LITERATURE REVIEW
• What is Literature Review in Research?
What is LitR in Research?
• It is a comprehensive summary and analysis of existing scholarly
work on a specific topic.
• It identifies gaps, debates, and trends in the field, providing
context and justification for the new research.
• It helps to situate/locate the study within the existing body of
knowledge.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Baron (2013) states that the purpose of literature review
provides the reader with a comprehensive review of the
literature related to the problem under investigation.
• The review of related literature should greatly expand
upon the introduction and background information
presented in the proposal.
• This chapter may contain theories and models relevant
to the problem, a historical overview of the problem,
current trends related to the problem, and significant
research data published about the problem.
Contemporary Issues matter
Bantu education system that was meant for Blacks to remain inferior to other racial
groups in South Africa had favours in terms of hierarchy, others were considered
better than others depending to one’s position in the organisation. The approach used
has been a top-down and no objections whatsoever that were expected from the
bottom. Teachers were excluded in educational plans yet expected to be part of the
plan in the implementation (Wright, 2013).
Power was given to the one on top of the hierarchy (principal) to decide on issues to
be done by all at school. This study is about investigating the participation of
teachers in the development of curriculum that is implemented in schools especially
in our South African context.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• The first section of the LitR generally indicates how the
chapter is organized and explains the subsections that
comprise the chapter.
• LitR provides extensive exposure to the literature and
research related to principal selection.
• The chapter will be divided into sections that include
Introduction and related sections.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Literature review may be lengthy, it is essential to divide the
chapter into as many sections/headings and
subsections/sub-headings as needed to logically organize the
information presented.
• NB: Each section and subsection heading must be properly
listed in the Table of Contents.
• Although you are presenting information from other researchers
and writers, avoid overuse of direct quotations.
• Including many direct quotations produces a literature review
that usually lacks transitions and flow, and is difficult to read
(Baron, 2013).
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• LitR is NOT the place for the researcher to interject any
personal ideas or theories.
• Direct quotations, indirect quotations, or paraphrasing, as
well as any information attributable to other researchers
and individuals, require citations and should use the
format recommended.
• SoE recommends Harvard Referencing style.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• In general, LitR contains between 15 and 30 pages.
Generally, the LitR (Chapter 2) ends with a short
summary of the information presented in the chapter.
• Several paragraphs that highlight the most pertinent
information from the review of literature are usually
sufficient.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• There are two major reasons for reviewing and using
literature (McMillan & Schumacher, 2010).
• The review establishes important links between existing
knowledge and the research problem being
investigated, which enhances the significance; and
• The review provides very helpful information about
methodology that can be incorporated into a new study.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• It must be always remembered that almost every question
about doing new research can be answered by knowing
what others have done and reported.
• This is why the review is so important.
• The purpose of a literature review is to relate previous
research and theory to the problem under investigation.
(McMillan & Schumacher, 2010)
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
Six more specific purposes of literature review are:
1. Refining the research problem to previous literature helps to
narrow down the topic to these specific questions.
• In one sense, the literature provides the ‘data’ for developing specific
research questions.
• For qualitative studies, the review helps establish the appropriate
foreshadowed or central questions that guide the investigation.
2. Establishing a conceptual or theoretical framework-by placing
the research into a more general conceptual framework or theoretical
orientation, a rationale is provided for the research questions.
• Essentially, the intellectual or scholarly perspective in which the
problem is embedded is described.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
3. Developing significance-research needs to make meaningful
contribution to existing knowledge or practice.
• By basing the study on what has been reported, a stronger case for
significance can be made.
• It is best to indicate specifically how the results will be significant,
how they will add to, expand, and build on what has already been
done.
[Link] methodological limitations-one of the best ways to
justify the significance and contribution of the study is to focus on
methodological limitations of previous research.
• This involves an analysis of the literature, not simply a reporting of
what others have found.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
5. Identifying contradictory findings-the review of literature may
uncover studies in which the findings contradict one another.
6. Developing research hypotheses-good research hypotheses that are
used in quantitative research are based on what is suggested from
previous studies.
• Similar research may suggest that a specific result is likely, and
hypotheses will be consistent with those findings.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• In addition, Kumar (2005) states that reviewing literature is
essential preliminary task in order to acquaint yourself with
the available body of knowledge in your area of interest.
• Literature review is an integral part of the entire research
process and makes a valuable contribution to every
operational step.
