The Literature Review

By: Group-2
 Group members:

 Tania Shaheen-(019)
 Umama Arshad-(023)
 Rabia Malik-(010)
 Ummar khan-(007)
 Qurat-ul-Ain-(FA11-BS(CS)-101)
 The role of research reviews

 What is research?
 ‘The systematic investigation to develop theories, establish
evidence and solve problems.

Research focuses on:

 The creation of new knowledge through primary studies

 Creation of knowledge on the basis of previous research

 Knowledge should be cumulative.

 What is a literature review?

 The process of reading, analyzing, evaluating, and

summarizing scholarly materials about a specific topic. The
results of a literature review may be compiled in a report or
they may serve as part of a research article, thesis, or grant
proposal.
Example :

 In the view of behavioral approach the working speed

increases due to competition in employees of an organization.
 According to Adam smith, the working speed increases by
focusing on “labor division”(job satisfaction).
 According to Winslow Taylor, we can increase the work
speed by defining “one best way” for doing a job.
 According to Henri Fayol, the working speed can be
increased by certain things like centralization,
empowerment, labor division, unity of direction etc.
 Sources of literature review:

 Primary sources.

 Secondary sources.
 Primary sources
 Primary sources are the origin of information under study,
fundamental documents relating to a particular subject or idea.
Often they are firsthand accounts written by a witness or
researcher at the time of an event or discovery. These may be
accessible as physical publications, as publications in
electronic databases, or on the Internet.
Examples of primary sources

 Original documents: diaries, speeches, letters, interviews,

office records, manuscripts.
 Creative work: poetry, drama, novels etc.
 The constitution of Canada (Canadian history)
 Diary of Anne Frank-Experiences of a Jewish family during
WWII.
 A journal article reporting new research or findings.
 Secondary sources:

 Secondary sources are documents or recordings that relate to

or discuss information originally presented elsewhere. These,
too, may be accessible as physical objects or electronically in
databases or on the Internet.
 Examples of secondary sources

 Publications: textbooks, magazine, articles, encyclopedias.

 A history textbook.
 A book about the effects of WWI.
 A journal/magazine article which interprets or reviews
previous findings.
Why are reviews needed?

‘Research information is like small

jigsaw puzzle pieces in a box,
where there are several pictures,
several duplicates and several
missing pieces’.
Individual studies use different
methods, are of different quality
and may present contradictory
findings

We cannot give too much importance

to one individual study
Over to Ummar khan
Why do you need to carry out a literature
review?

Needed for identifying:

 Areas of uncertainty

 Where reality may be different to

what is believed
 Where more research is needed

 How research in the area has

been carried out – strengths and
limitations
 The main theories and issues on
your topic and critique.
What distinguishes a good quality literature
review?

 Appropriate breadth and depth

 Rigour and consistency
 Clarity and brevity( concise and exact)
 Effective analysis and synthesis
 Use of the literature to justify:
 The particular approach to the topic

 The selection of methods

 That your research contributes something new

Mechanics of a Literature Review:

Your literature review will have two components:

 A search through the literature

 The writing of the review.

 Role of literature review:

 Justify Your Research.

 Develop Your Thesis Position.
Over to Qurat-ul-Ain
Literature Review vs. Annotated Bibliography:

Difference in purpose:
Literature review:
 A literature review makes a case for further investigation and
research, highlighting gaps in knowledge and asking questions
that need to be answered for the betterment of the discipline;
as such, its contents are selected to make the case
 Annotated bibliography

 An annotated bibliography is a list of what's available in a

given field, accompanied by a short description. While it may
feature a critical component, the criticism is generally directed
at the quality of the work, rather than at its value in answering
a particular question or buttressing an argument In short, a
literature review usually has a thesis or statement of purpose,
stated or implied, at its core.
 Who can help?

 Staff and students in your area can be good sources of ideas

about where to look for relevant literature. They may already
have copies of articles that you can work with.
 Each department or school has assigned to it a
specialist Information Librarian. You can find the contact
details for the Information
Over to Rabia Malik
 Structure of a literature review:

 Chronologically
 By theme
 By sector
 By development of ideas
 Using tables:

 As well as using tables to display numerical data, tables can be

useful within a literature review when you are comparing other
kinds of material. For example, you could use a table to
display the key differences between two or more.
Importance of literature review:

 It describes how the proposed research is related to prior

research in statistics.
 It shows the originality and relevance of your research
problem. Specifically your research is different from other
statisticians.
 It justifies your proposed methodology
 It demonstrates your preparedness to complete the research.
Over to Umama Arshad
 When to review the literature?

 An early review is needed to establish the context and rationale for your
study and to confirm your choice of research focus/question.

 As the study period gets longer, you need to make sure that you keep in
touch with current, relevant research in your field, which is published
during the period of your research.

 As you prepare your final report or thesis, you need to relate your findings
to the findings of others, and to identify their implications for theory,
practice, and research. This can involve further review with perhaps a
slightly different focus from that of your initial review.
Your literature review in context

 Your thesis must form a coherent whole

 Your literature review should be clearly linked to:
 Your justification for carrying out the study
 Your aims and objectives
 Your choice of research design
 The methods used to collect data
 Your discussion of the results
 Your conclusions and recommendations
Questions to ask yourself when writing up :

What are the

key theories,
concepts and
ideas? What are the
epistemologica
What are the l and
key sources? ontological
grounds for the
discipline?

How have
What are the
What are the
Literature main questions
approaches to these
major issues
and debates
search and and problems questions increased
review on your that have been
about the
topic addressed to our understanding
topic?
date? and knowledge?

How is
What are the knowledge on
political the topic
standpoints? structured and
What are the organised?
origins and
definitions of
the topic?
The end.