Business Research Methods

Chapter Three

Review of Related Literature

By: Tesfa M.Delesa (Asst. Professor)

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 Learning Objectives
 By the end of this chapter, you will be able
to:
 be aware of the importance and purpose of
literature review;
 outline the range of primary, secondary and
tertiary literature sources available;
 describe benefits of literature review
 elaborate steps to be followed literature review
 reference and cite the literature accurately with
the use of EndNote application
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 3.1. What is a Literature Review?
 It is a written summary of journal articles, books and other
documents (both published and unpublished) that
 describes the past and current state of information,
 organizes the literature into topics and
 documents a need for a proposed study.

 A discussion of your knowledge that is supported by the

research literature.
 The literature review demonstrates that the research:
1. Addresses a question not investigated in previous studies,
2. Fills in a gap in previous research
3. Tests a model under different conditions
4. Resolves conflicting research findings.
 Literature Review

 In a literature review you are required to

present:
o established findings
o conflicting evidence
o Gaps in the body of scholarship relating to your
topic.
 3.2. Importance of literature review

 Review of literature is very important to:

o determine what has already been written on a
topic;
o identify previous approaches to the topic;
o identify central issues in the field;
o integrate what previous researchers have found;
and
o identify important issues still unresolved.
It can also:
1. Bring clarity and focus to your
research problem;
2. Improve your research methodology;
3. Broaden your knowledge base in your
research area; and
4. Contextualize your findings.

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3.3. Characteristics of a good literature review

• The survey materials must be as recent as possible.

• Materials reviewed must be objective and unbiased.

• Materials surveyed must be relevant to the study.

• Surveyed materials must have been based upon

genuinely original and true facts.
• data to make them valid and reliable.

• Review materials must not be too few nor too many.

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 3.4. Process of Literature Review

Review of literature involves four steps :

1.Searching for the existing literature in study
area:
 It is expected that the researcher has some basic idea of the
broad subject areas and the problem to be investigated.
Bibliography may be compiled for the broad area.
 There are three basic sources: books, journals and the
internet.
 Researcher may select 10-15 books that are appropriate for
the topic at initial.
 Process of Literature Review
2-Reviewing the Literature:
 While reviewing the literature, following questions have to
be kept in mind.
• Has the problem been analyzed before?
• What strategies have been attempted?
• What results have obtained in previous studies?
• What gaps or shortfalls are there in past studies ?
 During the review of literature, preparation of notes is extremely
important, use separate sheets of paper for each theme or issue.
 A formal structure should be used to record features, like date
when the research was conducted; location; sample size; data
collection methods; and the main findings.
 Summarize the findings of previous studies on the same subject.
 Determine the key concepts or theories connected to the
problem.
 Process of Literature Review
3.Developing a Theoretical Framework
 The information obtained from different books and journals
needs to be sorted out under main themes and theories,
highlighting agreements and disagreements among the authors
and identifying the unanswered questions or gaps.
 Literature deals with a number of aspects that have a direct or
indirect bearing on the research topic.
 These aspects may be used as a basis for developing theoretical
framework.

 The theoretical framework of the study is a structure that can hold

or support a theory of a research work. It presents the theory
which explains why the problem under study exists.
 Thus, the theoretical framework is a theory that serves as a basis
for conducting research.
 Process of Literature Review
4. Developing A Conceptual Framework
• Conceptual framework is structured from a set of ideas and
theories that helps the researcher to properly identify the
problem, guide data collection and analysis.
• Conceptual framework is summation of linkages of your
research problems to the theoretical background and literature
including knowledge gaps on one side and methods of data
collection and subsequent analysis on the other side.
• The conceptual framework is the basis of research problem.
• It originates from the theoretical and usually focuses on the
issues(s) which become the basis of research study.
• Theoretical framework consists of the theories or issues in which
the research study is embedded, while the conceptual framework
describes the aspects selected from the theoretical framework to
become the basis of research enquiry.
 Conceptual framework: Definition and
Application

 A visual or written presentation that:

“explains either graphically, or in narrative
form, the main things to be studied – the key
factors, concepts or variables - and the
presumed relationship among them”.
(Miles and Huberman, 1994, P18)
DEVELOPING YOUR CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
The conceptual framework describes and explains the
concepts to be used in the study, their relationships with
each other, and how they are to be measured.

