Chapter 2 Literature Review:

An Overview

The Review of related literature involves the systematic identification, location, and
analysis of documents containing information related to the research problem. The
term is also used to describe the written component of a research plan or report that
discusses the reviewed documents. These documents can include articles, abstracts,
reviews, monographs, dissertations, other research reports, and electronic media.
The literature review has several important purposes that make it well worth the time
and effort. The major purpose of reviewing the literature is to determine what has
already been done that relates to your topic, This knowledge not only prevents you
from unintentionally duplicating another person’s research, it also gives you the
understanding and insight you need to place your topic within a logical frame. Put
simply, the review tells you what has been done and what needs to be done. Previous
studies can provide the rationale for your research hypothesis, and indications of
what to be done can help you justify the significance of your study.

Purpose of RRL

1. To obtain background knowledge of your research

2. To relate your study to the current condition or situation of the world
3. To show the capacity of your research work to introduce new knowledge
4. To expand, prove or disapprove the findings of previous research studies
5. To increase your understanding of the underlying theories, principles or
concept of your research.
6. To explain technical terms involved in your research study
7. To highlight the significance of your work with the kind of evidence it
gathered to support the conclusion of your research
8. To avoid repeating previous research studies
9. To recommend the necessity of further research on a certain topic
Styles or approaches of RRL or review of related literature

1. Traditional Review of literature

A narrative or traditional literature review is a comprehensive, critical and objective

analysis of the current knowledge on a topic. They are an essential part of the
research process and help to establish a theoretical framework and focus or context
for your research. A literature review will help you to identify patterns and trends in
the literature so that you can identify gaps or inconsistencies in a body of knowledge.
This should lead you to a sufficiently focused research question that justifies your
research.

Systematic Review of literature

A systematic review is a review of a clearly formulated question that uses systematic

and reproducible methods to identify, select and critically appraise all relevant
research, and to collect and analyse data from the studies that are included in the
review.

A systematic review:

 Answers a focused research question

 Employs a comprehensive, reproducible search strategy
 Identifies ALL relevant studies (both published and unpublished)
 Assesses all results for inclusion/exclusion, and for quality
 Presents an unbiased, balanced summary of findings
 Involves a team of researchers looking at a complex research question
 Can take months, or even years, to complete.

A systematic review can be either quantitative or qualitative.

A quantitative systematic review will include studies that have numerical data.
A qualitative systematic review derives data from observation, interviews, or verbal
interactions and focuses on the meanings and interpretations of the participants. It
will include focus groups, interviews, observations and diaries. For further
information see our guide on Finding Qualitative Research in the Health Sciences.

Structure of RRL

The structure of the whole literature review indicates the organizational pattern or
order of the components of the summary of the RRL results. For the traditional review,
the structure of the summary resembles that of an essay where series of united
sentences presents the RRL results. For the systematic review, the structure is based
on the research questions;

The process of RRL

Stage 1: Look for source of knowledge, data or information to answer your research
question or support your assumptions about your research topic.

Three basic types of literature sources

General reference-direct you to the location of other sources

Primary sources- directly report or present a person’s own experiences
Secondary sources- Report or describe other people’s experiences or worldviews.

Pointers in searching the best sources of information or data ;( Mc Leod 2012)

1. Choose previous research findings that are closely related to your research
2. Give more weight to studies done by people possessing expertise or authority
in the field of knowledge to which the research studies belong.
 3. Consider sources of knowledge that refer more to primary data than to
secondary data.
4. Prefer getting information from peer-reviewed materials than from general
reading materials.

Stage 2: Reading the Source Material

Reading, Understanding, or making the materials meaningful to you is what will

preoccupy you on the second stage of reading RRL.

HOTS

-think interpretatively through these ways of inferential thinking: predicting,

generalizing, concluding and assuming.

Use your ability to criticize, evaluate, apply and create things about what you have
read. After reading the source material, you can modify, construct, or reconstruct
ideas based on a certain principle, theory, pattern, method, or theme underlying your
research.

