Research: Chapter 3: Reviewing the Literature

5 Roles of the Related Literature

1.Define the perimeters of the investigator's field. 2.Placing the research question in perspective. 3.Learning which methods and instruments have been useful and those that have less potential. 4.Avoiding unintentional replication of previous studies 5.Placing researchers in a better position to interpret the significance of their own results.

5 Steps in Writing the Literature Review

1.Identify a topic for investigation 2.Locate the relevant literature 3.Critically evaluate the existing literature. 4.Organize the quality and relevant information outlining the writing process. 5.Present the information identifying the existing research and the purpose and benefits of the new research.

Assessing Relevance

After checking the source for reliability it is important to examine the content of the information and consider: •Will the information be useful to your project? •Was the methodology the same? •Were the demographics of the participants similar? •Are you expanding on a particular research study?

Researching a Topic

Area of Interest Begin with an area of interest but avoid topics that are •too general •too specific •overused •outdated •do not warrant further investigation You must search and sift through all of the information encasing the topic of interest and ask: •Are there loopholes in existing research? •What are the benefits of existing studies and will a new study add to the literature? What are the limitations of the study under consideration?

Is the Topic Manageable?

Ask yourself: 1.Am I truly interested in this topic? 2.Does it meet all the assignment/personal requirements? 3.Do I have access to enough information? 4.Is a paper on this topic feasible?

Get to Know the Library

Libraries often hold archival pieces of information and other types of primary sources that cannot be retrieved online. Good researchers get acquainted with the library catalog, reference desk, and programs and systems for accessing information.

Electronic Databases

Online databases are electronic sources the library pays a fee to have access to. Published articles are found through electronic databases. They search thousands of journals, books, chapters in edited books, government documents, newspapers, and theses/dissertations.

Common Databases for Social and Behavioral Sciences

PSYCTESTS Health and Psychosocial Instruments (H A P I) PSYCINFO PSYCARTICLES Google Scholar L G B T Life with Full Text Academic Search Premier Dissertation Abstracts Online Education Abstracts Educational Resources Information Center (E R I C) Mental Measurements Yearbook Database

Is a Source Trustworthy?

Researchers may want to consider the following questions when examining existing literature: 1.Is the author an expert? 2.Is the source current? 3.Is the source complete? 4.Is the source biased or unbiased? 5.Is the source accurate and logical?

Reviewing the Literature

Writing the literature review is an extensive process you must undergo that entails searching for, organizing and summarizing the related research and literature on a particular topic.

Internet Sources

•Be cautious of material on the web •It should not be assumed that the information is accurate •Corroborate internet information with scholarly sources.

Contributions to the Existing Literature

•Conducting a literature review will orient the researcher with existing literature. •The researcher will seek to demonstrate how a topic or question will make a contribution to existing literature. •The researcher seeks to demonstrate that work is not an unnecessary replication of a study.

Guidelines for Conducting a Literature Review

•Create an outline and process goals to guide work for the project. •Process goals are objectives needed to accomplish a task. •Break the assignment into manageable pieces. •Work on one task at a time.

Search Criteria

•Most researchers begin with the general terms familiar to the subject. •Consider pairing terms as key words. •Be aware of key words highlighted by the database being utilized.

Note Taking and Storage of Sources

•Organization is a key aspect of compiling data. •Electronic information is easily stored on servers, jump drives, and hard drives. •Electronic information can be stored through database accounts such as EndNote. •Keeping sources within the last decade is a good rule of thumb (excluding seminal work)

Secondary Sources

•Present secondhand account of the information. •An assembled review of primary sources •May include textbooks, magazines, newspapers, television, radio, journal articles, documentaries, encyclopedias and nonfiction books.

Peer Reviewed Journals

•Published journal articles are a common source of literature. •Published journal articles require an editorial board to review the work, make corrections, and determine publishability. •The work has been reviewed, edited, critiqued and corrected.

Locating, Exploring, & Analyzing the Literature

•Relevant literature may take several forms including books, book chapters, published journal articles, conference papers or presentations, unpublished theses or doctoral dissertations. •When choosing sources consider: -Is it scholarly work? -Does it have application to the topic? -Is it based on theory?

Organizing and Presenting the Information

•The literature review sets the stage for the purpose of the research. •It informs the reader of the rationale for the research and how the research is relevant to their field. •Begins with an introduction to the topic. Present an overview of the relevance of the subject. •The use of section headers creates clear and logical flow. •Organize the existing research by points of relevance and elaborate on conclusions in the existing body of research. •Organize by theoretical foundation and draw relationships between the current project and previous studies.

Primary Sources

•Work that is considered the original report of research providing firsthand information or is the first published account is known as a primary source. •A primary source is the direct account of an event not an interpretation or explanation and often includes detailed methodology and findings. •May include interviews, observations, surveys, experiments and data analysis.