STEP II: Reviewing the Literature
[Link] ,PhD (Arch),M-Tech (Arch), B-Tech(Arch)
Module 03
Reviewing the Literature
In this lecture you will learn about:
The functions of the literature review in research.
How to carry out a literature search.
How to review the selected literature.
How to develop theoretical and conceptual
frameworks.
How to write a literature review.
Reviewing the Literature
The place of the literature review in research
One of the essential preliminary tasks when you
undertake a research study is to go through the existing
literature in order to acquaint yourself with the available
body of knowledge in your area of interest.
Reviewing the literature can be time consuming,
daunting and frustrating, but it is also rewarding. The
literature review is an integral part of the research
process and makes a valuable contribution to almost
every operational step. It has value even before the first
step;
Reviewing the Literature
In summary, a literature review has the following
functions:
It provides a theoretical background to your study.
It helps you establish the links between what you are
proposing to examine and what has already been
studied.
It enables you to show how your findings have
contributed to the existing body of knowledge in your
profession. It helps you to integrate your research
findings into the existing body of knowledge.
Reviewing the Literature
In relation to your own study, the literature review can
help in four ways. It can:
1. bring clarity and focus to your research problem;
2. improve your research methodology;
3. broaden your knowledge base in your research area; and
4. contextualize your findings.
Reviewing the Literature
[Link] clarity and focus to your
research problem
The literature review involves a inconsistency. On the
one hand, you cannot effectively undertake a literature
search without some idea of the problem you wish to
investigate. On the other hand, the literature review can
play an extremely important role in shaping your research
problem because the process of reviewing the literature
helps you to understand the subject area better and thus
helps you to conceptualize your research problem clearly
and precisely and makes it more relevant and pertinent to
your field of enquiry.
CONTINUE
When reviewing the literature you learn what aspects of
your subject area have been examined by others, what
they have found out about these aspects, what gaps they
have identified and what suggestions they have made for
further research.
All these will help you gain a greater insight into your
own research questions and provide you with clarity and
focus which are central to a relevant and valid study. In
addition, it will help you to focus your study on areas
where there are gaps in the existing body of knowledge,
thereby enhancing its
Reviewing the Literature
2. Improve your research methodology;
Going through the literature informs you with
the methodologies that have been used by
others to find answers to research questions
similar to the one you are investigating.
Reviewing the Literature
3. broaden your knowledge base in your
research area;
The most important function of the literature
review is to ensure you read widely around the
subject area in which you intend to conduct your
research study.
It is important that you know what other
researchers have found in regard to the same or
similar questions, what theories have been put
forward and what gaps exist in the relevant body
of knowledge.
CONTINUE
When you undertake a research project for a higher degree
(e.g. an MA or a PhD) you are expected to be an expert in
your area of research. A thorough literature review helps
you to fulfill this expectation.
Another important reason for doing a literature review is
that it helps you to understand how the findings of your
study fit into the existing body of knowledge (Martin
1985: 30).
How to review the literature
There are four steps involved in conducting a literature
review:
Searching for the existing
Step 1 literature in your area of study.
Reviewing the selected
Step 2 literature.
Developing a theoretical
Step 3
framework.
Developing a conceptual
Step 4 framework.
How to review the literature
Step 1: Searching for the existing literature in your area of
study.
To search effectively for the literature in your field of enquiry, it
is imperative that you have at least some idea of the broad subject
area and of the problem you wish to investigate, in order to set
parameters for your search. Next, compile a bibliography for this
broad area. There are three sources that you can use to prepare
a bibliography:
books;
journals;
the Internet.
How to review the literature
books;
Though books are a central part of any bibliography,
they have their disadvantages as well as advantages.
The main advantage is that the material published in
books is usually important and of good quality, and the
findings are ‘integrated with.
The main disadvantage is that the material is not
completely up to date, as it can take a few years between
the completion of a work and its publication in the form
of a book.
How to review the literature
journals;
You need to go through the journals relating to your
research in a similar manner. Journals provide you
with the most up-to-date information, even though
there is often a gap of two to three years between the
completion of a research project and its publication in
a journal. You should select as many journals as you
possibly can, though the number of journals available
depends upon the field of study – certain fields have
more journals than others. search electronic databases.
CONTINUE
As with books, you need to prepare a list of the
journals you want to examine for identifying the
literature relevant to your study. This can be done in
a number of ways.
You can: locate the hard copies of the journals that
are appropriate to your study; look at citation or
abstract indices to identify and/or read the abstracts
of such articles;
How to review the literature
the Internet.
In almost every academic discipline and
professional field, the Internet has become an
important tool for finding published literature.
Through an Internet search you can identify
published material in books, journals and other
sources with immense ease and speed.
An Internet search is carried out through search
engines, of which there are many, though the
most commonly used are Google and Yahoo.
CONTINUE
Searching through the Internet is very similar to the
search for books and articles in a library using an
electronic catalogue, as it is based on the use of
keywords. An Internet search basically identifies all
material in the database of a search engine that
contains the keywords you specify, either
individually or in combination. It is important that
you choose words or combinations of words that
other people are likely to use.
Step 2: Reviewing the selected literature
Now that you have identified several books and
articles as useful, the next step is to start reading
them critically to pull together themes and issues
that are of relevance to your study. Unless you
have a theoretical framework of themes in mind to
start with, use separate sheets of paper for each
theme or issue you identify as you go through
selected books and articles.
