Objectives

Upon completion of this lecture, the students should be able to:

• Define of literature review.

• Identify purposes of literature review.

• Explain importance of literature review.

• Discuss Sources of literature review.

• Discuss guide lines before writing the literature review.

• Explain strategies for writing the literature review.

Definition
It is a systematic identification, location, strong analysis, and
summary of written materials that contain information on the
research problem.
Purposes of literature review
1- To identify the research ideas
2- Formulate appropriate research problem
3- To be oriented to what is already known
4- Help assure that the study include all of the major relevant
constructs.
5- To assess the feasibility of the research
Purposes of literature review
6- Help to find and select appropriate measurement instruments.
7- To give information on research approach
8- help to anticipate common problems in the research context.
(using the prior experiences of other to avoid common traps and
pitfalls).
9- Interpret the findings
Sources of literature review

• Sources of literature include, books, journal articles, reports,

theses, websites, abstracting databases, and conference
proceedings.

• Sources of literature are generally described as primary,

secondary, or tertiary .
Primary sources
• Primary sources research reports, which are descriptions of
studies written by the researchers who conducted them.

• Primary sources are “materials that you are directly writing

about, the raw materials of the research. Examples : data sets,
computer programs, scale models, and drawings.
Secondary sources
• Secondary sources research documents are descriptions of studies
prepared by some one other than the original researcher.

• Secondary sources are “books and articles in which other researchers

report the results of their research based on (their) primary data or
sources.” . Examples include: journals, and books. Journal articles are
often the most current source of information on a topic of study that is
new or subject to rapid change. Lists of references at the end of each
journal article can provide leads to further sources.
Tertiary sources

• Tertiary sources are “books and articles based on secondary

sources, on the research of others”. Tertiary sources explain
the work of others and might be useful early in the research,
but they are generally weak support for your own arguments.
Examples include: encyclopedias, and handbooks.
Encyclopedias are excellent starting points for research. They
can provide general background information to help narrow or
broaden the focus of a topic, and define unfamiliar terms
Major types of research reviews
• A review included in a research report: research reports
published in journals usually include brief literature reviews in their
introductions. These re views are succinct and have two major
goals: to provide readers with a quick overview of the state of
knowledge on the research problem being addressed; and to
document the need for the new study and demonstrate how it will
con tribute to existing evidence.
• These reviews are usually only two to four double-spaced pages,
and therefore only a limited number of references can be cited.
Major types of research reviews

• A review included in a research proposal. Research proposals

designed to persuade funders (or advisors) about the merits of a
proposed study usually include a literature review section. As with
a review in a research report, a review in a proposal provides a
knowledge context and confirms the need for and significance of
new research.

• The length of such reviews may be established in proposal

guidelines, but they are often 5 to 10 pages long.
Major types of research reviews

• A review in a thesis or dissertation. Doctoral dissertations

often include a thorough review covering materials directly
and indirectly related to the problem area. Often, an entire
chapter is devoted to a summary of the literature, and such
chapters are frequently 15 to 25 pages in length.
Major types of research reviews

• Free-standing literature reviews. Increasingly, nurses are

preparing literature reviews that critically appraise and summarize
a body of research on a topic, and such reviews play a powerful role
in the development of an evidence-based practice.

• Researchers who are experts in a field also may do integrative

reviews that are published as journal articles or that contribute to
major evidence-based practice projects.
Guide lines before writing the literature review

1- Clarify the following:

How many sources should include?
What types of sources ? (books, journal articles, websites)?
The ability to identify and locate documents on a research topic is
an important skill that requires adaptability— rapid technological
changes, such as the expanding use of the Internet, are making
manual methods of finding information from print resources
obsolete, and more sophisticated methods of searching the
literature are being introduced continuously.
2- Do the review early in the research process.
It is likely to learn a lot in the literature review that will help in
making the tradeoffs the researcher will need to face.
3- Narrow the topic
There are hundreds or even thousands of articles and books on
most areas of study. The narrower topic, the easier it will be to
limit the number of sources needed to read in order to get a good
survey of the material
4- Find models
Look for other literature reviews in your area of interest or in the
discipline and read them to get a sense of the types of themes you
might want to look for in your own research or ways to organize
your final review. You can simply put the word "review" in your
search engine along with your other topic terms to find articles of
this type on the Internet or in an electronic database. The
bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read
are also excellent entry points into your own research
5- Concentrate the efforts on the scientific literature.
6- Construct a working thesis statement
• You've got a focus, and you've narrowed it down to a thesis statement.
• Now what is the most effective way of presenting the information?
• What are the most important topics, subtopics, etc., that your review
needs to include?
• And in what order should you present them?
Develop an organization for your review at both a global and local
level:
▪ First, cover the basic categories
• Just like most academic papers, literature reviews also must contain at
least three basic elements: an introduction or background information
section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources;
and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the
paper.
▪ The introduction should provide the reader with the scale and structure of
your review. It serves as a kind of map.
▪ The body of the review depends on how you have organized your key points.
Literature reviews at postgraduate level should be evaluative and not merely
descriptive. For example, possible reasons for similarities or differences
between studies are considered rather than a mere identification of them.
▪ The conclusion of the review needs to sum up the main findings of your
research into the literature. The findings can be related to the aims of the
study you are proposing to do. The reader is thus provided with a coherent
background to the current study.
7- Evaluate the sources of information

There are several key areas to consider:

• the Authority of the author and the publisher: Are they well
qualified to speak to the topic at hand?
• the Objectivity of the author
• the Quality of the work
• Coverage of the work
• Currency: How recently was the research done and the work
published?
Steps of literature review

First step: Identify and locating the relevant references

Second step : Summarize

It is useful to examine the abstract or summary of a paper to
determine its potential value .
Steps of literature review

Third step: Classify information and recording

Fourth step: Organize and report the material covered .

 What should you write?
▪ Layout
• Make your literature review have an academic and professional
appearance. Here are some points to make the look of your report
appealing to the reader
▪ White space: leave space between sections, especially from the abstract.
This gives an uncluttered effect.
▪ Headings/sub-headings: these help to separate ideas.
▪ Text boxes: you can use these for quotations or paraphrasing to separate
them from the rest of your text. It is also pleasing to the eye.
 What should you write?

Graphics: Centre your graphics, such as diagrams or tables, to

have space around them. Try not to bury graphics in your text.
Pagination: you can number pages or sections or both, but the
important thing to do is to be consistent. The cover page normally is
not numbered. The content page and abstract page usually have a
separate numbering system to the body of your literature review.
 What should you write?
➢Language focus
• Create a balance between direct quotation (citation) and paraphrasing.
Avoid too much direct quoting. The verb tense chosen depends on your
emphasis:
• When you are citing a specific author's findings, use the past tense:
(found, demonstrated);
• When you are writing about an accepted fact, use the present tense:
(demonstrates, finds); and
• When you are citing several authors or making a general statement, use
the present perfect tense: (have shown, have found, little research has
been done).
 What should you write?
➢ 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?
• Is 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?
Content of literature review

The review should be written in your own words.

The review should point out both consistencies and contradictions

The review offer possible explanations to the materials related to

the research problem
Content of literature review

The review should be objective as possible. Studies fail to support

the hypothesis or which conflict with personal value should not be
omitted .

The length of time to complete the review range from several days
to many weeks.
Student activities and duties

• Search for your topic relevant literature. Using libraries or internet

web .

• Write the review of literature related to your topic of project

31