Stage 3: Writing the review

You do a great deal of idea connection and organization in your RRL to form an
overall understanding of the material by paraphrasing or summarizing. In doing
either of these two, you get to change the arrangement of ideas, structures of the
language and the format of the text using the appropriate format. This means that
in writing the review, based on the focus, theme, or theory underlying your research,
you are free to fuse your opinions with the author’s ideas. (Corti 2014)
Dump or stringing method.

A simple presentation of the findings or argumentations of the writers on a particular

topic with no connection, incorporation of your own thinking about other people’s
ideas indicate poor literature review writing.

Juxtaposing

Deals with the studies with respect to each other is your way of proving the extent
of the validity of the findings of previous studies vis-a vis the recent one. Writing the
review analytically, argumentatively, or critically, give yourself the chance to express
your genuine or opinionated knowledge about the topic; thereby increasing the
enthusiasm of people in reading your work.

Example of an article with a bibliographical list that begins with the author’s name
that is not good.

Aquino(2015) said….
Roxas(2016) stated….
Perez(2017) wrote….

Example of better article openings manifesting critical thinking through analysis,

comparison and contrast of ideas and findings.

One early work by (Castro, 2017) proves that….

Another study on the topic by (Torres, 2017) maintains that…
The latest study by (Gomez, 2018) reveals that….
A research study by (Rivera, 2017) explains that….
Transitional devices

Also, additionally, again, similarly, a similar opinion, however, conversely, on the

other hand, nevertheless, a contrasting opinion a different approach etc.

Active verbs

Analyze, argues, assess, assert, assume, claim, compare, contrast, conclude, criticize,
debate, defend, define, emphasize, explain, expand, relate to, report, review, suggest
summarize etc.

Standard Styles in RRL, Citation, or References.

The following are the three terms used to express appreciation or recognition of
people’s ownership of borrowed ideas(Sharp 2012):

1. Acknowledgement- The beginning portion of the work that identifies

individuals who have contributed something for the production of the paper.
2. References or Bibliography-A complete list of all reading materials, including
books, journals, periodicals, etc. from where the borrowed ideas came from
3. Citation or In-text Citation- references within the main body of the text,
specifically in RRL.

Purposes of Citation

1. To give importance and respect to other people for what they know about the
field.
2. To give authority ,validity, and credibility to other people’s claims, conclusions
and arguments
3. To prove your broad and extensive reading of authentic and relevant materials
about your topic
 4. To help readers find or contact the sources of ideas easily
5. To permit readers to check the accuracy of your work
6. To save yourself from plagiarism

Styles of Citation

1. Integral Citation
One way of citing or referring to the authors work/ideas that appears in your
work. Using active verbs like claim, assert, state etc. to report the author’s
ideas.
Example:

APA MLA
One study by Manalo (2015) reveals… One study by (Manalo 70)
The latest work by (Lee,2015)asserts… The latest work by (Lee,123)

2. Non-integral Citation
In contrast to integral citation that reflects the author’s personal inclinations
and the stress is given to the piece of information rather than to the owner of
the ideas. The name of the author normally appears in parenthesis after the
sentence, usually by using the author's last name and the year of publication.

Example:
The northern forest ecosystems nitrogen (N) is often considered to limit tree growth
(Tamm, 1991). The high N deposition caused by anthropogenic emissions may,
however, lead to N saturation in the forest ecosystems and thus N leaching (Aber et
al., 1989), something which has already been observed in central Europe (Gundersen
et al., 2006).
Documentation styles

MLA -stands for Modern Language Association. It is a style of formatting academic

papers that is used mostly in the arts and humanities.

APA- stands for American Psychological Association, the professional guild who first
developed the guidelines of the style. APA is a style of formatting academic papers
that is used mostly in the social sciences.

In-text parenthetical citation:

 MLA: Parenthetical citation in MLA style must include at least the

author's name. It should also include the page number if a specific page is
cited, and a short title if more than one work by the same author is listed in
the Works Cited page at the end of the paper.

Example 1: "In 'Escaping the demon,' a story about mental illness, the
protagonist's point of view is portrayed through a mosaic style which the
narrator refers to as "looking at life through broken glass" (Williams 12).

