Lecture 3 RM

Lecture 3
Critically Reviewing the Literature
By:
Dr. Saddam Hussain
Assignment
Please read any relevant research papers and answer the

following questions.
Background of the research
Research objectives/purpose
Base theory/ies of the research papers
Theoretical/conceptual framework (if any)
Theoretical contributions
Future recommendation/limitations
Slide 3.3
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)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.4
Reasons for reviewing the literature
To conduct a preliminary search of existing material
To organise valuable ideas and findings
To identify other research that may be in progress
To generate research ideas
To develop a critical perspective
Slide 3.5
The literature review process
Source: Saunders et al. (2003)

Figure 3.1 The literature review process
Slide 3.6
The Critical Review

Key purposes
To further refine research questions and objectives
To discover recommendations for further research
To avoid repeating work already undertaken
To provide insights into strategies and techniques appropriate

to your research objectives
Based on Gall et al. (2006)

Slide 3.7
Adopting a critical perspective

Skills for effective reading
Previewing which is looking around the text before you start
reading in order to establish precisely its purpose and how it
may inform you literature search
Annotating that is conducting a dialogue with yourself, the
author and the issues and the ideas at stake
Summarising the best way to determine that youve really got
the point is to be able to state it in your words. Outlining the
argument of text is a version of annotating, and can be done
quite informally in the margins of the text
Comparing and contrasting: ask your self how you thinking
has been altered by this reading or how has it affected your
response to the issue and themes your research
Harvard College Library (2006)
Slide 3.8

The most important skills are
The capacity to evaluate what you read
The capacity to relate what you read to other

information
Wallace and Wray (2006)
Slide 3.9
Questions to ask yourself
Why am I reading this?
What is the author trying to do in writing this?
How convincing is this?
What use can I make of this reading?
Adapted from Wallace and Wray (2006)
Slide 3.10
Content of the critical review

You will need to
Include key academic theories
Demonstrate current knowledge of the area
Use clear referencing for the reader to find the

original cited publications
Acknowledge the research of others
Slide 3.11
Is your literature review critical?
Slide 3.12
Is your literature review critical?
Slide 3.13
The key to a critical literature review
Demonstrate that you have read, understood and

evaluated your material
Link the different ideas to form a consistent and logical

argument
Make clear connections to your research objectives and

the subsequent empirical material
Saunders et al. (2009)
Slide 3.14
Literature sources available
Figure 3.2 Literature sources available

Slide 3.15
Journals
Journals are also known as periodical serials and
magazines and are published on a regular basis. Journals
are a vital literature source for any research. They are well
covered by tertiary literature, and good selection can be
accessed from most university libraries (printed or
online)
Slide 3.16
Refereed academic Journals

Articles in refereed academic journals (such as Journal of
management studies)are evaluated by peers academic prior to
publication, to assess their quality and suitability, they are
usually written by experts in the field. There will be usually be
detailed footnotes, an extensive bibliography , rigorous
attention to detail and verification of information.
Such articles are written for a more narrow audience of
scholars with a particular interest in the field. The language
used may be technical or highly specialized as a prior
knowledge of the topic will be assumed.
Slide 3.17
Trade Journals
They fulfill a similar function to professional journals.
They are published by trade organizations or aimed
at particular industries or trades such as carting or
mining. Often they focus in new products or services
and news items, they rarely contain articles based on
empirical research, although some provide summaries
of research, You should therefore use these with
consideration caution for you research project.
Slide 3.18
Books
Books and monographs are written for specific audiences.
Some are aimed at the academic, with a theoretical slant.
Others, aimed at practicing professionals, may be more applied
in their content. The material in books is usually presented in a
more ordered and accessible manner than in journals, polling
together a wider range of topics, they are therefore,
practically useful as introductory sources to help clarify your
research question(s) and objectives or research methods you
intend to use. Some academic textbooks such as this one are
now supported by web pages providing additional information.
Slide 3.19
Newspaper
Newspaper are good source of topical events, developments
within business and government, as well as recent statistical
information such as share prices, they also sometimes review
recent research report.
Again you should be carful when you use newspaper in your
research project as newspaper may contain bias in their
coverage, be it political geographical or personal.
Reporting can also be inaccurate and you may not pick up any
subsequent amendments
Slide 3.20
Reports
Reports include market research reports such as those
produced by Mintel and keynote government reports and
academic reports. It is not easy to get access for these
reports as they are not as widely available as books. It is
important to try to assess the authority of the author, and
to beware of personal bias
Slide 3.21
Conference proceedings
Conference proceedings sometimes referred to as
symposia, as often published as unique titles within
journals or as books. Most conferences have a theme that
is very specific, but some have a wide-range overview.
Many conferences have associated web pages providing
abstract and occasionally the full papers presented at the
conference .
Slide 3.22
Theses
Theses are unique and so far a major research project
can be a good source of further references. Unfortunately,
they can be difficult to locate and, when found, difficult to
access as there may be only one copy at the awarding
institution.
Slide 3.23
Planning your search strategy

