MANG6563
Dissertation
Session 3: Literature Review
Dr Fatema Zaghloul
Fatema.Zaghloul@soton.ac.uk
2Overview
What is a literature review?
Content & Organisation
What makes a good literature review?
Critical Reading/ Writing
Creating a search strategy
Literature Review
4“A researcher cannot perform significant research
without first understanding the literature in the field”
(Boote and Beile, 2005, p.3)
5What is a Literature Review?
Some Definitions …
• “A literature review is a summary of a subject field that supports the
identification of specific research questions…needs to draw on and
evaluate a range of different types of sources including academic
and professional journal articles, books, and web-based resources.”
(Rowley and Slack, 2004, p.31)
• “In general, a literature review has two key elements. First, it should
concisely summarize the findings or claims that have emerged from
prior research efforts on a subject. Second, a literature review
should reach a conclusion about how accurate and complete that
knowledge is; it should present your considered judgments about
what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s inconclusive, and what’s missing
in the existing literature.” (Knopf, 2006, p.127)
• "Literature reviews should be succinct and... give a picture of the
state of knowledge and of major questions in your topic area" (Bell,
2010, p.112)
6What is a Literature Review?
Some Definitions …
• “A literature review is a summary of a subject field that supports the
identification of specific research questions…needs to draw on and
evaluate a range of different types of sources including academic
and professional journal articles, books, and web-based resources.”
(Rowley and Slack, 2004, p.31)
• “In general, a literature review has two key elements. First, it should
concisely summarize the findings or claims that have emerged from
prior research efforts on a subject. Second, a literature review
should reach a conclusion about how accurate and complete that
knowledge is; it should present your considered judgments about
what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s inconclusive, and what’s missing
in the existing literature.” (Knopf, 2006, p.127)
• "Literature reviews should be succinct and... give a picture of the
state of knowledge and of major questions in your topic area" (Bell,
2010, p.112)
What are the major
elements?
7What is a Literature Review?
Some Definitions …
• “A literature review is a summary of a subject field that supports the
identification of specific research questions…needs to draw on and
evaluate a range of different types of sources including academic
and professional journal articles, books, and web-based resources.”
(Rowley and Slack, 2004, p.31)
• “In general, a literature review has two key elements. First, it should
concisely summarize the findings or claims that have emerged from
prior research efforts on a subject. Second, a literature review
should reach a conclusion about how accurate and complete that
knowledge is; it should present your considered judgments about
what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s inconclusive, and what’s missing
in the existing literature.” (Knopf, 2006, p.127)
• "Literature reviews should be succinct and... give a picture of the
state of knowledge and of major questions in your topic area" (Bell,
2010, p.112)
8Why Should I Review the Literature?
The
Purpose?
Seeking new lines
of inquiry
Avoiding fruitless
approaches
Identifying
recommendations
for further
research
Gaining
methodological
insights
Defining the
research problem
Distinguish what
has been done
from what needs
to be done
Gall, Borg, and Gall (1996)
Hart (1998)
9Why Should I Review the Literature?
The
Purpose?
Seeking new lines
of inquiry
Avoiding fruitless
approaches
Identifying
recommendations
for further
research
Gaining
methodological
insights
Defining the
research problem
Distinguish what
has been done
from what needs
to be done
Gall, Borg, and Gall (1996)
Hart (1998)
Key point:
Without establishing the state of the
previous research, it is difficult to
establish how the new research
(your work!) advances the previous
work!
10
The Contents of a Literature Review
• Should provide the reader with answers to:
1. What do we already know about the topic?
2. What do you have to say critically about what is already known?
3. Has anyone else done anything similar or related to what you
propose?
4. Where does your work fit in with what has gone before?
5. Why is your research worth doing, in the light of what has
already been done?
11
Approaching the Literature Review
• To complete  requires planning, time, reading, writing,
drafting, reflection and editing.
• A successful literature review has a firm idea of the research
problem and an understanding of the research
framework/paradigm.
• In order to refine the research problem, conduct preliminary
research which will help you narrow your focus and identify
key search terms.
12
Approaching the Literature Review
• You are expected to ‘place’ your research in the existing
academic literature.
• Simply describing the literature should be avoided. A critical
and analytical judgement which demonstrates how/where
your work is best placed as well as work that needs
developing is essential.
• Your work should contribute to existing literature in the
field.
• Ensure consideration is given to the methodological and/or
theoretical arguments that inform the literature.
13
What makes a Good Literature Review?
