INTRODUCTION
For any worthwhile study in
any field of knowledge the research worker needs sufficient familiarity with
library and its many resources.
The search for reference
material is time consuming but very fruitful phase of a research program. Every
investigator must know what sources are available in his field of inquiry,
which of them he is likely to use and where and how to find them.
DEFINITIONS OF LITERATURE REVIEW
According
to L.R.Gay,
The review of related
literature involves the systematic identification, location, and analysis of
document containing information related to the research problem.
According
to Fink (1998) Literature review is a systematic,
explicit, and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and interpreting
the existing body of recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and
practitioners.
Meaning and Importance
It is important to have a
literature review because without it
1. you will not acquire an
understanding of your topic,
2.of what has already being
done on it,
3. how it has been
researched, and
4. what the key issues are.
5. To give reasons why the
topic is of sufficient importance for it to be researched
6. To provide the reader with a brief up-to-date
account and discussion of literature on the issue relevant to the topic
7. To provide a conceptual and theoretical context in
which the topic for research can be situated i.e. the limits and boundaries of
your study
8. To
discuss relevant researches carried out
the same topic or similar topics
In writing, at some point, you have to mention that
1. you understand the previous research on
your topic. This means you have understood the main theories in the subject
area and
2. how
they have been applied and developed, as well as the main criticism that have
been made of work on the topic.
The review is therefore, a
part of your academic development– of becoming an expert in the field
PURPOSE:
It provides a theoretical
background to the study.
It reviews the means by
which researcher establishes the link between what he is proposing to examine
and what has already been studied. In simple words, it helps to refine research
methodology.
Through the literature
review researcher are able to show his finding has contributing to existing
body of knowledge in his profession.
It enables researcher to
contextualize his findings
The literature review
demonstrate the under lying assumptions (i.e. proposition) behind the research
question that are the central of research proposal.
.
The literature review
provides the researcher with an opportunity to identify the gaps that may exist
in the body of literature and to provide a rationale for how the proposed study
may contribute to the existing body of knowledge.
The literature review helps
the researcher to refine the researcher questions and embed them in guiding
hypotheses that provide possible directions the researcher may follow
What is
review of literature?
A literature review is an
account of what has been published on a topic by scholars and researchers.
when writing the literature
review section, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and
ideas have been established and
presented on a topic, what are the strengths and weaknesses of theses studies .
As a piece of writing, the
literature review must be defined by a guiding concept. It is not just a
descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries of the
studies. writing a literature review lets you gain and demonstrate the
skills in two areas;
information
seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently,
using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and
books
Critical
appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to
identify unbiased and valid studies.
Some
guidelines for writing an excellent systematic review of a study;
Øintroduction of the study (topic,author name)
Ø Objectives of the research
ØPopulation of the research
ØSample of the study and how the sample is selected.
ØMethodology of the study
Ø Tools of data collection
ØInstrument and analyses of the study
ØFinding
and conclusion of the study
ØSuggestions and
recommendations of the study
ØCritical analysis of the study (what are the
weaknesses of the study).
SOURCES
OF LITERATURE:
There are generally two
types of sources.
1. Primary sources
2. Secondary sources
PRIMARY
SOURCE :
Primary source consists of
literature reported by the individual(s) who actually conducted the research or
who originated the ideas. Or we can say that direct source of information
Following are the types of
direct source.
Periodical literature found
in journals,
Books, monographs, yearbooks
and bulletins,
Graduate, doctoral and other
theses ,and
Certain miscellaneous
sources-like government publications on education.
Definition:
Primary sources are original
materials. They are from the time period involved and have not been filtered
through interpretation or evaluation. Primary sources are original materials on
which other research are based. They are usually the first formal appearance of
results in physical, print or electronic format. They present original thinking,
report a discovery, or share new information.
Examples
include:
•Artifacts
(e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all from the
time under study);
•Audio
recordings (e.g. radio programs)
•Diaries;
•Internet
communications on email
•Interviews
(e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail);
•Journal
articles published in peer-reviewed publications;
•Letters;
•Newspaper
articles written at the time;
•Original
Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript);
•Patents;
•Photographs
•Proceedings
of Meetings, conferences and symposia;
•Records
of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty,
constitution, government document);
•Speeches;
•Survey
Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls);
•Video
recordings (e.g. television programs);
•Works of
art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical
scores, buildings, novels, poems).
