Practical Research 2

MODULE 2: Learning from Others and Reviewing the Literature

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of the module, you should have:
written coherent review of literature using APA format;
constructed conceptual framework;
formulated the hypothesis of the study; and
written the definition of terms.

INTRODUCTION
In this module, you are going to inquire about information from other sources that might
give you an idea or guide you to find answers to your problems or queries. The review of relevant
literature is a major part of the research activity.
The main reason why you need to review literature is for you to establish knowledge or
idea about your research topic. This activity is not only searching references such as books or
journals from the library or internet but also searching references that will enrich your knowledge
and will guide you in solving problems. The purpose of this module is for you to review information
related to your research topic.

Lesson 1 S ELECTING RELEVANT LITERATURE

ACTIVITY 2.1
Directions: Explain the term the way you understood them in relation to research. (NR x 5)
1. Related Literature

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2. Review of Related Literature

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3. Primary Sources

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4. Secondary Sources
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5. General references
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Selecting Relevant Literature

One of the skills you need to develop in order to become a successful researcher is the
ability to review and report relevant literature. A literature review is a survey of everything that
has been done about a particular topic, theory, or research question. It may provide the background
for larger work, or it may stand on its own.

Literature Review
Literature review or review of related literature is a synthesis of different published articles
relevant to the researcher’s main topic which requires proper citation as credits to the source of
ideas that they contain. If one fails to cite sources, the paper losses its credibility.

A. Purposes of Review of Related Literature

1. To improve your knowledge and understanding of your topic

2. To determine what each source contributes to the topic
3. To integrate and summarize what is known in a particular topic
4. To understand the relationship between various contributions, identify and resolve
contradictions, and determine gaps or unanswered questions
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B. How to Evaluate Literature

1. Examine the title. The title should indicate the nature of research without describing the results.
An example of a good title is “Parental Involvement in Schooling and Reduced Discipline
Problems among Junior High School Students in NCR”.
2. Read the abstract. A good abstract provides you the purpose of the study, the methods used and
its major findings.
3. Read the literature. Start by scanning the whole material and read the conclusion. This will give a
picture of what the literature is all about.

In writing a good literature review, you must be selective that you only include the most
relevant literatures, and be comprehensive that you include studies that are highly relevant and
not to omit important ones.

C. Sources of Literatures

1. General references- sources that are first accessed by researchers to give them information about
other sources. Examples: books, monographs, conference proceedings.
2. Primary sources- sources that provide first-hand information about experts’ and other
researchers’ publication. Examples: interviews, observations
3. Secondary sources- sources that are written by authors to describe another researcher’s works.
Examples: textbooks, academic and research journals
4. Tertiary sources- books and articles based on secondary sources.

Lesson 2 C ITING RELATED LITERATURE USING STANDARD STYLES

All the relevant literatures that you have reviewed offer you concepts and ideas belonging
to other people. To give respect to the owners of those varied forms of knowledge, you must
acknowledge them through proper citation. Proper citation and referencing standards is a
requirement for all written research projects.

A. Purposes of Citation
1. To give importance and respect to other people for what they know about the field
2. To give the authority, validity, and credibility to other people’s claims, conclusions, and
arguments
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3. To prove your broad and extensive reading of authentic and relevant materials about your
topic
4. To help readers find or contact the sources of ideas easily
5. To permit readers to check the accuracy of your work
6. To save yourself from plagiarism

B. Citation Styles
There are three common citation styles used in academic research: (1) American
Psychological Association (APA), (2) Modern Language Association (MLA), and (3) Chicago Manual
of Style. However, in this lesson, we will only discuss the APA style which we intend to use in our
research paper.

Additional Reading: The APA format 2017 version.pdf

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Lesson 3 S YNTHESIZING INFORMATION FROM RELEVANT LITERATURE

Writing the review of related literature does not only end to selecting relevant literature
and proper citation, but also requires you to combine or synthesize important ideas and findings
from the reviewed literature to provide your reader a better understanding about your topic. To
synthesis is to make conclusions about your findings in related literature reviewed so that you will
know how your references helped you address your research questions. This section discusses the
types and techniques in writing a synthesis.

What is a synthesis?
Synthesis is the combining of literatures from different sources to create a structured review
of related literature. All the ideas gathered will be presented, organized and summarized in the
syntheses. When synthesizing, your ability to infer relationships like comparing characteristics of
one object to another will be helpful.