Developing your conceptual framework requires five main

steps:
1. Identifying the relevant concepts.
2. Defining those concepts.
3. Operationalising the concepts.
4. Identifying any moderating or intervening variables.
5. Identifying the relationship between variables.
 Pathways linking poverty to
developmental inequalities (Walker et al
2011)
 Factor-based model (Conceptual – literature review)

Factors which contribute or cause Unemployment

• (Literature Review)

Political Low wages

Instability H1

H4

H2
Lack of start-up
capital Unemployment

High Interest
H3
rates

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 Conceptual Framework: Hierarchical relationships

• Hierarchy-based conceptual frameworks show

how concepts are related in higher or lower
positions on a scale.
• The higher concept or factor has to be at the
apex and lower at the base of the hierarchy

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 Conceptual Framework: Force-Field Diagram
or Pairs of opposites
• Force-Field Diagram conceptual frameworks show the duality
between concepts. They demonstrate the competing forces
which can bring about a change in social phenomena.

Driving Forces Constraining forces

Competitive opportunities Lack of Resources

New Employees Manager attitude

Low awareness of
Stakeholder pressure
environment

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 Overall objectives of theories and
framework
• To make scientific findings meaningful and
generalizeable.
• To summarize existing knowledge into
coherent systems and stimulate new
research by providing both direction and
impetus.
• All theories and frameworks are considered
tentative.
 3.5. Activities of Reviewing Literature
Reviewing the related literature comprises the following
activities:
A. active reading (browsing & scanning)
B. careful record keeping,
C. selective note- taking, & critical evaluation of the
information
o One that goes beyond mere description by offering
opinions, and making a personal response, to what has
been written;
o One that relates different writings to each other,
indicating their differences and contradictions, and
highlighting what they are lacking;
o One that does not take what is written at face value;
D. The application of appropriate referencing style
 3.6. Reading Literature for Research

 Reading for research could take place in three stages of the

research project:
At the beginning of your research, to:
Check what has been done by other research,
focus your ideas, and
explore the context for your project;
During your research, to:
keep you interested and up to date with developments,
help you better understand the methods you are using and the field you
are researching, and
serve as a source of data;
After Your research, to:
see what impact your own work has had, and
help you develop ideas for further research projects
 3.7. Sources of Literature

i. Primary literature sources/grey literature: -publications without commercial

purposes, difficult to trace/: are the first occurrence of a piece of work
 They include published sources such as reports and some central and local
government publications such as planning documents
 Unpublished manuscript such as letters, memos and committee minutes
ii. Secondary literature sources:- these are subsequent publication of primary
literature (books and journals)
 Aimed at a wider audience
 They are easier to locate than primary literature as they are better covered by
tertiary literature.
iii. Tertiary literature sources/search tools/: these are designed to help to locate
primary and secondary literature or to introduce a topic.
 Include: indexes, abstracts, encyclopaedia and bibliographies.
 3.8. Techniques of Literature Taking Note

1) Paraphrasing:
 Refers to “restating or rewording a passage from a text,
giving the same meaning in another form"

 However the meaning should be the same.

 Paraphrasing: means using the ideas of an author, but

not his or her exact word.

 If you use the ideas or opinions from someone else and

restate them in your own words, you still need to cite the
source.

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 Techniques for paraphrasing
Technique Examples of the technique Examples in a sentence
Changing the Change studies to research Change - Sleep scientists have found
word Change society to that traditional remedies for insomnia,
civilization. such as counting sheep, are ineffective
to: Sleep researchers have found that
established cures for insomnia, for
instance counting sheep, do not work.
Changing the Change Egypt (noun) to Change A third group was given no
word class Egyptian (adjective) special instructions about going to
Change Mountainous sleep to A third group was not
regions(adjective + noun) to specially instructed about going to
in the mountains (noun) sleep
Changing the Change Ancient Egypt Change There are many practical
word collapsed to the collapse of applications to research into insomnia
Order/sentence Egyptian society began to Research into insomnia has
pattern many practical applications.

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 Techniques of Taking Note Cont’d
2. Summarizing: is writing a summary of what the author says.

•Summarizing means taking main ideas from a larger passage by

condensing them into your own words.

•It is useful because to:

 miss out unnecessary details, such as examples
Use less words than the author, and therefore the number of
words will be minimized in your writing.
 Techniques of Taking Note Cont’d

3. Direct Quote:

Means using the exact same words as the original author.

 If you use the exact words of an author, you need to include them in
the quotation marks (“ ”)
 During Quotation

 During Quotation:
 A short quotation (<= four lines) is placed within the
text. Quotation marks (“ ”) are used around the quote.
The quote is cited.
Example:
 Helmsing (2001:4) explains that “decentralization has
ceased to be a local government affair and has turned
into a local governance issue.”
 During Quotation
 If a quotation is fifty words or more or is longer than
four lines of text, it should be block-indented and
single-spaced.
 Do not use quotation marks at the beginning or the end of
the block quotation.
• Exception: Quotation within a quotation
 The block quote should be separated from text by a double
space, above and below the block quotation.