A good literature review:
Shows knowledge and is a critical
examination of existing literature of a
certain field
Is not a description of previous work, but
provides a novel and original synthesis
Leads to new ways of looking at a topic
and identifies gaps in the literature
14
Frequently Asked Question …
How long should
it be?
It depends on several factors … e.g.,
the subject area, the type of
dissertation, the subject, the amount of
available literature etc.!
15
“But there isn’t anything on my topic …”
• Three possible reasons:
1. The topic you are searching is so new that there is little already
published but lots of research being undertaken.
2. You have missed some critical understanding of your research
topic and how it relates to the wider literature.
3. Other academics have decided the research is either not
worthwhile or impossible to do.
(Gabbot 2004)
16
Don’t Forget to Check the Criteria
What does a reader/marker look for?
17
Literature Review – Top Tips!
Try experimenting with different search terms when using online search tools
Always keep a record of all the sources you read/ used
Could see the reference list in the journal articles/ books  can help you increase the
breadth of your literature review
Identify the key information and the argument from your sources  could make space
to add your own evaluation
Create a logical structure for your literature review
Could be thematic, chronological, or another form more suitable for your study
Make sure your voice comes through clearly – what evidence convinced you? How did you
develop your views?
Be selective! Check the relevance of the sources you have selected. Limit the amount of
descriptive writing
18
Remember …
“…your task is to build an argument, not a library.”
Rudestam, K.E. and Newton, R.R. (1992)
Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guide to content and process. California: Sage, p49.
Critical Thinking
20
View on Critical Reading
“The trick is being able to see the wood from the trees;
identifying what is relevant amongst a mass of less relevant
information. It isn’t enough just to understand; you have to be
constantly evaluating whether something is accurate, whether it
gets to the heart of the issue, whether it is the most important
aspect on which to focus, whether it is the best example to use
– and whether what you are saying about it is a fair
representation of it.”
(Cottrell 2011)
21
What does ‘critical thinking’ mean in an
academic sense?
• ‘Critical’ need not always be ‘negative’. Perhaps ‘rigorous’ or
‘360 degree’
Critical (adj.) “expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and
faults of a work of literature, music or art”
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2016)
(Critical – Word Cloud, Cambridge Online Dictionary, 2016)
22
Critical Reading Task
Read this summary of Alfie Kohn’s article ‘Down with
Homework’. Try to read critically – what seems to be
the strengths and weaknesses of Kohn’s argument?
“We’ve decided ahead of time that children will have to do something every night … Later on, we’ll
figure out what to make them do”. This commitment to the idea of homework is accepted by the
overwhelming majority of schools.
And it really doesn’t make sense, in part because of what the research shows: there is no evidence to
demonstrate that homework benefits students below secondary school age. Even if you regard
standardised test results as a useful measure (which I don’t), more homework isn’t correlated with
higher scores for children in primary school. The only effect that does show up is less positive effects
on the part of kids who get more assignments.
In secondary school, some studies do find a relationship between homework and test scores, but it
tends to be small. More important, there’s no reason to think that higher achievement is caused by
the homework. No study has ever confirmed that homework yields non-academic benefits like self-
discipline, independence, perseverance or time-management skills – for students at any age. The
idea that it is all worth it because homework helps children learn better simply isn’t true. There’s
little benefit to weigh against the costs.
23
Possible Critiques
• Trying to pass off opinions as facts
• Failure to supply evidence to support claims/ conclusions
• Dismissing or ignoring alternative views without properly
considering the evidence
• Thinking and/or writing about the issue in polar (‘yes or no’)
terms
24
Now Compare …
Marzano, D., & Pickering, J. (2007). The case for and against homework. Educational Leadership, 64(6),
74-79. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ766368
Homework has been a perennial topic of debate in education, and attitudes towards it have been
cyclical (Gill & Schlossman, 2000). We now stand at an interesting intersection in the evolution of the
homework debate. Arguments against homework are becoming louder and more popular, as
evidenced by several recent books, as well as an editorial in Time magazine (Wells, 2006) that
presented these arguments as truth, without much discussion of alternative perspectives. Kohn (2006)
took direct aim at the research on homework. Kohn recommends that it makes good sense only to
assign homework that is beneficial to student learning, instead of as a matter of policy. Certainly,
inappropriate homework may produce little or no benefit; therefore, schools should strengthen their
policies to ensure teachers use homework properly.
