LEARNING FROM

OTHERS AND
REVIEWING THE
LITERATURE
MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES:
• Selects relevant literature

• Cites related literature using standard style

• Synthesizes information from relevant literature

• Writes coherent review of literature

• Follows ethical standards in writing related literature

• Presents written review of literature

WHAT IS LITERATURE?
• Is any printed information used as a research resource.

• Journals, books, biographies, essays, official documents and reports, newspaper clippings
and feature pieces, concept papers, and others are some of the most popular types of
literature.

• Speeches, letters, presentation materials (such Powerpoint and PDF slides), and internet-
based resources are all acceptable forms of other literature (like Google Scholar or other
online encyclopedia).

• Financial accounts, audit reports, statistical surveys, feasibility studies, numerical graphs,
and other publications with a numerical or quantitative focus offer additional literature for
quantitative research.

• Written works collectively, especially, those enduring importance, exhibiting creative

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA IN SELECTING, CITING,
AND SYNTHESIZING RELATED LITERATURE?

 SELECTING RELEVANT LITERATURE SOURCES

Literature sources can be categorized into two types:

 PRIMARY SOURCES

 SECONDARY SOURCES
 PRIMARY SOURCES
Are references that contain information, which were observed or witnessed firsthand by the
author. Primary sources should be prioritized when searching for references for a literature review
because they usually contain more advanced information. Primary sources are suited for
people, who already have prior knowledge about the topic. There are different types of
primary sources: journal articles, video and audio recordings, survey data, and statistical data.

 SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary sources are references that contain information based on
primary sources. Secondary sources maybe the interpretation, review,
or analysis of information found in primary sources. The information
presented in secondary sources is not observed firsthand by the
author of the material. Common examples of secondary sources
include the following: scientific review articles, news or magazine articles,
and textbooks.
  PURPOSE OF CITING LITERATURE SOURCES
There are some of the main reasons why researchers must cite sources
accordingly:
 To give credit to other writers and researchers. Different ideas come from
different researchers who contributed to the field and the topic of your
interest. Citing these researchers, who exerted time and effort,
demonstrates respect for their work.
 To support evidence in the researcher’s argument. Citing researchers in
your field makes your research work credible. It makes your work more
persuasive when it is backed by evidence coming from experts in your
field who have already done empirical studies on the subject.
 To easily locate sources about a certain topic. Proper citations help other
researchers who study the same topic of interest to locate related sources
easily. It helps the researcher to save time and keep track of these sources
for future use
Characteristics of the Materials Cited:

• The materials must be as recent as possible, may be 10 years back.

• Materials must be as objective and unbiased as possible,

• Materials must be relevant to the study.

• Coherence principle must be observed in writing literature review.

Citation Style Guides:
• APA (American Psychological Association) - is an author/date-based style. This means
emphasis is placed on the author and the date of a piece of work to uniquely identify it.
It is commonly used for educational research reports.

• MLA (Modern Language Association) – is most commonly used to write papers and cite
sources within the liberal arts and humanities, particularly in the USA.

• Harvard - is very similar to APA. Where APA is primarily used in the USA. Harvard
referencing is the most well used referencing style in the UK and Australia, aad is
encouraged for use with the humanities.

• Vancouver - is mainly used in medical and scientific papers.

• Chicago and Turabian - are two separate styles but are very similar, just like
Harvard and APA. These are widely used for history and economics.
APA In-text Citation
If you use the name of the author(s) in your writing, place the year of
publication of the work in parentheses after the author ’s name.

Ex. Mullane (2006) conducted research into the effect of…

If you refer to a work in the text of your paper, place the author's last name
and the year of publication of the work in parentheses at the end of the
sentence.

Ex. The research conclusively proved a correlation between the results

(Mullane, 2006).
APA Referencing Style
Book
Andreasen, N. C. (2001). Brave new brain: Conquering mental illness in the
era of the genome. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Journal
Potente, S., Anderson, C., & Karim, M. (2011). Environmental sun protection
and supportive policies and practices: An audit of outdoor recreational
settings in NSW coastal towns. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 22,
97- 101.

Website
Satalkar, B. (2010, July 15). Water aerobics. Retrieved from
http://www.buzzle.com
 Review of Related Literature

 Definition: The review of related literature

(RRL) provides an overview of existing
research relevant to your qualitative study.
 Purpose: To situate your study within the
existing body of knowledge, identify gaps,
and justify your research questions.
 A literature review must do these things:

• Be organized around and related directly to the thesis

or research question you are developing.
• Synthesize results into a summary of what is and is
not known.
• Identify areas of controversy in the literature.
• Formulate questions that need further research.
A literature review has four main objectives:

• It surveys the literature in your chosen area of study.

• It synthesises the information in that literature into a
summary.
• It critically analyses the information gathered by identifying
gaps in current knowledge; by showing limitations of
theories and points of view; and by formulating areas for
further research and reviewing areas of controversy.
• It presents the literature in an organised way.
Approaches to
Writing RRL
Chronological Approach
o Presents literature in the order of
publication.
o Useful for showing the evolution of
research over time.
Thematic Approach
o Organizes literature
by themes or topics.
o Allows for a more
in-depth discussion of
each theme related to
your qualitative study.
Thematic Approach in Detail
• Identification of Themes:
o Review literature to identify recurring themes relevant to
your research question.
• Organization of Themes:
o Create sections based on major themes, integrating
research that supports each theme.

• Example: If studying education, themes might include

"student engagement," "teaching methods," or "assessment
strategies."
Methodological Approach

o Focuses on the research methods used in

existing studies.
o Useful for examining how different
methods affect outcomes.
WHY IS SYNTHESIZING RELATED TO
LITERATURE?

Synthesis writing is a form of analysis related

to comparison and contrast, classification and
division. On a basic level, synthesis requires the
writer to pull together two or more summaries,
looking for themes in each text. In synthesis, you
search for the links between various materials in
order to make your point.
What is Synthesis?

• Combining elements of several sources to help

you make a point.
• Describing how sources converse each other.
• Organizing similar ideas together so readers
can understand how they overlap.
• Synthesis helps readers see where you add
your own new ideas to existing knowledge.
HOW DO YOU WRITE A COHERENT LITERATURE
REVIEW?

1. Define your topic.

2. Get better search results.

3. Be critical

4. Create a structure.

5. Use the people around you.

6. Simplify your referencing with the software.

7. Avoid plagiarism.

8. Review and edit.

FOLLOWING ETHICAL STANDARDS IN
WRITING LITERATURE:
WHAT IS RESEARCH ETHICS?

 Research Ethics are standardized rules that guide the

design and conduct of research. The term ethics refers to
questions of right and wrong.

When researchers think about ethics, they must also ask

themselves if it is right to conduct a particular study or
carry out certain procedures.
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

 It is committed when authors present the words,

data, or ideas of others with the implication that
they are their own, without attribution.
 This act is against the Intellectual Property Rights
Law.
 It is a form of research misconduct.
ETHICS IN LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Discuss intellectual property frankly.
2. Be conscious of multiple roles.
3. Follow informed consent rules.
4. Respect confidentiality and privacy.
5. Tap into ethics resources.
THANK YOU !!