REVIEW OF

LITERATURE
 INTRODUCTION
It is the most important step in the
research process. It is an account of
what is already known about a particular
phenomena. Researcher should start
reviewing the literature from the first
stage of research itself.
 MEANING
A literature review is a description and
analysis of the literature relevant to a
particular field or topic. It gives an
overview of what has been said, who the
key writers are, what are the prevailing
theories and hypothesis, what questions
are being asked and what
methodologies are appropriate and
useful.
 DEFINITION
 A literature review is a body of text that
aims to review the critical points of
knowledge on a particular topic of
research.
 Literature review is defined as a
broad, comprehensive in depth,
systematic and critical review of
scholarly publication, unpublished
printed or audiovisual materials and
personal communications.
- Sharma SK.
 IMPORTANCE
Literature review helps in,
 Identification of research problem and
development or refinement of research
questions.
 Generation of useful research questions or
projects or activities for the discipline.
 Determination of any gaps or inconsistencies in
a body of knowledge.
 Orientation to what is known or not known
about an area of inquiry to ascertain what
research can best contribute to knowledge.
 Discovery of unanswered questions about
subjects, concepts or problems.
 Identification of relevant theoretical or
conceptual framework for research
problems.
 Determination of a need to replicate a
prior study in different study setting or
different samples or sizes or different
study populations.
 Identification or development of new or
refined clinical intervention to test through
empirical research.
 Development of research instruments.
 Description of strengths and weaknesses
of designs / methods of inquiry and
instruments used in earlier research works.
 Development of hypothesis to be tested in
a research study.
 Helps in planning the methodology of the
present study.
 Identification of suitable design and data
collection methods for a research study.
 Assistance in interpreting study findings
and in developing implications and
recommendations.
 PURPOSES
 Place each in the context of its contribution
to the understanding of its contribution to
the understanding of subjects under review.
 Describe the relationship of each study to
other research studies under consideration.
 Identify new ways to interpret and shed light
on any gaps in previous research.
 Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly
contradictory previous studies.
 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent
duplication of effort.
 Point a way forward for further research.
 See what has and what has not been
investigated.
 Learn how others have defined and
measured key concepts.
 Develop alternative research projects.
 Develop general explanation for
observed variations in a behaviour or
phenomenon.
 Identify potential relationship between
concepts and to identify researchable
hypothesis.
 Identify data sources that others have
used.
 Discover how a research project is
related to the work of others.
 Place one’s original work in context of
the existing literature.
 SOURCES
1. Primary sources :- Description of
studies written by the researchers who
conducted them.

2. Secondary sources :- Description of

studies prepared by someone other
than the original researcher.
 Electronic sources :-
 CINAHL - (Cumulative Index to Nursing and
Allied Health Literature).
 MEDLINE - (Medical Literature Analysis
and Retrieved System Online).
 PubMed.
 Medline Plus.
 Registry of Nursing Research
 Cochrane Database of System
Reviews.
 ERIC.
 PsycINFO.
 Dissertation abstracts online.
 Online journals.
 Printed sources :-
 Journals.
 Research reports.
 Unpublished dissertations and theses.
 Magazines and newspapers.
 Conference papers and proceedings.
 Encyclopedias and dictionaries.
 Books.
 QUESTIONS
1) Define review of literature.
2) Explain the importance of review of
literature.
3) Describe the purposes of review of
literature.
4) Explain briefly the sources of review of
literature.