 Set it in a free-standing style starting on a new line and

indenting the left margin.
 Long Quotation, Example

 The argument that privatization would reduce corruption is also

defective. Experiences have shown that it has institutionalized
corruption into the body politics more than before. Turner
rightly captures the real situation of things in theses words:

The process of privatization creates new possibilities for

corruption in the determination of the price paid for the
enterprise, the terms of the privatization agreement and the
nature of bidding arrangements. The possibility exists that
favored individual and companies may acquire valuable
assets at below-market prices. The winners would be the
public official who organized the deals and the new owner
(Turner 1998:1).
 During Quotation

 Where a quotation has been changed or words are added, it should

be indicated as follows-by the use of round bracket [ ] and
ellipsis/three spaced dots …
1. “[…] it is clear that according to the current understanding of
governance, government is one among many societal players or
actors that are concerned with public issues.”
2. “ Development is […] a cumulative process.”
3. “ The change should be very well felt by [the community] and
local officials.”---this shows that the community is the author’s
own insertion.
Descriptive versus Analytical writings
 3.9. Literature referencing/ Systems of Referencing
 Referencing is a standardized way of acknowledging the sources of
information and ideas that you have used in your academic
writing/scientific papers.
 The act of providing evidence for arguments and perspectives
presented in literature write up – article, long essay, report and etc.
 References provided within the text or the body of the text / In-text
citation
 Compiled references at the end of the text /list of references/

Referencing Styles:
• Three of the most common styles are:
• the Harvard system,
• the American Psychological Association( APA) system and
• the Vancouver or footnotes system.
 Referencing/ Systems of Referencing-Cont’d
Referencing Styles: Using the Harvard system to reference in the text:

To refer to Use the general format For example

A single author (surname date), Note: Take the first name (Saunders 1993) or
of the Ethiopian Author(s). Saunders (1993)
Dual authors (Surname and surname date) (Saunders and Cooper 1993)
or
Saunders and Cooper (1993)

More than two authors (Surname et al. date) (Slack et al. 1996)
Slack et al. (1996)
Work by different authors (Surname date; Surname date) in (Baker 1996; Lewis 1998;
generally alphabetical order Thornhill 1997)
Different authors with the (Surname, Initial date) (Smith, J 1998)
same surname
Different Publications by (Surname date; date) in ascending date (Lewis 1991;1998)
the same author order, chronologically
Different works by the (Surname date letter): make sure the letter (Forster 2009 a)
same author from the is consistent throughout
same year
 Referencing/ Systems of Referencing-Cont’d
Using the Harvard system to reference in the text-Cont’d
To refer to Use the general format For example
An author referred to by (surname date; cited by surname date) (Granovetter 1974; cited by
another author where the Saunders 1993)
original has not been read
(Secondary reference)
A corporate author (Corporate name date) (ABC Plc 1990)
A News paper article with (News paper name date) (The Herald 2009)
no obvious author
Another type of publication (Publication title date) (Unemployment trend 2008)
with no obvious author
An Internet site (Site title date) (Advertising Association
1998)
A publication for which the Surname or Corporate name nd, where ‘nd’ (Woollons nd)
year of publication cannot means no date
be identified
A direct quotation Surname or Corporate name date, P. ‘ Good Governance
number) where ‘P.’ means page in the significantly contributes for
original publication on which the quotation country’s economic
appears development’ (Thomas
2000, P. 50).
 Referencing/ Systems of Referencing- Some general rules/points Cont’d

Reference list:
a reference list is arranged alphabetically by author. If an item has no author, it is
cited by title, & included in the alphabetical list using the first significant word of the
title.
If there is more than one work by the same author, these are listed
chronologically, starting with the earliest publication
Remember to include a, b, c etc. immediately after the date when you are
referencing different publications by the same author from the same year
( ensure that there are consistent with the letters used for the references in
the main text.
The title of the book or journal appears in italics, or underlined,
If the source is an article or paper within a volume or journal, the title of
the article/paper is given by inverted commas.
 References should not be numbered but each reference appears on a new
line
Each item in the reference list is required to have a hanging indentation

Söderlund, J. (2011). ‘Pluralism in Project Management: Navigating the Crossroads of