Example 2: "Abrams succinctly outlines his version of the history of

literary criticism prior to the Renaissance through the metaphor of the
mirror "representing reality unblinkingly (98)."

Example 3: "One writer has characterized the effect of computerization on

the human psyche as spiritual saturation (Gergen, "Social Saturation," 45).

 APA: Very similar to MLA. APA in-text citation must include at least the
author's name; also, the year of publication (with letters for multiple
sources published the same year [1989a, 1989b]), and the page number,
designated as p. 123. APA uses more commas to separate blocks of
information than MLA.
 Example 1: Hoffenstreich's first book (1995) was a masterpiece of
threaded narration.

Example 2: Studies by Self and Hilligoss suggest that "students' revision

skills and commitment actually decline with word processing" (1993b, p.
33).

Example 3: However, a recent biography of Yeats (Mariani, 1997)

revealed that the poet was dysfunctional.

Electronic sources:

MLA
 Publication date. This would be either the date the page was created or last
modified, AND the date of access. (So each citation should have two
dates.) If the website is a digitized version of a print source, the date of the
print source can be included as well.
 URLs. These should always be included, and should be demarcated with
angle brackets, as in <www.mla.org>. Break long URLs after a forward
slash.
 Pages. Cite page or paragraph numbers if available.
 Organization. The organization sponsoring the site, or to which the
individual belongs, should be listed.
 Versions. Which version or edition of an electronic source is very
important and should be included.

Examples:
Gray, Paul. "Paradise Found." Time 19 Jan. 1998. 5 Feb. 1998.
<http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/1998/dom/980119/cover1.htm
l>.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Ed. Internet Wiretap. 1993.
15 Jan. 1998. <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/rgs/sawyr-table.html>

Chadima, Steve. "Re: Businesss as Poker." E-mail to Leonard J. Rosen. 14

Aug. 1998.

Nostroni, Eric. "Collaborative Learning in a Networked Environment."

 Online posting. 8 Sept. 1997. Electronic Forum. 9 Nov. 1997.
<eforum@cgu.edu>

Richardson, Lea. Online debate. "The Politics of Recycling." 16 Aug.

1997. EnviroMOO. 16 Aug. 1997.
<telnet://enviro.moo.greenearth.org:42557.

"Industrial Revolution." Concise Columbia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM.

Redmond: Microsoft, 1994.

APA -follows the style for print sources closely. Open with author, date, and
title. Then follow with a denotation of the type of electronic source, and follow
up with the URL or the source location information.

Examples:

NCTE. (1987). On writing centers. [CD-ROM]. Urbana: ERIC Clearning House.

Silver Platter.

Keegan, J. (1999). Normandy: The invasion conceived, 1941-43. In

Encyclopedia Britannica [Online]. URL
http://normandy.eb.com/normandy/week1/buildup.html

Dice, R. (1998, June 15). Web Database Crash course--Lesson 1 [WWW

document]. URL http://www.hotwired.com/webmonkey/98/24/index0a.
html?tw=frontdoor

Patterns of citation

1. Summary
2. Paraphrase
3. Short direct quotation
4. Long direct quotation or block quotation or extract

In-Text Citation assignment Requirements

& Examples in both APA and MLA styles
 1. Summary- Write a sentence summarizing - in your own words - a main
idea (e.g. thesis) of one your sources and integrating a correct in-text citation
of the source summarized:

1.A. APA-Style SUMMARY In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:

If you identify the source in your summary sentence:

Devlin (1999) explains the benefits of combining the social sciences and mathematics to chart
human behavior.
Smith (n.d.) analyzes plausible reasons why attempts to return sign language-using apes to the wild
have not been successful.
Inman and George (2004) argue that awareness of political issues enters the worldview of children
at a very young age.

If you do not identify the source in your summary sentence:

One study has advanced the benefits of combining the social sciences and mathematics to chart
human behavior (Devlin, 1999).
Attempts to return sign-language-using apes to the wild have had mixed results (Smith, n.d.).
Although studies have shown that the behavior of peers and family members affects the
development of eating disorders in children, no clear patterns have been established (Phares,
Steinberg, & Thompson, 2005).

