Topic 2

Why literature review?

* To demonstrate researchers awareness
of the current state of knowledge;
* To show how present study fits in the
wider context of research area;
* To provide foundation to build research
on;
* To identify theories & ideas that researcher
test using data;
* To gain an insight into research
approaches, strategies and techniques;
* To help researcher to refer whether his/her
research findings are in line with the
available literature or are in contrast to
those;
* To identify other research that may be in
progress;
* To avoid simply repeating work that has
already been done;
* To help avoid chances of plagiarism;
* To highlight research possibilities that
have been overlooked.
The literature review process
 Planning and conducting literature
search
1. Define the parameters of the research, which are:
a. Language of publication (for example English)
b. Subject area (for example accountancy)
c. Business sector (for example manufacturing)
d. Geographical area (for example Asia)
e. Publication period (for example the last 10 years)
f. Literature type (for example refereed journals
c. Generate key words and search terms
i. Key words or search terms help describe research
question(s) and objectives

ii. Using Relevance Tree can prove a good tool in

generating key words;

iii. Key words are used to search the tertiary literature

d. Discuss ideas/research topic with others/your team

members as widely as possible
 Obtaining and evaluating the
literature
Define the scope of your review

Assess relevance and value

Assess sufficiency
Referencing the references
(APA STYLE)
TABLE
 Writing the review - 1
Basically, any approach that works for
YOU is appropriate; one possible
procedure follows

1. Arrange your notes in a logical order. If you are

having difficulty seeing an order, look for clues
in the sequence of your ideas or try concept
mapping the topic.

2. Identify the main ideas - sorting your notes to fit

under the headings.
 Develop a table of contents, that can then
be fleshed out with descriptive bullet-points
(annotated table of contents). By
subjecting an annotated table of contents
(or outline) to review, a novice researcher
can receive a self leading advice on
contents and structure of the planned
literature review.

Example follows(next slide)

 Example: a step-by-step, hierarchical list of
the points you plan to cover, e.g.,
1st main idea
1st supporting point
evidence, argument, or example
evidence, argument, or example
evidence, argument, or example
2nd supporting point
evidence, argument, or example
evidence, argument, or example
evidence, argument, or example
2nd main idea, etc
 Try to avoid long lists of supporting points;
combine into related ideas.
If you can't decide where to put something,
put it in two or more places in the outline.
As you write, you can decide which place is
the most appropriate.
Now you are ready to write your review.
Introduce the topic and give a brief
statement of the main ideas.
 Write some plausible synthesis or analysis for
these ideas using headings according to the step-
by-step hierarchical list and guide the reader
through the material.
If the literature review is part of a research project,
stop at the end of each topic, to mention the main
relevant ideas and how they fit together relating to
your research.
Leave it, then reread, edit and revise what you have
written, to make sure that it makes sense and
'flows' in a way that the reader will understand
what you are tying to convey.
How to organize the literature review?
Chronological order
By publication date
By trend

Thematic order
A structure which considers different
themes

Methodological order
Focuses on the methods/methodology
adopted, e.g., qualitative versus
quantitative approaches

16