• Reviewing literature can be time-consuming, daunting and
frustrating, but is also rewarding.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
Its functions are to:
1. Bring clarity and focus to your research problem;
2. Improve your methodology;
3. Broaden your knowledge;
4. Contextualise your findings.
These functions will be discussed in the following
paragraphs:
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
1. Bring clarity and focus to your research problem
• The process of reviewing the literature helps you to understand the
subject area better and thus helps you to conceptualise your research
problem clearly and precisely.
• It also helps you to understand the relationship between your research
problem and the body of knowledge in the area.
2. Improve your methodology
• A literature review tells you if others have used procedures and methods
similar to the ones that you are proposing, which procedures and methods
have worked well for them, and what problems they have faced with them.
• Thus you will be better positioned to select a methodology that is capable
of providing valid answer to your research questions.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
3. Broaden your knowledge base in your research area
• It ensures you to read widely around the subject area in which you intend to conduct your
research study.
• As you are expected to be an expert in your area of study, it helps fulfill this expectation.
• It also helps you to understand how the findings of your study fit into the existing body of
knowledge.
4. Contextualise your findings:
• How do answers to your research questions compare with what others have found?
• What contribution have you been able to make in to the existing body of knowledge?
• How are your findings different from those of others?
• For you to be able to answer these questions, you need to go back to your literature review.
• It is important to place your findings in the context of what is already known in your field of
enquiry.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Procedure for reviewing the literature:
i) Search for existing literature in your area of study;
ii) Review the selected literature;
iii) Develop a theoretical framework; and
iv) Develop a conceptual framework.
STEPS FOR REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
The following steps are recommended :
• Step 1: Search preliminary sources:
• Identify books, articles, professional papers, and other
publications that are relevant to the problem statement.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Step 2: Use secondary sources:
• In examining preliminary sources, one might find out that
other researchers already have written reviews of the
literature that are relevant to one’s problem statement.
• Such reviews are examples of secondary sources.
• A secondary source is a document written by someone who
did not actually does research, develop the theories, or
express the opinions that they have synthesized into a
literature review.
• Preliminary sources can help to determine whether secondary
sources are available.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Step 3: Read primary sources:
• Secondary sources generally review many research studies,
but none in detail.
• For this reason, one will need to obtain and study the original
reports of at least those studies that are most central to one’s
proposed investigation.
• These original reports are called primary sources.
• A primary source is a document (journal article or
dissertation) that was written by the individuals who actually
conducted the research study or two formulated the theory or
opinions that are described in the document.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Step 4: Synthesise the literature
• Once one has read literature all the relevant primary and secondary sources,
one will need to emphasise what one has learned in order to write a literature
review.
• The purpose of literature review is to inform the reader about what already is
known and what is not yet known about the problems or questions that you
plan to investigate.
• Step 5: Search for existing literature:
• To effectively search for literature in your field of enquiry, it is imperative that
you have in mind at least some idea of broad subject area and of the problem
you wish to investigate, in order to set parameters for your search.
• Next, compile an annotated bibliography for this broad area.
• Sources are: Books and Journals.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Step 6: Review the selected literature:
• After identifying books and articles as useful, the next step is
to start reading them critically to pull together themes and
issues that are associated.
• If you do not have a theoretical framework of themes in mind
to start with, use separate sheets of paper for each article or
book. Once you develop a rough framework, slot the findings
from the material so far reviewed into that framework, using a
separate sheet of paper for each theme of that framework.
• As you read further, go on slotting the information where it
logically belongs under the theme so far developed.
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
• Literature pertinent to your study may deal with two types of
information:
- universal;
- more specific( i.e. local trends or specific program)
• In writing about such information you should start with the
general information, gradually narrowing down to the specific.
• Writing up the literature reviewed:
• In order to comply with the first function of literature review
i.e. to provide theoretical background to your study:
Identifying a Theoretical and or Conceptual Framework
• Why ground your study on a theoretical or Conceptual Framework?
• It is vital as it provides a structured foundation for the research,
guiding the development of research questions, methodology, and
analysis.
• It ensures that the study is connected to existing knowledge, offering
a lens through which data can be interpreted and understood.
• The framework also helps in identifying relationships between
variables, enhancing the study's coherence and rigor.
• It lends credibility to the research by situating it within a recognized
body of theory, which facilitates the contribution of new insights to
the field.
• Ultimately, a well-chosen theoretical framework enhances the study's
validity and relevance End 12.08.2024