A. Type of Syntheses

1. Explanatory synthesis. Using this type of synthesis will only require you to present facts in an
objective manner. Presenting descriptions and sequence of events will help in your explanation.
In the explanatory synthesis, you explain the similarities and differences between two texts
that cover the same topic. You must write this essay objectively; you cannot show favoritism
toward one text over the other, nor can you express your own opinions or judgments. You must
remain neutral (walton.uark.edu).
A. Combine your paraphrase of the source texts’ theses with the names of the articles and
their authors.

Mary Bates argues against censorship in “Banning Censorship,” while Michael Thorpe
counters that censorship is an important resource in “Censorship: A Necessary Evil.”

B. Present your essay map, which identifies the similarities and differences between the two
texts and the order in which you will discuss them.

Bates and Thorpe agree that a world without censorship would be ideal, but they
disagree on two fronts: first, whether it is ethical, and second, whether it is practical.
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2. Argument synthesis. This type of synthesis is used when you want to present your point of view.
This can be supported by presenting facts in a logical manner.

B. Categories of Sources

Fraenkel (2015) as cited by Prieto et al. (2017), enumerated the categories of sources from
where you culled data and information in the literature review:
1. Documents. These references maybe published or unpublished references, original works
or copies and other written or printed materials such as books, reports, etc.
2. Numerical Records. These include test scores, census reports, school budget and attendance
figures.
3. Oral Statements. These include stories, myths, legends, chants, songs, etc. These materials
leave a record for future generations.
4. Relics. These are formal types of historical sources such as furniture artwork, clothing,
building, and equipment.

How to write a synthesis?

The following are ways to write a synthesis (Prieto et al. 2017)

1. Consider your purpose in writing
2. Select and read carefully your sources according to your purpose.
3. Formulate a thesis.
4. Decide how you will use source
5. Develop an organizational plan according to your thesis
6. Write the first draft of synthesis
7. Revise your synthesis

C. Techniques for writing a synthesis

1. Summary- Write all the relevant information and sources.

2. Example or illustration- Include examples and illustration in your synthesis. It will help
you in your explanation.
3. Two (or more) reasons- Simply state your thesis, and give reasons why it is true.
4. Comparison and contrast- It is effective method when you want to highlight the
similarities and differences.
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ACTIVITY 2.2
Directions: Please check all words in the list below which can be a possible source of literature
review. Note: Right minus wrong

_____ Textbooks _____ Dreams

_____ Intelligence _____ Books
_____ Diaries _____ Ghost
_____ Circulars _____ Mental pictures
_____ Communities _____ Journals
_____ Buildings _____ Census reports
_____ Artworks _____ Songs
_____ Guardian Angel

Lesson 4 W RITING COHERENT REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Let’s Practice!
It was cool Monday morning when Liza got from bed and in a hurry to prepare herself in
going to school when suddenly she remembered that her teacher in Practical Research 2 gave them
assignment of which she forgot to do. Do you know what her assignment was? In her mind, she
wanted to ask from somebody about synthesizing information from related literature. Can you help
her? If so, then congratulate yourself for you have done a good job! Jot down here below how to
synthesize information of related literature.
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Mona was sad one early morning upon hearing the request of her grandmother which was
not the same with what she told her an hour ago. She got confused which one is to be followed. As
obedient as she was to her grandmother, she told herself that she must follow all the requests
considering that her grandmother is now suffering Alzheimer. She said that if only her grandmother
is not that old, she would be giving her command as direct and consistent as before.
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Basically, that is what you need to do in writing coherent review of literature. You must
observe consistency in your presentation. Read the statement that follows to give you an idea of
how you will write your Review of literature coherently.
Let us first look at this; coherence directs to a well- organized and unified piece of writing. It
also holds how the manuscript is put together in a uniform manner where thoughts are connected
consistently.

Coherent review includes the following:

1. Review APA Guidelines/Chicago Guidelines

2. Decide on a topic
3. Identify the literature that you will review
4. Analyze the literature
5. Summarize the literature in table or concept map format
6. Synthesize the literature prior to writing the review
7. Writing the review (Galvan, 2006, 81 – 90)

What are research ethics?

