Literature Review

Question 1

A literature review surveys

Answer 1

scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works.

Question 2

The general purposes of a literature review are to:

Answer 2

describe, summarize, evaluate, clarify and synthesize

Question 3

Types of Literature Reviews

1.

Answer 3

Argumentative 
Interrogative
Historical 
Methodological 
Systematic 
Theoretical

Question 4

A

Answer 4

Argumentative Review: this form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply embedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature.
•The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint.
•Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse.
•However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews.

Question 5

F

Answer 5

2. Integrative Review: this is a form of research which reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated.
   •The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication.

Question 6

F

Answer 6

3. Historical Review: this focuses on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline.
   Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent.
   The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Question 7

F

Answer 7

4. Methodological Review: this approach provides a framework of understanding at different levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches and data collection and analysis techniques), and enables researchers to draw on a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection and data analysis, and helps highlight many ethical issues which we should be aware of and consider as we go through our study.

Question 8

First

Answer 8

5. Systematic Review: this form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research and to collect, report, and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review.
   Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as “To what extent does A contribute to B?”

Question 9

G

Answer 9

6. Theoretical Review: this helps establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested.
   Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems.

Question 10

Structure of literature review

Answer 10

An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
•Division of works under review into themes or categories (e.g. works that support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely),
•An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
•Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding

Question 11

The Critical Evaluation Of Each Work Should Consider:

Answer 11

• Provenance – what are the author’s credentials? Are the author’s arguments supported by evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings)?
• Objectivity – is the author’s perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author’s point?
• Persuasiveness – which of the author’s theses are most/least convincing?
• Value – are the author’s arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

Question 12

Development of Literature Review

•Four Stages

Answer 12

1. Problem formulation – which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
2. Literature search – finding materials relevant to the subject being explored.
3. Data evaluation – determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic.
4. Analysis and interpretation – discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.