LITERATURE REVIEW

R. O. Salawu (Ph.D. FCA, FCTI, FNAA)

Professor of Accounting
Department of Management and Accounting
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
 Outline
❑Introduction
❑Outline of Chapter
Two
❑Literature review
❑Conclusion
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

❑2.1 Conceptual Review

❑2.2 Theoretical Review
❑2.3 Empirical Review
 Issue by Issue
 Variable by Variable
 Evidence from Developed, Developing & Nigerian
Economy.
❑2.4 Gap in Literature
❑2.5Theoretical Framework
/Conceptual Framework
 Literature Review Defined Cont.
❑ Literature:is a Latin word meaning "learning,
writing, grammar". Broadly is any collection of
written material, this could be works, books and
writings published on a particular subject.

❑ Review: a formal assessment of something with

the intention of instituting change if necessary.

❑ Literature Review: A literature review discusses

published information in a particular subject area,
and sometimes information in a particular subject
area within a certain time period.
 Literature Review Defined
❑ Literature
review is locating existing works on the issue or
problem identified with the aim of pointing out the various
academic debates, controversies or arguments among
previous scholars, i.e. the areas that are not yet resolved.
 Literature Review Defined Cont.

➢ An academic write-up that summarises, critically

analyses and evaluates previous research available
on the subject, presenting this in an organised way.

➢ Literaturereview is an intellectual excursion into

the existing body of knowledge under investigation
(Adetayo, 2011)
 Types of Literature Review

 Scoping Review
 Narrative
 Critical Review
 Argumentative Review
 The Conceptual Review
 Methodological Review
 Theoretical literature review
 Meta-analysis and
 Meta-Synthesis
 Empirical literature review
 Types of Literature Review

 Scoping Review: often used at the beginning of an article,

dissertation
 or research proposal. It is conducted before the research
begins, and
 sets the stage for this research by highlighting gaps in the
literature,
 and explaining the need for the research about to be
conducted,
 which is presented in the remainder of the article.

 Narrative: it appears as a chapter in a thesis or dissertation. It

 describes what related research has already been conducted,
how it
 informs the thesis, and how the thesis fits into the research in
the field

 Critical Review:
 Types of Literature Review

 Argumentative Review: as the name implies, examines literature

selectively
 in order to support or refute an argument, deeply imbedded
assumption, or
 philosophical problem already established in the literature.

 The Conceptual Review: Groups articles according to concepts, or

 categories, or themes. It identifies the current 'understanding' of the
given
 research topic, discusses how this understanding was reached, and
 attempts to determine whether a greater understanding can be
suggested.
 It provides a snapshot of where things are with this particular field of
 research.

 Methodological Review:A review does not always focus on what

someone
 said [content], but how they said it [method of analysis].
 Types of Literature Review

 Theoretical literature review:

 Focuses on a pool of theory that has accumulated in

regard to an issue, concept,
 theory, phenomena. Theoretical literature reviews play
an instrumental role in
 establishing what theories already exist, the
relationships between them, to
 what degree the existing theories have been
investigated, and to develop new
 hypotheses to be tested. At the earlier parts of the
literature review chapter,
 you need to specify the type of your literature review
and provide reasons for
 your choice.
 Sources of Literature Review
➢ Primary Sources:
✓ Research projects
✓ Journals
✓ Abstracts
✓ Publications
✓ Conference proceedings
✓ Technical reports
✓ Periodicals, etc.
➢ Secondary Sources:
✓ Textbooks
✓ Review of research reports
✓ Encyclopedias
✓ Book reviews
✓ Newspapers
➢ Tertiary sources
✓ Also called ‘search tools’, are
✓ Indexes
✓ Databases
✓ Catalogues
✓ Encyclopaedias
✓ Dictionaries
✓ Bibliographies
✓ Citation Indexes
 Tips on how to carry out Literature Review
❖ There is the need to have a researchable topic before proper literature review
commences.

❖ Making a list of the literatures to review. It is important to make a through survey

and search of the existing literatures on the topic and make a list of them for the
purpose of reviewing them.
❑ All relevant materials should be collated. Thus ensure you access all the
materials to be used in the research.
❖ The researcher should endeavor to assess the most recent journal articles on the
topic and check the references for other good articles.
❖ The researcher should endeavor to have a first-hand access of the papers/journal
articles mapped out for review.
❖ Note that any unaccessed journal articles should not be used for the purpose of
review. On this note, researchers should avoid the temptation of lifting the works
reviewed by previous scholars.
Tips on how to carry out Literature Review Cont.
❖ Each article/paper should now be thoroughly reviewed noting the
author/writer, the year the work was done, the issue addressed in the
work, the methodology, findings and conclusion.

❖ In reviewing the studies, it is necessary to look at how the studies are

related in terms of areas of similarities and differences that exist
among the existing studies.

❖ Comparison of the existing studies can be in the areas of the issue

addressed, the methodology (variables, sample, population, sampling
technique, techniques of analysis, among others), findings, and
conclusion.

❖ The need to compare your present work with the previous studies is
important because it will show clearly how the present work will
extend the frontiers of knowledge.
 Errors to avoid in Literature Review
➢ Citing of studies not related to the problem or
topic.
➢ Using junk journals on the internet instead of
peer reviewed journals.
➢ Not using materials from primary sources but
relying on only secondary sources.
➢ Not subjecting other researchers’ finding and
interpretations to critical analysis to assess
their validity by examining the logics of
research design and analysis.
➢ Failure to consider conflicting findings and
alternative interpretations in the literature.
➢ Cutting and pasting of already reviewed works.
 Errors to avoid in Literature Review Cont.