According to Clemente et al. (2016), ethics can be defined as the process of applying moral
standards and principles in any undertaking. This lesson focuses on the review of related literature
following the ethical standards in writing and your research as a whole. It includes honesty and
other ethical principles in research.

Plagiarism refers to act of using ideas and information created by other people, but
without attribution to them (Barrot, 2017). It is the most common form of scientific misconduct
that can damage one’s credibility if one fails to cite a source.

A. Various Forms of Plagiarism

There are many forms of plagiarism, which may vary in different institutions. The following
are the most common types of plagiarism recognized by Torneo and Torneo (2017):

Cut and Paste

It is the most common form of plagiarism that involves copying the text word-per-word
without recognizing the source.

Mosaic Plagiarism
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Involves in copying text from another source and changing several words, while
maintaining the original structure of the sentence.

Misattribution Plagiarism
It is another form of plagiarism that involves attributing an excerpt, quote or an idea to the
wrong author, or the incorrect source – or worse, a nonexistent source.

Self-Plagiarism
It is another way of scientific dishonesty that is committed in two instances, duplication and
replication. Duplication is done when the researcher copied the contents of his/her own work from
the previous research without proper attribution. Replication on the other hand is another serious
act for which the researcher submits ones work multiple times.

Fabrication
It is another area of scientific dishonesty that involves in “making up data” and claiming this
as fact.

Falsification
A scientific dishonesty committed when the researcher produce and manipulates the data of
other researchers.
Having laid down all types of plagiarism, you as a researcher is expected to follow the rules
and proper usage and citation of sources. Any deviation from the protocols or failure to follow rules
may result to scientific dishonesty. However, all this scientific dishonesty can be avoided if you will
paraphrase and summarize the sources carefully and acknowledge them in your paper.

Let’s consider this!

Direction: Do what is being required.

1. What are the other areas of scientific dishonesty?
a. __________________________
b. __________________________

2. How can you avoid plagiarism in writing a scientific paper?

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3. Give at least five (5) examples of plagiarism and provide an example in each of the form. Write
your answer on the boxes provided.

Copying text from another souce and changing

Attributing an excerpt, qoute or an idea to the wrong author incorrect source or worst a
nonexistence ource
Involves in “making up data” and claiming this as a fact
A scientific dishonesty committed when the researcher prodce and manipulates the data

Lesson 5 FORMULATING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

What is a conceptual framework? Why do we need such concepts in research? How to
prepare one? This lesson explains the meaning of a conceptual framework. A simplified example is
added to support the reader’s understanding.
Several theories and concepts that may support your study may encounter as you look for a
related literature for your topic. This conceptual framework will serve as a “backbone” that will
direct you to the whole research activity.
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Conceptual framework as defined by Barrot (2017) it refers to a system of ideas, beliefs,

assumptions and theories that inform, supports and cater specifically to your study. It guides the
planning, development, and implementation of the research study that you choose.

Different ways of presenting conceptual framework

There are different ways of presenting a conceptual framework as organized by Torneo and
Torneo (2017). One can decide to do the following:

1. Diagram
This visual diagram will show the interconnections and relationships among the variables
and the different elements of your study. Accordingly, it’s the most preferred way by the
researchers since it is easier for the readers to visualize the ideas that they are discussing in their
research.
There are many designs used in formulating a conceptual framework, but most of the
researchers have their own design and utilized in their study. Here are some examples of the simple
conceptual framework.

The example of conceptual framework presents a series of concepts and ideas and direct
outlook of a design research project.
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2. Narrative Discussion

Another way of presenting a conceptual framework is a narrative discussion in which, you

reiterate the general assumption of your study, grounded from a theory – then proceed to
discussing the specific relationships assumed to be observed in the study.

Example:

Assumptions of social capital, primarily based on the interpretations of Putnam (1994;

2001) and Fukuyama (2011) and theories of participatory development, stresses the role of
civil society participation to improve development outcomes. This study, examining
countries from the Southeast Asia, hypothesizes that CSO consultation and CSO repression
impacts income and education inequality. CSO consultation is expected to be negatively
correlated to both income and education inequality, while CSO repression is seen as a
contributing factor to the persistence and increase in income and education inequality.

3. Sets of Propositions
This conceptual framework involves a series of hypotheses that makes use of various
measurements and assumes varying directions of the relationship among variables.