Specialization and Fragmentation’, International Journal of Management Reviews, 13: 153–176.
 Key differences between Harvard and APA Systems of Referencing
Harvard System APA system Comment
Referencing in the text
(Lewis 2001) (Lewis,2001) Note punctuation
(Saunders and Williams 2001) (Saunders & Williams, 2001) Ampersand-‘&’ not
‘and’
For three and more authors:
(Williams et al. 1999) Williams et.al., 1999) Note punctuation

References in the references or

bibliography
Berman Brown, R. and Berman Brown, R. &
Saunders, M. (2008). Saunders, M. (2008). •Note use of ‘and’
Dealing with statistics: Dealing with statistics: What and ‘&’
What you need to know. you need to know.
Maidenhead: Open Maidenhead: Open
University Press. University Press.
Four points are important when referencing:
• Credit must be given when citing other’s
work.
• Adequate information must be provided in
the reference to enable that work to be
located.
• References must be consistent and complete.
• References must be recorded using the style
required by your university.

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 3.10. Structure of Literature Review

 The literature review has its own internal structure:

 Introduction: Opening sentence or paragraph;

 Body: discusses the literature in a logical and
coherent way.
• this is where you discuss your sources;

and

 Conclusion: concludes with a paragraph that

relate the literature to the research project.
 Ways to Structure Your
Review
1. Chronology
2. Themes
o Purpose, Objective
o Conclusions/Gaps
3. Type of Paper
o Empirical
o Conceptual
 Structuring the literature review
Chronologically: for example, if writers' views have tended to change over time. It should show a
clear trend or changes in trends.

Literature demonstrates that the key factors which contribute to unemployment in Africa have
tended to change over time. In the late 1990’s researchers argued that inflation and low wages
contributed to unemployment (Uche, 2000; Benson, 2003). For example a study by Uche
(2000) on unemployment in the banking industry in Nigeria highlighted that inflation affected
the turnover of banks which had also an effect in salary payments. Over 2000 bank employees
lost their jobs by the end of 1999.

On the other hand, by 2004, researchers discussed that lack of capital for start-up initiatives
and high interest rates on loans stalled entrepreneurial ventures and contributed to
unemployment or the lack of job opportunities (Thakur, 2005). A comparative study (Kinson
2006) on the SME industry in Ghana and Uganda shared similar findings on the effects of start-
up capital and interest loans on entrepreneurship and unemployment. In a recent study on
unemployment in Egypt, Salia (2011) found political instability, poor governance and lack of
foreign direct investment to be the critical factors influencing unemployment. Other studies in
Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone attests to these findings (Johnson, 2009; Pern, 2010).

In effect, unemployment in Africa may be viewed from a multi-facet perspective. It cannot be

reduced to one single factor.
 Structuring the literature review-Cont’d
• Thematically: take particular themes in the literature, for example in the
literature review of poverty and unemployment. Thematic reviews of literature
are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time.

• Structure of Unemployment
o What is unemployment
o Causes of unemployment
• Structure of poverty
o Education, employment, income and poverty
• The Link between poverty and unemployment
• Mitigating poverty in the unemployed
o Policies for unemployed
o Social/relational support
o Capacity development
 Structuring the literature review-Cont’d
• Thematically: take particular themes in the literature, for
example in the literature review of mobiles and micro-trading :
Impact of mobiles on micro-trading
• What is trading: Trading is about Information
– Transaction Costs Theory
• Stages of trading
• Benefits of mobiles/technology in commerce/trade
– Strategic
– Relational
– Operational
• Impact of mobiles
– Incremental Effects
– Transformational Effects
– Production Effects
 Structuring the literature review-Cont’d
Concluding the Literature Review:

• Summarize the major contributions, evaluating the current position,

and pointing out flaws in methodology, gaps in the research,
contradictions, and areas for further study.
• What are the main perspectives and methodological approaches
adopted in relation to the problem?
• What is my point of view in relation to these perspectives and
approached?

 When you have solid answers to these questions you can be

confident that your literature review and your research are in
firm ground.
 Important Remarks
A review of the literature should:
1. Set up a framework for your research;
2. Show your reader that you:
o Have a clear understanding of the key
concepts/ideas/studies/models related to your topic;
o Know about the history of your research area and any related
controversies;
o Can discuss these ideas in a context appropriate for your own
investigations;
o Can evaluate the work of the others;
o Clarify important definitions/terminology;
o Narrow the problem, and make the study feasible
 Popular Styles for Referencing

•For Harvard style. Please refer to:

–http://tinyurl.com/harvardrefstyle

•For APA style. Please refer to:

–http://tinyurl.com/aparefstyle
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!

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