
1. Title: Topic and information about the authors.
2. Abstract: Brief overview of the article.
3. Introduction: Background information and statement of the research hypothesis.
4. Methods: Details of how the study was conducted, procedures followed, instruments used
and variables measured.
5. Results: All the data of the study along with figures, tables and/or graphs.
6. Discussion: The interpretation of the results and implications of the study.
7. References/Bibliography: Citations of sources from where the information was obtained.
Review articles do not usually follow the above pattern, unless they are systematic reviews or
meta-analysis. The cardinal rule is: Never start reading an article from the beginning to the end.
It is better to begin by identifying the conclusions of the study by reading the title and the
abstract. If the article does not have an abstract, read the conclusions or the summary at the end
of the article first. After reading the abstract or conclusions, if the reader deems it is interesting
or useful, then the entire article can be read (Figure 1).

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Figure 1 Decision-making flowchart to decide whether to read the chosen article or not

Top tips for reading a paper

1. Pay attention to the title
The title should tell you the main purpose of the paper. It is also good to look at the authors and
their affiliations, which could be important for various reasons, including: for future reference,
future employment, for guidance and for checking if the research is reliable.

2. Read critically
When reading a research article, don’t assume that the authors are correct. Instead, keep asking
questions along the way, such as ‘is this the right way to answer this question?’, ‘did they do the
right statistical analysis?’ and ‘why did they come to that conclusion?’. Taking sample size and
statistical significance into consideration is important too.

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3. Make notes as you go
Make notes in whatever way suits you best. It can be helpful to print the paper and make notes
on it. Alternatively, a greener option is to make notes digitally.

4. Read it multiple times

Research papers contain so much information that it will require you to read it many times
before you can fully understand it. Get an understanding of the general purpose of the research
and the overall results first, then delve into the finer details once you already have a basic
understanding.

5. Read references
Reading some of the references will help you gain background knowledge about the field of
research and an understanding of what has been investigated previously.

6. Discuss the paper with someone else

Discussing the paper with someone from your lab or a different lab will show how much you
understood and whether you could get more information from it if you read it again. It also
helps to reinforce your memory and consolidate what you have learned.

7. Write a concise summary of the research

To check your understanding, write a short summary of the research. This will also help if you
are going to write about the paper later in an essay, dissertation, thesis, or literature review. Use
the following questions as prompts:
 What is the research investigating?
 Why did the research investigate this?
 What was found?
 Are the findings unusual or do they support other studies in the field?
 What are the implications of the results?
 What experiments could be carried out to answer any further questions?

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