The Literature Review
What is a Literature Review?
• According to Creswell (2005), a review of
the literature “is a written summary of
journal articles, books and other
documents that describes the past and
current state of information, organizes the
literature into topics and documents a
need for a proposed study.” (pp. 79)
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Focusing on Empirical Research
What does Empirical Mean?
Primary Sources
– Original Research Article
Secondary Sources
–
–
–
–
–
Newspapers
Book chapters
Television/Radio
Magazines
Wikepedia
Empirical Research
All empirical research is inherently flawed
– Limitations
1. Sampling
– Generalizability
– Representative
2. Measurement
– Measurement Error
– Social Desirability
3. Problem Identification
– Grasping the “Whole” Problem
Literature Reviews
Well-written analytical narrative that brings
a reader up-to-date on what is known on a
given topic, but also provide fresh insights
that advance knowledge
– Resolve conflicts between studies
– Identify new ways to interpret research results
– Creating a path for future research
Anecdotal Reports
A description of an event or experience
that happened to be noticed
– No control
– No comparison
Review of Key Elements of
Previous Definition
• The LR is a summary of research:
• It is not a “list” of found research but a
coherent and articulate account of past and
current research findings
• Suggestion: read 2 or 3 LRs in order to
become familiar with summary styles
Review of Key Elements of
Previous Definition (cont’d)
• The sources typically are journal articles, books
and other documents that describe past and
present status of research in a given field:
• The LR should be exhaustive and as current
as possible.
• How many articles?
• There is no set number. As long as the search is
exhaustive and focused on the research topic, the
review will be acceptable.
Review of Key Elements of
Previous Definition (cont’d)
• How far back should one search?
• A reasonable and widely accepted
timeframe includes research conducted
during the past 10 years. Important studies
(i.e., studies that had a significant impact
on the field of study) should also be
mentioned even if these go beyond the
mentioned timeframe.
Review of Key Elements of
Previous Definition (cont’d)
• The LR should be organized:
• The review should not only be coherent, but
should organize the studies reviewed under
themes or topics.
• The reviewer is a guide and should be able to
provide readers with an in-depth and current
status of research in a given area.
• This aspect is essential for readers to
understand what the reviewer found during
the search.
Review of Key Elements of
Previous Definition (cont’d)
• The LR should document the need for a
proposed study:
• Studies should not duplicate research that
has been already done.
• Even in cases when research is duplicated
(replicated is the appropriate term), one is
responsible for documenting the need for
replication, e.g., need to explore the same
methodology with a different group or
population, or need to change methodology
with the same group.
Creswell’s 5 steps to Conduct a
Literature Review
• Step 1: Identify Key Terms or
“Descriptors”
• Extract key words from your title
(remember, you may decide to change
the title later)
• Use some of the words other authors
reported in the literature
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Step 1: Identify Key Terms or
“Descriptors” (cont’d)
• Use the “Thesaurus of ERIC
Descriptors to look for terms that match
your topic: go to www.eric.ed.gov and in
“Search” select “Descriptors (from
Thesaurus)”
• Scan both electronic and library
journals from the past 10 years and
look for key terms in the articles
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Creswell’s 5 steps to Conduct a
Literature Review (cont’d)
• Step 2: Locate Literature
• Use academic libraries, do not limit your
search to an electronic search of articles
• Use primary and secondary sources. A
“primary source” is research reported by the
researcher that conducted the study. A
“secondary source” is research that
summarizes or reports findings that come
from primary sources
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Step 2: Locate Literature (cont’d)
• It is “best to report mostly primary
sources” (p. 82)
• Search different types of literature:
summaries, encyclopedias, dictionaries
and glossaries of terms, handbooks,
statistical indexes, reviews and
syntheses, books, journals, indexed
publications, electronic sources,
abstract series, and databases
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Creswell’s 5 steps to Conduct a
Literature Review (cont’d)
• Step 3: Critically Evaluate and Select
Literature
• Rely on journal articles published in
national journals
• Prioritize your search: first look for
refereed journal articles, then, nonrefereed articles, then books, then
conference papers, dissertations and
theses and then papers posted to
websites
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Step 3: Critically Evaluate and
Select Literature (cont’d)
• Look for research articles and avoid as
much as possible “opinion” pieces
• Blend qualitative and quantitative
research in your review
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Creswell’s 5 steps to Conduct a
Literature Review (cont’d)
• Step 4: Organize the Literature
• Create a “file” or “abstract” system to keep
track of what you read. Each article you read
should be summarized in one page containing
Title (use APA to type the title so that you can later
copy-paste this into the References section of your
paper)
Source: journal article, book, glossary, etc.
