Horn: Researching and Writing Dissertations – Tutor notes
CHAPTER 6
Theory and Literature
Chapter overview
The theory and literature chapter forms the first in a sequence of chapters that I refer to as the
‘backbone’ of a dissertation. Good dissertations are founded on strong and appropriate
literature. This chapter works systematically through the areas that must be included in a
theory section of a dissertation. Developing an appropriate literature review requires the use
of the higher-level skills of analysis, critique and evaluation. If this area has not been
addressed earlier, it would be appropriate to cover these skills before working on the literature
review.
What is covered in this chapter?
 The importance of the literature review
 How your own exploration of the literature fits into the sea of knowledge
 Sources of literature and theory
 How to evaluate sources
 The role of critique and evaluation
 Strategies for controlling the literature review
 The links from literature to method and analysis
Headline chapter points
6.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW
As indicated in the introduction, the literature review can be regarded as part of the
‘backbone’ of the dissertation – and just as most mammals would not function without a
backbone, so dissertations cannot be successful without strong and critical literature reviews.
It is important to convey the important reasons for completing a literture review to the
students. The chapter explores the following areas:
SUPPORTING AND EMBEDDING YOUR DISSERTATION WITH KNOWN
THEORY AND RESEARCH
PROVING YOU KNOW THE RESEARCH AREA
PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISPLAY THE SKILLS OF ANALYSIS,
CRITIQUE AND EVALUATION
PROVIDING THE BUILDING-BLOCKS OF METHOD, METHODOLOGY AND
DATA ANALYSIS
OFFERING A PERSPECTIVE ON YOUR RESEARCH
PROVIDING KNOWLEDGE OF SECONDARY SOURCES
PROVIDING A SYNTHESIS OF LITERATURE THAT CAN BRING NEW
INSIGHTS TO AN AREA OF RESEARCH
6.3 THE LITERATURE REVIEW PROCESS
Most dissertation researchers will not have produced a large critical review of literature
before starting on the dissertation literature review. However, they will have completed
smaller reviews of literature, and the experience of this will be useful, but their methods of
working on that will require adaptation to serve the needs of a dissertation.
PRI M AR Y AN D SEC O ND AR Y SO UR CES
Primary sources are those that contain data collected for the purposes of the published
research. Secondary sources are those that contain data from another research study. It is the
principal source of data that determines the category. If a study collects data from
respondents, it is a primary source, even if it also has some secondary sources reported in the
findings. If research does not collect any data from respondents, it is a secondary source.
Avoid using these terms in relation to literature. The characteristics of primary and secondary
relate to research and the reports of research, not to literature.
THE AC AD EM I C FU NNEL
The literature review can usefully be thought of as an academic funnel – see Figure 8 –in
which a lot of information goes in at the top and one consistent stream of literature comes out
at the bottom. What is likely to go in at the top of the funnel? Theories – for most literature
reviews there is some established theory relating to the topic. Often, there are competing
theories. These are all added to the academic funnel to display your breadth of knowledge.
Research studies should also be added to the funnel. Any research directly related to your
topic should likewise be added. If there is a lot of research that has been conducted in your
topic area, it may be better to add a meta-analysis of the research rather than the original
sources. Add journal articles that relate to your topic – these can be in any of three main
forms: articles reporting new research findings, critical reviews of literature, and articles
relating to management practice. Data sets from previous research can also be included in the
academic funnel, and in well-researched areas there will be meta-data-sets. Most research will
have all of the things listed put within the academic funnel, but specific research will also put
in some of the other sources discussed later in the chapter.
The attributes of synthesised theory are:
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It is relevant to the aims and objectives and the study.
It has been critically considered and regarded as good research, theory or data.
It is selective – it only includes work directly related to the research.
It is concise, from evaluation, using the best theory for the research study.
It identifies and addresses gaps in the literature.
It is comprehensive – it covers the important literature, while also being concise.
It is well written and well argued.
Is up to date in that it reviews the latest literature.
HO W TO PRO CEED
Many readers will have an established way of carrying out a literature review – but for those
who have not, the following section deals with the basic mechanics of the process.
Assuming you have established your dissertation title and completed the proposal, you will
have a small section of the literature review already written. At this stage it is worth putting
that aside and working from the beginning. Your topic title, the aims and the objectives must
be constantly in your mind during this process.
According to Rowley and Slack (2004) there are five steps in the creation of a literature
review:
1 scanning the document sources
2 making notes
3 structuring the literature review
4 writing the literature review
5 building the bibliography.
6.4 SOURCES OF (THEORY AND) LITERATURE
There is a wide range of literature sources. The chapter explores the following:
TE X TBO O KS
JO URN AL SO UR CE S
BES T PR AC TI C E ( PRO FESSI O N AL AS S O CI ATI O N) WEBSI TES
SO CI AL D AT A S E TS
Feedback on Activities
Practice in analysing [page 89]
Choose one of the following topics:
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Motivation
Diversity
The glass ceiling
Leadership
Spend exactly 60 minutes investigating your chosen topic, using 20 minutes
to read textbooks, 20 minutes searching websites, and 20 minutes reading
journal sources.
This is an essentially practical task to establish some experience of investigating literature.
One feedback method is to place all the summary pages out and allow all members of a
tutorial group to reflect on what has been produced.
It would then be worth discussing aspects of the activity and how difficult or easy each person
found it.