Step 2: Reviewing the selected literature
While going through the literature you should carefully and
critically examine it with respect to the following aspects:
Note whether the knowledge relevant to your theoretical
framework has been confirmed beyond doubt.
Note the theories put forward, the criticisms of these and their
basis, the methodologies adopted (study design, sample size and its
characteristics, measurement procedures, etc.) and the criticisms of
them.
Examine to what extent the findings can be generalized to other
situations.
Notice where there are significant differences of opinion among
researchers and give your opinion about the validity of these
differences.
Determine the areas in which little or nothing is known – the gaps
that exist in the body of knowledge.
Step 3: Developing a theoretical framework
Developing a theoretical framework for a literature
review is a crucial part of any research project. It
provides the structure for analyzing your topic and
supports your study by anchoring it in existing
knowledge.
What is a Theoretical Framework?
A theoretical framework is a collection of
interrelated concepts, models, or theories that
guide your research by explaining how and why
certain phenomena occur. It serves as the lens
through which you interpret your findings.
Steps to Develop a Theoretical Framework in a
Literature Review
1. Identify Key Concepts from Your Research Problem
Start by analyzing your research question or problem. What
are the major concepts or variables? For example:
• If your topic is “The role of informal housing in urban
resilience,” key concepts might include urban resilience,
informal housing, and adaptive capacity.
2. Review Existing Theories and Models
Search the literature for theories, models, or conceptual
frameworks that relate to your topic. Ask:
• What theories have other researchers used to study similar
problems?
• Are there established models that explain relationships
between your key concepts?
Continue
Example theories: Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs (for human behavior)
Systems theory (for interdependencies)
Resilience theory (for environmental/urban
studies)
Continue
3. Evaluate and Select Relevant Theories
Choose the most relevant theory or a combination of theories
that:
• Align with your research objectives
• Can explain relationships between your variables
• Are widely accepted and supported in the literature
4. Define the Key Concepts and Variables
Clearly define the meaning of each key term and concept as
used in your framework. Use definitions from the literature.
For example:
• Urban resilience – “The ability of an urban system to maintain
or rapidly return to desired functions in the face of a
disturbance” (Meerow et al., 2016).
Continue
5. Show Relationships Between Concepts
Use a diagram or narrative to illustrate how the variables or
concepts are related. This can take the form of:
• A conceptual model
• A flowchart showing cause-and-effect
• A set of hypotheses
6. Justify Your Framework
Explain why you selected the framework and how it will help:
• Analyze the data
• Interpret findings
• Fill gaps in existing research
Example (Short Form)Topic
: The
impact of social media on youth mental
health
Theory Used: Bandura’s Social Cognitive
Theory Framework Explanation: This theory
helps explain how youth learn behaviors and
attitudes by observing others online. The
framework includes concepts like
observational learning, reinforcement, and
self-efficacy.
Tips for Writing the Theoretical Framework
Section
• Be concise but comprehensive
• Cite relevant and credible sources
• Align your framework with your research design
and methodology
• Use visuals if helpful
Step 4: Developing a conceptual framework
The conceptual framework is the basis of your research
problem. It stems from the theoretical framework and
usually focuses on the section(s) which become the basis of
your study.
Whereas the theoretical framework consists of the
theories or issues in which your study is embedded, the
conceptual framework describes the aspects you selected
from the theoretical framework to become the basis of your
enquiry.
Writing about the literature reviewed
Now, all that remains to be done is to write about the literature
you have reviewed. As mentioned in the beginning of this
chapter, two of the broad functions of a literature review are
(1) to provide a theoretical background to your study and (2)
to enable you to contextualize your findings in relation to the
existing body of knowledge in addition to refining your
methodology.
The content of your literature review should reflect these two
purposes. In order to fulfil the first purpose, you should
identify and describe various theories relevant to your field;
and specify gaps in existing knowledge in the area, recent
advances in the area of study, current trends and so on
Summary
Reviewing the literature is a continuous process. It
begins before a research problem is finalized and
continues until the report is finished. There is a
(Paradox) inconsistency in the literature review: you
cannot undertake an effective literature review
unless you have formulated a research problem, yet
your literature search plays an extremely important
role in helping you to formulate your research
problem. The literature review brings clarity and
focus to your research problem, improves your
research methodology and broadens your knowledge
CONTINUE
Reviewing the literature involves a number of steps:
searching for existing literature in your area of
study; reviewing the selected literature; using it to
develop a theoretical framework from which your
study emerges and also using it to develop a
conceptual framework which will become the basis
of your investigation. The main sources for
identifying literature are books, journals and the
Internet. There are several sources which can
provide information about locating relevant journals.
Summary
The literature review serves two important function:
(1) it provides theoretical background to your study,
and (2) it helps you to contextualize your findings by
comparing them with what others have found out in
relation to the area of enquiry. At this stage of the
research process, only the first function can be
fulfilled. You can only take steps to achieve the
second function when you have analyzed your data
and are in the process of writing about your findings.
CONTINUE
Your writing about the literature reviewed should be
thematic in nature, that is based on main themes; the
sequence of these themes in the write-up should follow a
logical progression; various arguments should be
substantiated with specific quotations and citations from
the literature and should adhere to an acceptable academic
referencing style.
Thank you
