REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE  are sources that are first accessed by researchers to give them information

 A good research is designed to build on and use existing knowledge. about other sources such as research articles, professional Current Index of
Journals in Education is an example of this source.
Characteristics Of Related Literature Materials 2. Primary Sources
 The surveyed materials must be as recent as possible  are those that provide first-hand information about experts’ and other
 Materials reviewed must be objective and unbiased researchers’ publications. These publications contain findings that are directly
 Materials surveyed must be relevant to the study communicated to the readers and interested parties. Authors’ information for
 Surveyed materials must have been based upon genuinely original and true facts future correspondences may also be found in these publications. Examples of
or data to make them valid and reliable. this kind include academic and research journals published by universities and
learned organizations.
WHAT IS LITERATURE REVIEW? 3. Secondary Sources
 A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area,  Are those written by authors that describe another researcher’s works. These
and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time materials or documents may contain only summaries or interpretations of the
period. research reports than a complete description of them. Good secondary sources
 A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually are articles on meta-analysis of studies conducted in a period of time because
has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. they can provide research gaps and overstudied areas of a research field.
Secondary sources include textbooks, single-authored books, and books edited
A ‘good’ literature review by different authors with each contributing to a collection of chapters on a single
 is a synthesis of available research topic.
 is a critical evaluation 4. Tertiary Sources
 has appropriate breadth and depth  Are books and articles based on secondary sources. It synthesizes and explains
 has clarity and conciseness the work of others.
 uses rigorous and consistent methods
A ‘poor’ literature review is Note:
 an annotated bibliography  Related L is surveyed for theories and concepts that can be used as bases of
 confined to description the present research.
 narrow and shallow  A theory is defined as a statement and concept that can be used as bases of
 confusing and longwinded the present research.
 constructed in an arbitrary way  Concept is a particular phenomenon that can be both abstract and concrete.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF RELATED LITERATURE STEPS IN WRITING THE REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
 It provides information about present past research studies related to the 1. Introduction
intended investigation, preventing the duplication of research undertakings.  Discusses briefly the research problem and the signficance of the study. It may
 It presents gaps in the field of study. Gaps may either be areas in the body of also present the organization of the discussion of the claims and arguments of
knowledge that are not explored yet or parts where research studies yielded experts and researchers aligned with the topic of interest.
inconclusive results. 2. Body
 It affords confidence and authority to the researches since reviewing the  Contains a narrative of relevant ideas and findings found in the reports of
literature can provide them all possible constructs and perspectives of the researchers that support the present research problem.
present study.  Organized to form a story that will help the conduct of the research and the
 It gives information about the methods used in similar studies, including the analysis and interpretation of data gathered in the research process.
characteristics of the samples, the sampling techniques or the process of  A topic outline may be used in organizing and writing the body of the literature
selecting the research participants, the variables considered, the kinds of data review
gathered, and the type of analysis and interpretation done on the collected 3. Synthesis
data.  Ties together the main ideas revealed in the review of related literature.
 It enumerates findings from previous studies that may support those of the  Presents an overall picture of what was established up to the present .
present study.  A topic outline may be used in organizing and writing the body of the literature
 It provides ideas on how implications may be drawn out of the analysis and review established up to the present and perhaps how the review can support
interpretation of data. the development and conduct of the research.
 It explains why the review is relevant and helpful to the present research.
TYPES OF SOURCES FOR RELATED LITERATURE 4. Bibliography
1. General references  Contains the full bibliographic information of all the sources mentioned in the
review. This information list is needed in building the References section of the
 research report. The format of the bibliographic entries in the references D. Evaluative reading of papers
depends on the writing style adopted in writing the report E. Comparison across studies
F. Organizing the content
ORGANIZATION G. Writing the review
 RL is not a list of article summaries.
 Flowing, well-structured narrative (from research variablesquestions be KEY UNDERSTANDING
answered)  The review of related literature helps the researchers learn what other
 How do the different authors define and use concept? researchers have written or published about a certain topic.
 Do the authors have the same or different argument on the concept?
 Can you group the authors by disagreeable opinions concerning the WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW?
concept?  Organizing the body NOnce you have the basic categories in place, then you
 show a clear description of how these authors use the given concept must consider how you will present the sources themselves within the body of
 Determine what will be the order these key word narratives should take in the your paper. Create an organizational method to focus this section even further.
related literature portion.  To help you come up with an overall organizational framework for your review,
consider the six typical ways of organizing the sources into a review:
THREE MAJOR APPROACHES IN ORGANIZATION  Chronological
1. Chronological  By publication
 development qualitative studies ( topics are arranged for a usual timeline of  By trend
development, clusters are time-sensitive and show a change in thinking over  Thematic
time.)  Methodological
2. Conceptual  Questions for Further Research
 Qualitative and quantitative studies ( study set in clear and interrelated concepts)
 Organization of the review is by claims and arguments, forming a small body of
knowledge that supports the present research.
3. Stated Hypothesis
 applicable if there are several hypotheses in a given study, stated hypotheses
form a natural way to order key word clusters.
 Topics are listed based on each hypothesis made in the research and the
discussion is done according to this topic listing.

Final checklist
 Have I fulfilled the purpose of the literature review?
 Is it written at a level appropriate to its audience?
 Are its facts correct? NIs all the information included relevant?
 Are the layout and presentation easy on the eye?
 Is the language clear, concise and academic?
 Does the abstract summarize the entire review?
 Does the introduction adequately introduce the topic?
 Is the body organized logically?
 Does the conclusion interpret, analyze and evaluate?
 Are the recommendations reasonable?
 Does the table of contents correspond with the actual contents? Are page
numbers correct?
 Have I acknowledged all sources of information through correct referencing?
 Have I checked spelling, grammar and punctuation?
 Have I carefully proof-read the final draft?

The whole process of reviewing includes: