Writing a Good Literature Review

The review of the literature is defined as a broad, comprehensive, in-depth, systematic, and critical review of scholarly publications, unpublished scholarly print materials, audiovisual materials, and personal communications
2

 The review of the literature is traditionally considered a systematic and critical review of the most important published scholarly literature on a particular topic. Scholarly literature refer to published and unpublished data based literature and conceptual literature materials found in print and non print forms Data based literature reports of completed research Conceptual research reports of theories, concepts
3

Structure of literature review

Introduction
Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.

Body
Contains your discussion of sources.

Conclusions/Recommendations
Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed?

Organization of literature review

A general organization looks like a funnel
Broader topics Subtopics Studies like yours

Purposes of Literature Review

The overall purpose of literature review is to discover knowledge Research purposes of literature review: 1. Determines an appropriate research design/method (instruments, data collection and analysis methods) for answering the research question 2. Determines the need for replication of a well designed study or refinement of a study
6

Steps of Searching the Literature

Determine concept/issue/topic/problem
Conduct computer (and/or hand) search Weed out irrelevant sources before printing Organize sources from printout for retrieval

Retrieve relevant sources

Conduct preliminary reading and weed out irrelevant sources

Critically read each source (summarize & critique each source)

Synthesize critical summaries

The Use of Literature Review in Quantitative Research

Design and method

The literature review reveals strengths and weaknesses of designs and methods of previous research studies
Outcome of the analysis (findings, implications, and recommendations)

The literature review is used to discuss the results or findings of a study. The discussion relates the studys findings to what was or was not found in the review of literature

The Use of Literature Review in Quantitative Research

Theoretical framework The literature defines concepts and terms in relation to the study Problem statement and hypotheses The literature review helps to determine what is known and not known; to uncover gaps, consistencies, or inconsistencies, and/or to reveal unanswered questions about a subject, concept or problem The literature review allows for refinement of research problems and questions and/or hypotheses

The following information is an example of good writing in a literature review because

it integrates the research of various authors it shows similarities and differences of ideas it shows wide reading it shows analysis and critical evaluation of what the student has read.

This is a good example of an introduction because it has a topic sentence which indicates what will be covered and also tells the reader the specific focus of the literature review in the concluding sentence

A paragraph is a group of connected sentences that develop a single point, argument or idea. Paragraphs need to link to other paragraphs so that the themes, arguments or ideas developed are part of a coherent whole rather than separate bits. A paragraph should include: a main statement / idea that you are putting forward, ie topic sentence evidence from research to support / argue your idea, showing where the writers agree and / or disagree student analysis of the research literature where appropriate summing up and linking to the next idea (paragraph). In the literature review, you will need to show evidence of integrating your readings into each paragraph and analysis of the readings where necessary.

Example analysis of a paragraph

Integration of multiple sources

To develop an integrated argument from multiple sources, you need to link your arguments together. The model below is a guide

Integration of student analysis

It is important to integrate your analysis and interpretation of the literature in your literature review. Read the following paragraph and see how the arguments have been integrated into the paragraph along with student analysis. Analysis is not just student opinion, it needs to be supported by the literature.

Integration of student analysis

Verbs for referencing

To incorporate quotations / references into a literature review, you can use a variety of verbs. These verbs are often used with prepositions, eg that, by, on. It is poor writing to use the same ones all the time, eg says that, states that. Verbs also allow the writer to indicate the degree to which they support the author of the research, eg claims that versus argues that.

The following verbs (and prepositions) can be used to introduce references into your literature review. Please note that they can be used in different tenses
Suggest (that) Recent studies outlined by Leonard et al (1999) suggest that personality and disposition play an equally important role in motivation. Leonard et al (1999) argue that there are three elements of self perception. Mullens (1994) contends that motivation to work well is usually related to job satisfaction. Recent studies outlined by Mullins (1994) suggest that personality and disposition play an equally important role in motivation.