1.B. MLA-Style SUMMARY In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:

If you identify the source in your summary sentence:

Nancy Morris has examined the roles of women in Thomas Hardy's novels.
Wayne E. Franits explains the domestic roles that wives and husbands were commonly expected
to fulfill in seventeenth-century Dutch society.
In his essay "Poetic Principle," Edgar Allan Poe announced the doctrines on which he based his
own creative writing and literary criticism.

If you do not identify the source in your summary sentence:

One critic has examined the roles of women in Thomas Hardy's novels (Morris).
Seventeenth-century Dutch wives and husbands had clearly defined roles to fulfill in their marriages
(Franits).
2. PARAPHASE: Write a sentence paraphrasing - in your own words - one or two
specific sentences contained in one your sources (preferably a *paginated* print
source), and integrating a correct in-text citation of the source paraphrased; for a
paginated source, you must include page number on which the paraphrased
sentence/s can be found in this source.

2.A. APA-Style PARAPHRASE In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:

If you identify the source in your paraphrase :

Greenfield and Savage-Rumbaugh (1990) have acknowledged that Kanzi's linguistic development was
slower than that of a human child (p. 567).
Kirby (2004) found that the policy makers for the Caswell County local government were not receptive to the
needs of the African American men in her study (p. 4).

If you do not identify the source in your paraphrase:

Kanzi's linguistic development was slower than that of a human child (Greenfield & Savage-Rumbaugh,
1990, p. 567).
Policy makers for the Caswell County local government were not receptive to the needs of African American
men in one study (Kirby, 2004, p. 4).
2.B. MLA-Style PARAPHRASE In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:

If you identify the source in your paraphrase:

First-year students on financial aid at Brown University benefit from new policies adopted by BUOFA (Brown
University Office of Financial Aid): these students are not expected to work during the first year of their
financial aid package (12) and are awarded a one-time grant to help compensate for the income lost by not
working during this first year (14).
Herbert Norfleet maintains that the use of video games by children improves their hand and eye coordination
(45).

If you do not identify the source in your paraphrase:

First-year students awarded financial aid packages by Brown University Office of Financial Aid are given
one-time grants so that they do not have to work during their first year of study (BUOFA 14, 12).
Use of video games can improve children's hand-eye coordination, according to one researcher (Norfleet
45).

3. SHORT DIRECT QUOTATION (less than 5 lines regular formatted text or fewer
than 40 words): Write a sentence containing a short direct quotation enclosed in
quotation marks, from one of yoursources (preferably a *paginated* source), and
integrating a correct in-text citation of the source quoted; for a paginated source,
you must include page number on which the quoted passage can be found in this
source. In-text source citation must be correctly formatted following your approved documentation style
and clearly match-able to the first word/s of the corresponding full bibliographical entry for that source in
your accompanying Annotated Working Bibliography.

*PAGINATED* source = print source having fixed/stable page numbers, OR a .pdf document which
reproduces a scanned (photo)copy of a print source with fixed/stable page numbers.

UNPAGINATED source does not have fixed page numbers: e.g. a personal communication or
inteview, a web page or .htm/.html document without stable/fixed page numbers, "Field Sources"
(e.g. a lecture) or "Media Sources" (e.g. a film, television program, DVD).
3.A. APA-Style SHORT QUOTATION In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:

If you identify the source in your short quotation:

Ann Gill (2001) has argued, "Education reform is the best solution for fixing our public schools" (p. 22).
According to Jones and Miller (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was
their first time" (p. 199).
Hart (1996) notes that some primatologists became convinced that their "apes had learned Language, with a
capital L" (p. 109).

Informal Personal Communication:

"Students willing to ask questions and seek extra help when they are confused, often do better in their
writing courses," reported Writing 123 instructor Cora Agatucci (personal communication, October 5, 2004).

