Reviewing the

Literature
Index
 Functions of literature review in
research

 Procedure for reviewing the literature

 Writing up the literature reviewed

 Bring Clarity Improve the
And Focus Methodology

FUNCTIONS OF
LITERATURE
REVIEW

Broaden the Knowledge Contextualise

Base in research area the Findings
 Brings clarity and focus to
research problem
 Shaping the research problem
 Helping in understanding the subject area
 Helping in conceptualizing the research
problem clearly and precisely
 Helping in understanding the relationship
between one’s research problem and the body
of knowledge in the area
 Improves the Methodology
 Tells about Methodologies used by
others
 Methods and Procedures that worked
for others
 Problems and pitfalls faced by others
 Broadens the Knowledge Base
 Ensures that one reads widely around
the subject area to know
 What others have found on the subject
 What theories have been put forward
 What gaps exist in the relevant body of
knowledge
Contextualise the findings
 Helps to find how one’s findings fit in
the existing body of knowledge
 Comparing one’s answers with that of the
others
 Telling the contributions one have been
able to make
 Difference in one’s findings from those of
the others
PROCEDURE FOR REVIEWING THE
LITERATURE

 Required when you don’t have any

specific problem
 Gradually narrow down your findings
Steps for conducting literature
review

1. Search for existing literature in your

area of study
2. Review the literature selected
3. Develop a theoretical framework
4. Develop a conceptual framework
Search for existing literature

sources

Books Journals
 Method for searching from
sources
Books Journals
 Look at your catalog  Indices of journals
 Ask your liberarian to  Abstract of articles
help  Citation indices
 Publication of book
review can help you
to find out your
material

You can get both data in the printed or in digital form

from the net
 Procedure for Books
 Use subject catalogue or keywords to select
book of your interest.
 Carefully go through these books
 Get the photocopy or printout of relevant
topics
 After selecting 10-15 books examine the
bibliography of each
 Prepare a list of books for essential readings
 Again review the books and keep only relevant
books
Procedure for Journals
 Proceed in the same way
 Gives the most up to date data
 Consider as many journals as you can
 Prepare of list of journals by
 Locating the hard copy
 Looking at citation or abstract
 Searching electronic database
 Using internet
 Contd.
 Start with latest journal
 If you find any data related to your field
then get it .
 Prepare a summary for records
Review the literature selected

 Till now you have found several useful

books and journals
 Start reading them critically to get the
themes or issues they are associated to
 To develop rough frame work use separate
sheet of paper for each article
 Using that framework, Slot the findings
from the material so far reviewed in a
separate sheet
Critically read
 To add more themes read critically
with following aspects
1. Note whether the knowledge relevant
to your theoretical framework has been
confirmed beyond doubt
2. Note the theories put forward, the
criticism these and their basis, the
methodologies adopted and the critisms
of these
Contd.
3. Examine to what extent the finding can
be generalized to other situations
4. Notice where there are significant
differences of opinion among researchers
and give your opinion about the validity of
these differences
5. Ascertain the areas in which little or
nothing is known – the gaps that exist in
the body of knowledge.
 DEVELOP A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

 Start reading the literature

 Information obtained from different books and

journals needs to be sorted under the main
themes and theories.

 Using the number of aspects that have a direct

or indirect bearing on your research topic
 Example
Developing a theoretical framework- the relationship
between mortality and fertility:

 Fertility- trends, theories, indices and critique of them,

factors affecting fertility, methods of controlling fertility.
 Mortality- factors affecting mortality, mortality indices
and their sensitivity in measuring change in mortality
levels of a population, various trends on so on.
 The relationship between fertility and mortality-
theories that have been used to explain the relationship
and their implications.
 Literature Review of the example can be
written under following headings
 Fertility theories
 The theory of demographic transition
 Trends in fertility-global, and then narrow it to national
and local levels
 Methods of contraception-their acceptance and
effectiveness
 Factors affecting mortality
 Trends in mortality
 Measurement of mortality indices
 Relationship between fertility and mortality ie. different
theories.
 Develop a Conceptual Framework
 It consists of theories or issues in which
your study is embedded

 It stems from the theoretical framework

Writing up the Literature
reviewed
 The two broad functions of literature review
are:-
 To provide a theoretical background to your
study- identify and describe various theories,
specify gaps in existing knowledge in the area,
recent advances, current trends and so on .

 To enable you to contextualise in relation to

existing body of knowledge- integrate your results
with specific and relevant findings by comparing
the two for confirmation or contradiction.
 Themes and subheadings
While reading the literature, certain main themes should
be converted into subheadings which should be:-
 Precise

 Descriptive of the theme in question

 Follow a logical progression

Under each subheading:-

 Record the main findings

 Highlight the reasons for and against any argument

 Identifying gaps and issues

 Sample of outline of a literature
review
 Inter-country adoption in western
Australia (a profile of adoptive families)
The literature was reviewed under the following themes:-
 introduction (introductory remarks about adoption)

 History and philosophy of adoption

 Reasons for adoption

 Trends in adoption (global and national)

 Intercountry adoption

 History of intercountry adoption in western Australia

Sample continued..
 Trends in intercountry adoption in western
Australia
 The adoption act in western Australia
 The adoption process in western Australia
 Problems and issues in adoption
 Gaps in the literature (in this case it was a lack of
information about those parents who had adopted
children from other countries that became the
basis of the study)