PADM 312

Study Unit 3 – Reviewing the literature

Study Unit 3: Reviewing the literature

• Describe the functions of the literature review

• Demonstrate the ability to carry out a literature review
• Summarise the difference between a literature review and a
summary of literature
• Evaluate how to review selected literature
• Develop a theoretical and conceptual framework
• Write a literature review

Kumar, R. 2019. Chapter 3.

 Literature review
• Integral part of the research process
• Makes a valuable contribution to every operational step
• Informs the research

• Functions of literature review:

1. Theoretical background
2. Establish links between what you are proposing to examine and what has
already been examined
3. Show how findings contributed to the existing body of knowledge
4. Integrate your findings into existing body of knowledge
Literature review

Literature review can help in 4 ways:

1. Bring clarity and focus to research problem

2. Improves research methodology

3. Broadens knowledge-base in research area

4. Contextualises findings  integrates findings

into current body of knowledge

Literature review

1) Bring clarity and focus to research problem

• Literature review involves paradox:
• Cannot start without some idea of what you want to do
• Do not really know if your problems exists without literature review

• Strike balance between:

• Reviewing literature
• Influence it could have on your problem

• What you will learn is:

• What others have written
• Which research methods others have used
• What others have found about your problem
 Literature review

2) Improving your research

methodology

• Get acquainted with methodologies used by

others

• Problems others have encountered in the

use of different instruments

• Better aware and in a better position to

select a methodology that will provide valid
results in your study
 Literature review
3) Broadening knowledge-base in
research area

• Extensive reading!

• Ensures that you have read widely about

your subject area
• Get to know research where similar
questions were asked
• See the gaps that still exist in literature
• Helps to justify why you selected a specific
problem
• Helps to locate research in existing
literature
Literature review

4) Contextualise your findings

• Obtaining answers to problems may be relatively easy
• BUT fitting those answers into a body of knowledge is more complex

• Through a literature review you are able to compare your findings with findings
made in other studies
• Integrating your findings with the existing body of knowledge

Integrate
Difference between a literature review and summary of the literature

1) Literature review
• Description of significant findings of each
piece of literature
• Pertinent sources
• Relevant findings

• 2) Summary of the literature

• Findings are arranged around themes
• Different studies with the same theme
• Similarities and differences
• Under each theme – comparison, analysis, and
integration of a variety of sources whose findings
contribute to the theme
• Followed by conclusions on the theme
How to conduct a literature review
• Funneling down
• What is known?
• Where are the gaps?
Four main steps:
1) Searching the existing literature
• Books, journals, conference papers, internet
2) Reviewing the selected literature
• Read critically
• Note theories, concepts, findings
3) Developing a theoretical framework
• Revolves around theories that have been put forward by others
• Main themes and theories
• Theoretical framework as a guide
4) Development a conceptual framework
• Basis of your research problem
• Sections of theoretical framework – becomes the basis of your study
Writing about the literature review

• Provide a theoretical background

• Theories
• Gaps
• Recent advances
• Current trends
• Contextualise findings in existing
body of knowledge
• Integrate findings with existing literature
– confirm & contradict