Argue (that)

Contend(s)

Outline

Focus on

The early theories of Maslow and McGregor (Robbins et al, 1998) focused on personal needs and wants as the basis for motivation Eunson (1987, p. 67) defines motivation as 'what is important to you' Reviewing the results of the case study, Taylor (1980) concludes that the theories of job enrichment and employee motivation do work. He further states that there is an increasing importance on the role of autonomy and self regulation of tasks in increasing motivation. Mullins (1994) maintains that job enrichment came from Herzber's two factor theory. Mullins (1994) found that there is an increasing importance on the role of autonomy and self regulation of tasks in improving motivation.

Define(s) Conclude(s) (that) State

Maintains (that) Found (that)

Promote(s)

This promotes the idea that tension and stress are important external sources of motivation, which can be eliminated by completing certain tasks

Use Verbs Strategically

Present tense is used for relating what authors say and for discussing the literature, theoretical concepts, methods, etc. In her article on biodiversity, Jones stipulates that.. In addition, use the present tense when you present your observations on the literature. However, on important question of extinction, Jones remains silent Past tense is used in recounting events, results found, etc. Jones and Green conducted experiments over a ten-year period. They determined that it was not possible to recreate the specimen..

Establish(ed) (by) Asserts (that)

As established by Csikszentmihalyi (Yair 2000, p. 2) 'the more students feel in command of their learning, the more they fulfil their learning potential' Locke's Goal Setting Theory asserts that setting specific goals tends to encourage work motivation (Robbins et al, 1998). Various theories of motivation show employers that there are many factors that influence employees work performance. Hackman and Oldham (1975) claim that people with enriched jobs, and high scores on the Job Diagnostic Survey, experienced more satisfaction and motivation. Mullins (1994) reports on four content theories of motivation Mullins (1994) mentions two common general criticisms of Herzberg's theory Redesigning jobs so that responsibility moved from supervisors to the workers, was an attempt to address the issues of job satisfaction (Mullins, 1994).

Show(s)

Claim(s) (that)

Report(s) Mention(s)

Address

How to organize studies

Chronological
By publication date By trend

Thematic
A structure which considers different themes

Methodological
Focuses on the methods of the researcher, e.g., qualitative versus quantitative approaches
22

Making links between studies

Agreements Similarly, author B points to Likewise, author C makes the case that Author D also makes this point Again, it is possible to see how author E agrees with author D Disagreements However, author B points to On the other hand, author C makes the case that Conversely, Author D argues Nevertheless, what author E suggests

23

Summary table
It is useful to prepare. Such a table provides a quick overview that allows the reviewer to make sense of a large mass of information. The tables could include columns with headings such as
Author type of study Sample Design data collection approach key findings

24

Summary table of literature

Atmospherics in service environments

Citation Colour
Bellizzi, Crowley and Hasty (1983)

Sample

Environment

Method

Conclusions

125 Adults

Furniture store

Laboratory experiment Photographic slide simulations Laboratory experiments Photographic slide simulations

Warm and cool colours created different emotional responses. Customers view red retail environments as more negative and unpleasant than blue.

Bellizzi, & Hite (1992)

70 Adult women 107 Students

Televisions shown with different colour backgrounds Furniture stores

Study based on PAD affect measures and approachavoidance behaviours. More positive retail outcomes occurred in blue environments than red.

Music
Smith and (1966) Curnow 1100 Supermarket shoppers 216 Shoppers Retail store Field experiment Field experiment Time in store reduced with loud music but level of sales did not. The tempo of background music influenced the pace at which customers shopped. Slow tempo music slowed customers down but resulted in increased volume of sales.

Milliman (1982)

Supermarket

Hui, Dub and Chebat (1997)

116 Students

Bank branch - waiting for service.

Laboratory experiment Video simulation

The positive impact of music on approach behaviours is mediated by an emotional evaluation of the environment and the emotional response to waiting. Pleasurable music produced longer perceived waiting times.

Lighting
Areni and Kim (1994) 171 Shoppers Wine store Field experiment Field experiment The investigation found that brighter in-store lighting influenced shoppers to examine and handle more of the merchandise in the store Confirmed Areni and Kims (1994) results. Increased levels of lighting will produce arousal and pleasure and increase the approach behaviours of customers.