❑Temptation to review all papers on an issue.

❑Attitude of reading only without writing.

➢ It is better to write and have something to
correct and refine than to write nothing and
have nothing to correct.

❑Failure to keep records of references or

bibliography.
 Reasons for Literature Review
➢ The essence of literature review is to identify research gaps or
academic void, lacunas or lapses that need to be filled or addressed in
the literature.
➢ It provides the basis to justify the current research. The literatures
reviewed will reveal the gaps that exist in the body of knowledge
related to the issue.
➢ Ensure the research has not been done before (or that it is not just a
replication study)

➢ Literature reviews accord the scholar or the researcher the right of

the latest authority in that area of research.

➢ Highlight flaws in the previous studies.

➢ A good review of the literatures will help the researcher to be well

equipped in filling the research gaps.
 Reasons for Literature Review Cont.

➢ The researcher will be abreast of the current

methodology to adopt, the various theories, the
sampling techniques, the data definitions and
variable measurements, among others.
➢ It aids the researcher to formulate good research
problem, write good background to the study and good
discussion of findings, among other.
➢ Through literature review enable the researcher to
compare his findings with those of the previous scholars
in the literature as a mark of his readiness to contribute
to knowledge.
 Advanced stage in Reviewing Literature Cont.

 Write naturally as if you are talking to the

readers and not to yourself. Avoid using
unclear words and sentences.
 Avoids using words that are unnecessary
and superfluous
 Cite your previous works with moderation
and care.

 Ensure the papers cited are not too dated.

At least cite papers less than 10 years, but
preferably 5 years.
 Typology of Literature review

❖Conceptual Review- Here you review related

concepts and the debates associated with the
concepts. It defines the relevant variables for your
study and maps out how they might relate to each
other. All the variables related to the conceptual
review must be exhaustively discussed
argumentatively if possible
 Typology of Literature review
❖Theoretical Review- Your aim is to review the
theories-their developments and the debates
associated with them.
❖The theoretical literature review help establish
what theories already exist, the relationships
between them, to what degree the existing
theories have been investigated, and to develop
new hypotheses to be tested. ... The unit of
analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a
whole theory or framework. These theories must
be related to the study
 Typology of Literature review
❖ Empirical Review- Here you review all empirical
works and the debates associated with the issue at
hand. {By issue, variable}
❖ The empirical review is simply talking about the
various researches done by other researchers
concerning your topic or peoples research works
that are similar to your research work. The usually
contents of this type of review are the name of the
author, the environment in which the study is being
carried out, sample and population of the study,
methodology used and the conclusion of the study.
 Typology of Literature review

❖Note: Unless it is not visible, your review

should cover Developed economies and
Emerging economies. In all cases your
review must encompass all the issues
raised in your research questions.

❖Summary of Gap in Literature

❖Theoretical Framework/Conceptual
Framework: The researcher having received
various theories must choose the most pertinent
to anchor the study on.
 Unique Methods in Reviewing Literature

❑Paraphrasing – A good literature review

entails usage of the writing instrument of
paraphrasing.
✓ Paraphrasing is a restatement of someone
else’s ideas in approximately the same
number of words (Glenn, Miller & Webb,
2003).
✓ It aims at correct and accurate
representation of submissions of scholars
or writers of a particular work
Unique Writing of Literature review Cont.

❑ Summarizing: This is a re-statement of some facts by

condensing the main points of the original source. The
summary version is usually shorter than the paraphrased
version.

❑ Re-statement of facts – when the previous scholars are

not in disagreement over some unique facts, the researcher
can re-state the points made by previous scholars.

❑ Quoting or citing authorities – If it is necessary to

buttress a claim made by the researcher, there might be a
need to quote some strong submissions of scholars.
 Referencing in Literature Review
➢ Language
➢ It could be reported in either simple past tense or simple
present tense
➢ The language should also be impersonal.
➢ The use of I, he, she, we should be avoided and instead, it is
accepted to write: The researcher or the
researchers….,They…, etc.
➢ Examples of typical literature reports can read:
❑ Olajubu (2014) reported that foreign aid was relatively
difficult to procure for LDCs when compared with….
❑ Or, in the present tense, it could read:
❑ Salawu (2014) reports that foreign aid is relatively easy to
procure for LDCs when compared with ….
 Referencing in Literature Review Cont.
❑Salawu and Lawal (2014) reported that foreign aid
was relatively difficult to procure for LDCs when
compared with….
❑ Olayiwola, et al. (2014) reported that foreign aid is
relatively easy to procure for LDCs when
compared with ….
❑Forensic accounting is concerned with the use of
accounting discipline to help determine issues of
facts in business litigation (Akanbi & Daniel, 2010)
Referencing in Literature Review Cont.
❑You may consider adding relevant adverbs
to emphasize the writer’s attitude towards
the materials being introduced e.g.:

❑(a) Odewole (2002) strongly opposed the

view that ….
❑ (b) Haruna (2012) briefly submitted or
discussed ….
❑(c) According to Uche (2017), forensic
accountant should….
 Conclusion

Poor Literature Review = Poor Quality Study

❑Low relevance of the study

❑Poor methodological choices
❑Low quality write-up
❑Inadequate conclusion
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