Example:

Hypothesis: Increases in government investments in education and health will:

1. Positively and significantly affect average family income.
2. Positively and significantly affect productivity.
3. Negatively and significantly affect poverty incidence.
4. Negatively and significantly affect unemployment rate.

4. Mathematical Equation or Model

This form of the conceptual framework is common to the researches that require
computations or are highly mathematical in nature.

Example:
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Equation 1. Basic Gravity Model of Migration

based on Ravenstein’s (1895, 1898) Laws of Migration
The equation sees migration as a function of population and distance and some constant K.
Mij is the number of migrants moving from place i, Pj is the population of place j, and Dij is the
distance between place i and j (Torneo, 2014).

ACTIVITY 2.3
Directions: Create a conceptual framework using the variables inside the box and write the
appropriate words in the boxes below.

Age Work Family Relationship

Place of residence Teacher Factor Peer Pressure
Family income Grandparent presence Province
School age

Teacher Factor
Age
School Age

Family Relationship

Family Income
Work
Place of Residence
Peer presure
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Lesson 6 DEFINING TERMS USED IN THE STUDY

In the previous lesson, you have learned the meaning of a conceptual framework. It
illustrated how to simplify and frame a concept to support the reader’s understanding. In
connection to the new lesson, you will be able to learn the proper way of defining appropriate
terms needed in the research paper.

Let’s try listing the terms first.

Directions: Write in the column provided the words needed to be defined in each research title.

RESEARCH TITLES LIST OF TERMS

Effects of Traffic Towards the Academic

Effects, Academic, Performance
Performance of Students
Social Media Marketing Techniques for Local Social Media, Techniques, Local Grocery
Grocery Store Owners stores
School Canteen Quality and Student
School, Quality, Satisfaction
Satisfaction

Definition of terms in research usually served as an annex to a work (book, research paper,
and etc.) This is an important part of a research paper or any report in which the key or important
terms in the study are clearly defined. In modern usage, a definition is something, typically
expressed in words that are attached to a meaning of a word or group of words.

Guidelines in Listing Definition of Terms

1. Keep the definition brief and basic.
2. Avoid using passive phrases when defining your term.
3. Do not repeat part of the defined term in your definition.
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Lesson 7 LISTING RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

In previous lesson, you have learned to list key terms appropriate to the study and to clearly
define the terms. In connection to the new lesson, you will be able to learn listing research
hypotheses that might be useful to your study.

ACTIVITY 2.4

Direction: Write in the column provided the possible assumption or prediction of the relationship
between the dependent and independent variables.

RESEARCH TITLES HYPOTHESES

The learning and intellectual capacity of a

students will:

Positively and significally affect the amusement

of students

Effects of Procrastination Towards the Positively and significantly effecy emotional

Academic Performance of Students and mentla aspects such as mental health

Negatively and significantly affect the outcomes

of the students

Negatively and significally afffect our

personality on how you manage your time
Social Media Marketing Techniques for The possible outcomes will:
Local Grocery Store Owners
Positively and significally affect the influence of
their business

Positively and signiicantly affect the chances of

promoting thei certain products

Negatively and significantly affect the online

freud

Negatively and significantly affect the real or

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legitimate feedback of a costumer

The possible outcomes will:

Posotively and significantly affect the

understanding of a student

Positivly nad significantly affect on how

Instructional Materials Quality and
students internalized and reflect the topics
Student Satisfaction
Negatvely and significantly affect as a taken for
ranted with mediocre works

Negatively and significantly affect

inappropriate use if instructional materials

In this lesson, you are taught that hypothesis is something more than a wild guess but less
than a well-established theory. It is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or
more variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what you expected to happen in a study.
Below are the guidelines in listing hypotheses if you are doing a scientific research.

Guidelines in Listing Hypotheses (only applicable in scientific research)

1. Let the question comes first.

2. Write your hypothesis in a statement form, not a question.
3. Make it clear.
4. Keep the variables in mind.
5. Make sure your hypothesis is "testable."

Assessment/Task
Directions: Fill in the spaces below with parts of a research of your chosen topic. You must apply
the guidelines you learned in the lessons in writing it. Each group shall present their
research output in one of our online sessions.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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Related Literature and Studies

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Conceptual Framework of the Study

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Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

Statement of Hypothesis

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Definition of Terms

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References
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