All our students have found their literature search a time
consuming process, which take far longer than expected.
Fortunately, time spent planning will be rapid in time saved
when searching the literature. As you start to plan your search,
you need to beware of information overload!
One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to start the main
search for your critical review with a clearly defined research
question (s), objectives and outline proposal.
Slide 3.24
The literature search strategy

Write down
parameters of your search
key words and search terms to be used
databases and search engines to be used
criteria for selection of relevant and useful studies
And
Discuss these with a tutor (if possible)
Slide 3.25
Defining the parameters of your search

For most research questions and objectives you will have a
good idea of which subject matter is going to be relevant. You
will, however, be less clear about the parameters within which
you need to search. In particular, you need to be clear about
the following (Bell 2005):
Language of publication (e.g. English);
Subject area (e.g. accountancy);
Business sector (e.g. manufacturing);
Geographical area (e.g. Europe);
Publication period (e.g. the last 10 years);
Literature type (e.g. refereed journals and books).
Slide 3.26
Generating your keywords

It is important at this stage to read both articles by key authors
and recent review articles in area of your research .This will
help you to define your subject matter and to suggest
appropriate key words. Recent review articles in your research
area are often helpful here as they discuss the current state of
research for a particular topic and can help you to refine your
keywords.
Slide 3.27
Discussion
We believe you should be taking every opportunity to
discuss your research. In discussing you work with
others, whether face to face, by email or by letter ,you
will be sharing your ideas, getting feedback and
obtaining new ideas and approaches. This process will
help you to refine and clarify your topic.
Slide 3.28
Recording the literature
Make notes for each item you read
Record
Biographic details
Brief summary of content
Supplementary information
Sharp et al. (2002)
Slide 3.29
Plagiarism
Four common forms
Stealing material from another source
Submitting material written by another
Copying material without quotation marks
Paraphrasing material without documentation
Adapted from Park (2003), cited in Easterby-Smith et al. (2008)
Slide 3.30
Summary
The critical literature review
Sets the research in context
Leads the reader into later sections of the report
Begins at a general level and narrows to specific topics
Slide 3.31
Assignment & Quiz

Assignment
Difference between References and Bibliography
Importance of citation or referencing i.e. (APA style) in
research report/paper/thesis.
Quiz
Learn APA style of referencing i.e. how to cite journal
paper, book, newspaper, website, unpublished
these/reports/paper, reports or any material without
author name/without publication date/without info about
publisher, etc.

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Lecture 3

Critically Reviewing the Literature

Please read any relevant research papers and answer the

Reasons for reviewing the literature

To conduct a preliminary search of existing material

To organise valuable ideas and findings

To identify other research that may be in progress

To generate research ideas

To develop a critical perspective

The literature review process

Source: Saunders et al. (2003)

The Critical Review

To further refine research questions and objectives

To discover recommendations for further research

To avoid repeating work already undertaken

To provide insights into strategies and techniques appropriate

Based on Gall et al. (2006)

Adopting a critical perspective

Adopting a critical perspective

The capacity to evaluate what you read

The capacity to relate what you read to other

Wallace and Wray (2006)

Adopting a critical perspective

Questions to ask yourself

Why am I reading this?

What is the author trying to do in writing this?

How convincing is this?

What use can I make of this reading?

Adapted from Wallace and Wray (2006)

Content of the critical review

Include key academic theories

Demonstrate current knowledge of the area

Use clear referencing for the reader to find the

Acknowledge the research of others

Is your literature review critical?

Is your literature review critical?

The key to a critical literature review

Demonstrate that you have read, understood and

Link the different ideas to form a consistent and logical

Make clear connections to your research objectives and

Saunders et al. (2009)

Literature sources available

Figure 3.2 Literature sources available

Refereed academic Journals

Planning your search strategy

The literature search strategy

Discuss these with a tutor (if possible)

Defining the parameters of your search

Generating your keywords

Recording the literature

Make notes for each item you read

Brief summary of content

Sharp et al. (2002)

Four common forms

Stealing material from another source

Submitting material written by another

Copying material without quotation marks

Paraphrasing material without documentation

Adapted from Park (2003), cited in Easterby-Smith et al. (2008)