Review of literature:
Literature means writings and a body of literature refers to all the published writings
in a particular style on a particular subject.
literature review will have two components:
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A search through the literature
The writing of the review
In research, a body of literature is a collection of published information and data
relevant to a research question.
Literature reviewed typically includes scholarly journals, scholarly books,
authoritative databases and primary sources. Sometimes it includes newspapers,
magazines, other books, films, and audio and video tapes, and other secondary
sources.
It is the comprehensive compilation (set) of what is known about the phenomenon.
The purpose for developing and presenting a review of literature emerges from the
desire to document the knowledge and ideas currently established concerning the
identified topic. The resulting document conveys the strengths and weaknesses
determined form the review of the pertinent(relevant) literature.
A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an
organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a
recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization,
or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material
or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression
of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature
review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or
relevant.
The purpose of a review is to analyze critically a segment of a published body of
knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies,
reviews of literature, and theoretical articles.
Each literature review must be characterized by designated concepts and ideas as the
statement, objectives, purpose. So the main purposes:
1. To identify what is known and unknown about an area that has not been totally
resolved in practice.
2. To determine how an issue can be resolved and managed based on research
evidence.
Through the literature review you will discover whether your research question
already has been answered by someone else. If it has, you must change or modify
your question.
Considering your question. If you find that your research question has not been
answered satisfactorily by someone else, then search for these answers:
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What is known about my subject?
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What is the chronology of the development of knowledge about my subject?
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Are there any gaps in knowledge of my subject? Which openings for research
have been identified by other researchers? How do I intend to bridge the gaps?
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Is there a consensus on relevant issues? Or is there significant debate on
issues? What are the various positions?
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What is the most fruitful direction I can see for my research as a result of my
literature review? What directions are indicated by the work of other
researchers?
Finding too little? On the other hand, if you can't find much of anything, ask
yourself if you're looking in the right area. Your topic is too narrow.
Leading edge research. What if you are trying to research an area that seems
never to have been examined before? Be systematic. Look at journals that
print abstracts in that subject area to get an overview of the scope of the
available literature. Then, your search could start from a general source, such
as a book, and work its way from those references to the specific topic you
want. Or, you could start with a specific source, such as a research paper, and
work from that author's references. There isn't a single best approach.
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Identify publications which print abstracts of articles and books in your
subject area. Look for references to papers from which you can identify the
most useful journals. Identify those authors who seem to be important in your
subject area. Identify keywords in your area of interest to help when you need
to narrow and refine database searches. Read online library catalogs to find
available holdings.
Be sure to write copious(many) notes on everything.
Communicating ideas is the objective of your writing, so make it clear,
concise and consistent. Big words and technical terms are not clear to
everyone. They make it hard for all readers to understand your writing.
Always re-read what you have written. Get someone else to read it. Read it
aloud to see how it sounds to your ear. Then revise and rewrite.
Two main types of databases are available bibliography and full text.
1. A bibliography is a list of publications for a specific topic, such as Nursing
research on nutrition or a specific area such as cancer nursing
Bibliographic databases give directions on where to find the information
2. Full -text databases contain the information itself.
Writing the conclusion
In the conclusion, you should:
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Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body
of knowledge under review, maintaining the focus established in the
introduction.
Evaluate the current "state of the art" for the body of knowledge reviewed,
pointing out major methodological flaws or gaps in research, inconsistencies
in theory and findings, and areas or issues pertinent to future study.
Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central
topic of the literature review and a larger area of study such as a discipline, a
scientific try, or a profession.