It may be worth emphasising in the tutorial feedback:
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the need to have a developed process to follow – a routine
the need to record what has been read
the need to go beyond simple description
the need to use substantial sources such as journals.
Skills mark-up [page 91]
Once you have written a section of the literature review , print out the
section and lay the work in sheets on a large table. Using three differentcoloured highlighters mark up the areas that you consider are:
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critical
analytical
evaluative.
This is an extension of the activity above and is designed to create a habit of analysing writing
and evaluating how much of the key skills are contained in writing.
It would be most effective to have your university assessment criteria to hand so that student
work can be compared to this document.
The most likely outcome is that the student will experience great difficulty in deciding how to
categorise each sentence of his/her writing. Having some pre-marked examples should help
with this. The activity will naturally lead to discussion about what is critical, analytical and
evaluative writing.
The HSE and stress [page 92]
See if you can answer these questi ons:
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Who are the most stressed employees in this group ?
What does the C.I. abbreviation stand for ?
If you were carrying out research on workplace stress , how could you
use these figures in your own research ?
This activity directs the student to a well-known secondary source and then invites some
simple analysis.
The main discussion will be about how to use this data in their own work. The main points to
investigate will be:
 the source’s use as a comparative base
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whether their own survey could be structured in the same manner so that their data could
be compared directly to the HSE statistics
a numerical analysis between the HSE sample and the dissertation sample.
Strengths and weaknesses [page 93]
Consider the following areas and indicate whether you f eel each is a
strength or a weakness.
This activity invites reflection about the differences between researching for assignments and
researching for a dissertation literature review. It is effectively a self-audit of various aspects
of researching the literature.
Ever before you [page 95]
Search your dissertation proposal and find the aim, the objectives, the
research questions and the hypotheses where they are listed.
Cut and paste them all onto a new document together.
This is a practical task to turn the dissertation aims into visual cues. It should present few
problems.
The usefulness of textbooks [page 98]
Using your university library or a copy that you may own , consult Linstead,
Fulop and Lilley (2004). You may be able to use a later edition.
Consult Chapter 2, Gender and management. ‘Process’ the chapter [as
directed].
This is a practical task based on one book. If it is more suitable, any standard textbook
relevant to the area of most of the dissertations in a group would be appropriate.
The activity is designed to encourage students to develop a critically reflective stance on the
usefulness of textbooks.
Viewing journal websites [page 99]
Visit the British Journal of Management website. Towards the bottom of th e
opening page you will find links to groupings of journal articles.
Investigate these articles.
This is a practical task to show students that they can access many of the most up-to-date
articles by using specific journal websites.
Depending on your institution and the journals’ relating to specific dissertations, some
discussion will be needed about accessing the most up-to-date peer-reviewed work. It is worth
reminding students that visiting the library and reviewing hard copies of current journals is a
very effective approach.
Using professional association websites [page 103]
Visit the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s website.
Navigate to the Professional Standards page. Investigate the site further:
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Look for applicable research using your own research questi ons.
This is another practical task to widen the range of sources that students can use to research
information.
Feedback on Case study
Chris’s literature review
To think about ...
1
Provide Chris with feedback under the following headings:
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Layout of the review
Estimate of how critical the review is
How well the review synthesises theory
Evaluation of the strength of the ‘storyline’ in the review
2
Make a five-point list of things Chris should do to improve the
approach she has taken in the literature review.
3
Suggest ways that Chris can get help in the future on this aspect
of her dissertation.
Feedback:
1
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Layout of the review
The layout discourages simple description and makes integration of the various sources
difficult.
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Estimate of how critical the review is
The review is very uncritical and not suitable for a dissertation.
How well the review synthesises theory
The review does not, to any great extent, synthesise theory. It is mostly descriptive.
Evaluation of the strength of the ‘storyline’
The storyline is weak and does not covey a journey through the literature that takes the
reader anywhere.
2
Acting on any five of the following list of suggestions would improve the literature review:
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Lead the reader on a story of the ideas related to the research.
Write the whole thing as a story.
Ensure that there is more analysis, critique and evaluation.
Ensure that the literature review directly addresses the aims and research questions.
Use a more argumentative format involving statement, premise, evidence and conclusion.
Think about the value of each of these types of sources.
Use a wider range of source types.
Consciously make the writing interesting while still being academic.
3
Chris can in future get help from:
 a study group
 her university skills adviser
 the dissertation lecturer
 a critical friend
 this textbook.
Suggested pedagogical approach
See lesson plan below
Lesson plan
Two hours (120-minute) teaching session, including one 15-minute break
Total class time thus 105 minutes
Within that, and additional to it, is an out-of-class activity, which might last one hour
0–30 minutes
LECTURE: The importance of the literature review and its role in a
dissertation
30–60 minutes
REVIEWING: The group reviews the layout, quality and nature of
submitted dissertations
60–75 minutes
Q&A SESSION about the literature review
[one hour]
OUT-OF-CLASS ACTIVITY: the Practice in analysing activity, page 89
The lesson should then resume in-class
75–95 minutes
FEEDBACK: Each group member submits the notes made in the
previous activity
95–105 minutes
SUMMARY AND ACTIONS: Summary of what has been covered, and
action plans
ACTION PLAN ITEMS
Return next week with:
– an outline of the literature review section: the storyline
– a list of issues with, difficulties in, or barriers to completing the
literature review
– a time-scale for completion of the literature review