•Web site.
SECONDARY SOURCE
Definition:
Secondary sources are less
easily defined than primary sources. Generally, they are accounts written after
the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are interpretations and
evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather
commentary on and discussion of evidence. However, what some define as a
secondary source, others define as a tertiary source. perception is everything
Secondary source, however,
is literature that summarizes primary sources. It does not represent material
published by original researcher or the creator of the idea. These sources also
called indirect source of information.
Encyclopedia of education.
Education indexes.
Educational abstracts.
Bibliographies and
directories.
Bibliographical references
Quotation sources
Miscellaneous other sources.
Typically researcher
will locate both primary and secondary sources. But it is best to report mostly
primary sources. Primary sources present the literature in the original state
and present the view point of the original author. Primary sources also provide
the detail of original research better than secondary sources. Secondary
sources are helpful as researcher begin his review, to explore and determine
the range of material on a topic.
Tertiary sources
Definition:
Tertiary sources consist of
information which is a distillation and collection of primary and secondary
sources. they include encyclopedias, fact books and almanacs, guides and
handbooks. Some secondary sources such as indexing and abstracting tools can
also be considered tertiary sources.
As tertiary sources,
encyclopedias and textbooks attempt to summarize and merge the source materials
into an overview, but may also present subjective commentary and analysis
(which are characteristics of secondary choices).
In the United Nations
International Scientific Information System (UNISIST) model, a secondary source
is a bibliography, whereas a tertiary source is a synthesis of primary source
Tertiary sources generally
provide an overview or summary of a topic, and may contain both primary
and secondary sources. The information is displayed as entirely factual, and does
not include analysis or critique.
Tertiary sources can also be
collections of primary and secondary sources, such as databases,
bibliographies and directories.
How useful are the following
sources?
Journal
articles: these are good especially for up-to-date
information. Bear in mind, though, that it can take up to two years to publish
articles. They are frequently used in literature reviews because they offer a
relatively concise, up-to-date format for research, and because all reputable
journals are refereed (i.e. editors publish only the most relevant and reliable
research).
Books: books
tend to be less up-to-date as it takes longer for a book to be published than
for a journal article. Text books are unlikely to be useful for including in
your literature review as they are intended for teaching, not for research, but
they do offer a good starting point from which to find more detailed sources.
Conference
proceedings: these can be useful in providing the latest research,
or research that has not been published. They are also helpful in providing
information on which people are currently involved in which research areas, and
so can be helpful in tracking down other work by the same researchers
Government/corporate
reports: many government departments and corporations
commission carry out research. Their published findings can provide a useful
source of information, depending on your field of study.
Newspapers: since
newspapers are generally intended for a general (not specialized) audience, the
information they provide will be of very limited use for your literature
review. Often newspapers are more helpful as providers of information about
recent trends, discoveries or changes, e.g. announcing changes in government
policy, but you should then search for more detailed information in other
sources.
Theses
and dissertations: these can be useful sources of information. However
there are disadvantages:
•
they can be difficult to obtain since they are not
published, but are generally only available from the library shelf
2) the student who carried out the research may not be
an experienced researcher and therefore you might have to treat their findings
with more caution than published research.
Internet:
the fastest-growing source of information is the Internet. It is impossible
to characterize the information available but here are some hints about using
electronic sources:
•
bear in mind that anyone can post information on the
Internet so the quality may not be reliable,
•
the information you find may be intended for a general
audience and so not be suitable for inclusion in your literature review
(information for a general audience is usually less detailed)
•
more and more refereed electronic journals
(e-journals) are appearing on the Internet - if they are refereed it means that
there is an editorial board that evaluates the work before publishing it in
their e-journal, so the quality should be more reliable (depending on the
reputation of the journal).
Magazines:
magazines intended for a general audience (e.g. Time) are unlikely to
be useful in providing the sort of information you need. Specialized magazines
may be more useful (for example business magazines for management students) but
usually magazines are not useful for your research except as a starting point
by providing news or general information about new discoveries, policies, etc.
that you can further research in more specialized sources.