At the same time, a number of studies have provided growing evidence of the usefulness of homework
when employed effectively. A meta-analysis by Copper, Robinson and Patall (2006) is the most
comprehensive and rigorous. Cooper et al (2006) noted that “with only rare exceptions, the
relationship between the amount of homework and students’ achievement outcomes was found to be
positive and statistically significant”. Cooper et al further found that a student completing appropriate
homework would score on average 23 percentage points higher on recall of knowledge from the class
in question, than if no homework was completed. This evidence suggests that if a school discards
homework completely it would be throwing away a powerful instructional tool. The best approach,
therefore, is argued to be that of ensuring that schools use homework effectively.
25
Critical Reading Involves
• Examining information from different angles
• Looking for similarities and differences in what various
theorists/writers say
• Being able to judge and argue why one set of opinions,
results or conclusions may be preferable to/stronger than
another …
– … by examining the logical links between evidence gathered,
and the conclusions it is used to support
26
One Model for Critical Thinking/ Reading
What?
• What is the main argument or position?
How?
• How did they reach that belief: what evidence do they
have?
Why?
• How well does the evidence warrant the argument
being made … how valid/strong is it?
27
Some Simple Tips on Writing Critically
Show the right level of strength/caution
can/ may/ some/ if/ likely/ tend to/ appear/ seem to / often / generally
Provide evidence and examples for claims
According to …, X shows/found/states/argues/suggests/claims …
Compare perspectives
Although … other … / not just … but also / while / whereas / however /
similarly / conversely
Draw clear links
Alongside/Having considered … another important factor is …
Consider what is not there
Fails to mention / only considers / overlooks / from … perspective
28
Critical Paragraphs
There is a strong suggestion that a majority of people will choose not
steal, even when faced with temptation or difficult circumstances.
Research by Mixim, Moss and Plummer (1968), as well as later studies
by Cox (2004) and Jones (2011), suggests that most people do
maintain an ethical sense of right and wrong even in areas where
stealing appears to be more socially acceptable. Their findings
suggested that people’s ethical sense wanes when payment methods
are difficult but they do not completely forget what is morally right.
Ebo, Marham and Malik (2004) examined the effect on internet
downloading of easier payment schemes. During the study there was
a dramatic decrease in illegal downloads with the majority of users
choosing to make use of the easy payment scheme. This indicates that
the majority of people who took part acknowledged that to download
music for free, in effect stealing it, was wrong. However, it should be
acknowledged that all of the above experiments were conducted
within laboratory conditions within university settings, so they cannot
be assumed to fully represent typical human behaviour in the real
world.
Topic Sentence
Evidence/Examples
Analysis
Evidence/Examples
Analysis
Critique
29
Let’s Consider Another Example
“In the reading test, the five children who were taught to read
using phonics performed better than the five children taught
using the whole word method. This shows that the phonics
method is a better choice for schools (Browning 2005).”
What is wrong
with this?
30
Contextualised Written Response!
“Browning (2005) found that children taught to read using
phonics did better in a reading test than children using the
whole word method. However, the study was small, the test
rather limited, and the subjects were not tightly matched either
for age or gender. An examination of Browning’s test scores
reveals that, although the mean score of the phonics group was
higher, two of the highest scores in the test were whole word
learners. Since this indicated that the whole word method is
effective for some learners at least, Browning is perhaps too
quick to propose that the phonics method is a better choice for
schools”.
31
Critical Synopsis
1. Why am I reading this?
2. What are the authors trying to do in writing this?
3. What are the authors saying that is relevant to what I want
to find out?
4. How convincing is what the authors are saying?
5. In conclusion, what use can I make of this?
Search Strategy
33
Turning your Research Question(s) into a
Search Strategy …
Identify the
key
concepts in
your
question
Divide your
search into
key
concepts
Choose
keywords
for each
concept
Use
techniques
such as (*),
(?)
Combine
search terms
for each
concept
using OR,
AND
34
A Worked Example …
35
References
• Cottrell (2011), Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument
(2nd Ed.), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Easterby-Smith, Thorpe, and Jackson (2008), Management Research (3rd Ed.), London:
Sage Publications, Chapter 3.
• Gabbott (2004), Undertaking a Literature Review in Marketing, The Marketing Review, 4,
411-429.
• Hart C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Imagination.
London: SAGE.
• Knopf, J. W. (2006). Doing a literature review. PS: Political Science & Politics, 39(1), 127-
132.
• Randolph, J. (2009). A guide to writing the dissertation literature review. Practical
Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 14(1), 13.
• Rowley, J., & Slack, F. (2004). Conducting a literature review. Management research
news.