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Step 4: Organize the Literature
(cont’d)
Research problem: one or two lines will suffice
Research Questions or Hypotheses
Data collection procedure (a description of sample
characteristics can be very handy as well)
Results or findings of the study
• Sort these abstracts into groups of related
topics or areas which can then become the
different sections of your review
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Creswell’s 5 steps to Conduct a
Literature Review (cont’d)
• Step 5: Write a Literature Review
• Types of Reviews:
Thematic Review: a theme is identified and studies
found under this theme are described. Major ideas
and findings are reported rather than details.
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Step 5: Write a Literature Review
(cont’d)
Study-by-study Review: a detailed summary of
each study under a broad theme is provided. Link
summaries (or abstracts) using transitional
sentences. Must be organized and flow coherently
under various subheadings. Avoid string quotations
(i.e., lengthy chunks of text directly quoted from a
source)
Creswell, J.W. (2005) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Preliminary Literature Review
This succinct review of current literature
should:
– Provide further contextual background
– Reveal issues related to your study
– Describe similar problems in other
organizations
– Provide significance to your approach to the
study
Guidelines on Style, Mechanics, and
Language Usage
Does your draft follow the logic or idea that
is presented in your intro and title?
Avoid overusing direct quotations,
especially long ones
Check style manual for correct use of
citations
– (Doe, 2005); Doe (2005); (Doe & Smith, 2005); Doe
and Smith (2005); (Black, 2005; Brown, 2006; Yellow,
2007)
Guidelines on Style, Mechanics, and
Language Usage
Avoid using synonyms for recurring words
– This is not creative writing and stay consistent with
terminology
Group I, Phoenix Cohort, Experimental Group
Spell out all acronyms when first using them
– Traditional - American Psychological Association
(APA)
– Non-traditional - Collective Efficacy (CE)
Yes - Do NOT use contractions; No – Don’t use
contractions
Coined terms should be set off by quotes
Guidelines on Style, Mechanics, and
Language Usage
Avoid the following:
– Slang – “cool”
– Colloquialisms – “thing” >> “item” or “feature”
– Idioms – “rise to the pinnacle” >> “to become
prominent”
Use great care to avoid Plagiarism
Activity
A.
B.
C.
D.
Please Read page 119-121, from the Galvan book.
Then answer the following questions on page 9.
Have the reviewers clearly identified the topic of
review? Have they indicated its delimitations? Does it
deal only with certain aspects of the problem
Have the reviewers writing a cohesive essay that
guides you thorough the literature from subtopics to
subtopic? Explain.
Have the reviewers interpreted and critique the
literature, or have they merely summarized it?
Overall, do you think the reviewers make an imporatnt
contribution to knowledge through their synthesis of
the literature? Explain.
What needs to be included in the
Literature review.
Provides contextual background
Reveals related issues
Reviews similar problems elsewhere
Provides significance to your approach to the
study
Includes major/seminar research articles
pertaining to study
Written in an integrated manner
Uses peer-reviewed research
Includes a Reference section
Writing Your Research Question(s)
Reflect the problem that the researcher
wants to investigate
Can be formulated based on theories, past
research, previous experience, or the
practical need to make data-driven
decisions in a work environment
Writing Your Research Question(s)
(cont’d)
Are vitally important because they, in large
part, dictate what type of statistical
analysis is needed, as well as what type of
research design may be employed
A research question should address only 1
concept
Question must be measurable
Types of Questions Asked
Once you have identified the topic of study, you
will need to consider the type of question you
want answered and how it will be answered
Two paradigms
– Quantitative Paradigm
Generally attempt to quantify variables of
interest. Questions frequently address
“how well or how much.”
Types of Questions Asked
– Qualitative Paradigm
“there are times when we wish to know not
how many or how well, but simply how.”
(Shulman, 1988, pg. 7)
Class Exercise
Now you’re ready to formulate your own
research question(s)
Sample questions:
– Is there a relationship between participation in
an Elluminate chat session and course
grade?
– How do 5th grade students experience the
anticipation of standardized testing?
Research Questions
From Topic to Research Question
A good research topic asks a clear, concise question.
Asking a research question helps you keep a tight focus on
your topic.
Tweaking Your Research Question
A good research topic is broad enough to allow you to find
plenty of material, but narrow enough to fit within the size and
time constraints of your paper.
–
If your topic is either too broad or too narrow, consider adding or
eliminating the following elements:
Time Period, century, decade, future, Population Type, age,
gender, nationality, species, Geographic Location country,
state, region, Point of View economic, social, cultural,
biological
Assignment 2 Components
(see syllabus for details)
Title Page
Nature of the Problem
Background and Significance of the
Problem
Literature Review
Research Questions
References