Summers and Hebert (2001)

2367 Customers

Hardware store Apparel store

25

Citation styles
Information prominent citation Example:
For viscoelastic fluids, the behaviour of the time-dependent stresses in the transient shear flows is also very important (Boger et al., 1974).

Author prominent citation Examples:

Close (1983) developed a simplified theory using an analogy between heat and mass transfer and the equivalent heat transfer only case. Several authors have suggested that automated testing should be more readily accepted (Balcer, 1989; Stahl, 1989; Carver & Tai, 1991).
26

Active or passive voice

You should use, where appropriate, both active and passive voice As a general rule, use active voice unless there is good reason not to

27

Reporting verbs
Argue Assert Assume Challenge Claim Contend Contradict Describe Dispute Emphasize Establish Examine Find Maintain Note Object Observe Persuade Propose Prove Purport Recommend Refute Reject Remark Suggest Support
28

Verb tenses Present

A statement about what the thesis, chapter or section does
Examples: This thesis presents a report of an investigation into . This chapter thus provides a basis for the next. In this section, the results from the first set of experiments are reported.

A statement of a generally accepted scientific fact

Examples: There are three factors that control the concentration of aluminum in seawater. The finite rate coefficients have an effect on heat transfer through a horizontal porous layer.
29

Verb tenses Present

A review of current research work, or research work of immediate relevance to your study.
Example: Schulze (2002) concludes that hydraulic rate has a significant effect on future performance.

Comments, explanations and evaluative statements made by you when you are reviewing previous studies.
Examples: Therefore, this sequential approach is impractical in the real world where projects are typically large and the activities from one stage may be carried out in parallel with the activities of another stage. The reason for this anomalous result is that the tests were done at low hydraulic rates at which the plastic packing was not completely wetted.
30

Verb tenses Past

Report the contents, findings or conclusions of past research
Examples: Haberfield (1998) showed that the velocity of many enzyme reactions was slowed down if the end product had an increased paramagnetism. Allington (1999) found that the temperatures varied significantly over time.

31

Verb tenses Present perfect

In citations where the focus is on the research area of several authors
Examples: Several studies have provided support for the suggestion that the amount of phonological recoding that is carried out depends on orthographic depth (Frost, 1994; Smart et al, 1997; Katz & Feldman, 2001, 2002). Joint roughness has been characterized by a number of authors (Renger, 1990; Feker & Rengers, 1997; Wu & Ali, 2000).

To generalize about the extent of the previous research

Examples: Many studies have been conducted in this field. Few researchers have examined this technique. There has been extensive research into.........
32

The Writing Process

Rough Draft Final Draft Edit Edit Again

33

Show others
Have someone else look at your literature review for Clarity
Can they understand what youre trying say?

Flow
Does the organization make sense?

Completeness
Are there areas left out? Questions left unanswered? Statements without citations?
34

A Good Literature Review is:

Focused - The topic should be narrow. You should only present ideas and only report on studies that are closely related to topic. Concise - Ideas should be presented economically. Dont take any more space than you need to present your ideas. Logical - The flow within and among paragraphs should be a smooth, logical progression from one idea to the next Developed - Dont leave the story half told. Integrative - Your paper should stress how the ideas in the studies are related. Focus on the big picture. What commonality do all the studies share? How are some studies different than others? Your paper should stress how all the studies reviewed contribute to your topic. Current - Your review should focus on work being done on the cutting edge of your topic.
35

Pitfalls
Vagueness due to too much or inappropriate generalizations Limited range Insufficient information Irrelevant material Omission of contrasting view Omission of recent work
36

Common errors in reviewing literature

Hurrying through review to get started could mean that you will miss something that will improve your research. Relying too heavily upon secondary sources. Concentrating on findings rather than methods. Overlooking sources other than academic journals. Dont forget newspaper articles, magazines, blogs, etc. Searching too broad or too narrow of a topic. Inaccuracy in the compiling of bibliographic information.
37