Full-text article in .html format from Subscription-Only electronic database source without fixed page
numbers but with chapter/section headings that can be clearly identified and/or paragraphs that can be
clearly counted:

Marais (2000) explains that, because of a preoccupation with reflecting "substantive changes in history . . . .
forms of social realism have usually be favored by politically engaged fiction writers in the South African
context" (par. 1).
If you do not identify the source in your short quotation:

"Education is the best solution for fixing our public schools" (Gill, 2001, p. 22).
"Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (Jones & Miller, 1998,
p. 199).
Some primatologists "wondered if apes had learned Language, with a capital L" (Hart, 1996, p. 109).

3.B. MLA-Style SHORT QUOTATION In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:

If you identify the source in your short quotation:

Ann Gill argues, "Education reform is the best solution for fixing our public schools" (22).
"The mental gymnastics of video games and the competition with fellow players," according to Norfleet, "are
important to young children and their physical, social, and mental development" (45).
Redelmeier and Tibshirani have found that "the risk of a collision when using a cellular telephone was four
times higher than the risk when a cellular telephone was not being used" (453).

If you do not identify the source in your short quotation:

"Education is the best solution for fixing our public schools" (Gill 22).
"The mental gymnastics of video games and the competition with fellow players are important to young
children and their physical, social, and mental development" (Norfleet 45).
Researchers have found that "the risk of a collision when using a cellular telephone was four times higher
than the risk when a cellular telephone was not being used" (Redelmeier and Tibshirani 453).

World Wide Web source without fixed page numbers and no countable embedded paragraphs:

"The California Highway Patrol opposes restrictions on the use of cell phones while driving, claiming that
distracted drivers can already be prosecuted" (Jacobs).

Videotape or Feature Film:

In the film Keita: Heritage of the Griot, Djeliba, the great griot, often recites wisdom proverbs, such as "you
can’t run and scratch your foot at the same time."

4. LONG "BLOCK" QUOTATION (5 + lines of regular formatted text, or more than

40 words): Write a sentence or phrase to introduce a long "block" quotation,
properly formatted (i.e. blocked = indented) from one of your sources, and
integrating a correct in-text citation of the source quoted, including page number if
the source is paginated: in-text source citation must be correctly formatted following your approved
documentation style and clearly match-able to the first word/s of the corresponding full bibliographical entry
for that source in your accompanying Annotated Working Bibliography.
4.A. APA-Style LONG "BLOCK" QUOTATION In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:
NOTE: Indent the long quotation 5 spaces or 1/2 inch from the left margin.

When asked what parents and coaches could do to help girl athletes remain healthy and not use drugs or
overwork themselves, Juan Orozco (2004) offered the following advice:

An athlete should be happy in her activity of choice, and her parents should encourage her
desires to do well. Parents should be involved in her life and let her know that her efforts
are valued highly, but they also need to be on the lookout for danger signs—such as unusual
weight loss or moodiness. As a coach, I need to know the personalities of my players and
get them to trust me, not only as their coach but as their friend—someone they can talk to
if they have a problem. (Personal communication, September 22, 2004)

While a few online romances have happy endings, Miller (1996) explains that most do not:

From my research, only about one in four online relationships turns out happy. People get
into this bodice-ripping mentality in the beginning [of online relationships]. But after you've
had "sex" with someone in the virtual way, there's a real desire to actually be intimate.
When the two do meet, the relationship can't handle reality. Either the affair ends or it
destroys their marriages. (p. 39)

If you do not identify the source in introduction to the long "block" quotation:

While a few online romances have happy endings, one researcher observes that most do not:

From my research, only about one in four online relationships turns out happy. People get
into this bodice-ripping mentality in the beginning [of online relationships]. But after you've
had "sex" with someone in the virtual way, there's a real desire to actually be intimate.
When the two do meet, the relationship can't handle reality. Either the affair ends or it
destroys their marriages. (Miller, 1996, p. 39)

4.B. MLA-Style LONG "BLOCK" QUOTATION In-Text Citation EXAMPLES:

Yet throughout his soliloquy Hamlet seems to be acting, and Shakespearian scholar Harold Bloom stresses
that idea:
So histrionic is all of Hamlet that we need to develop our auditory consciousness
to a new pitch, if we catch the prince's accent here. Where all is theatricality,
our grounds for judgment must shift. Hamlet's hyperboles mock theater itself,
in "drown the stage with tears." The soliloquy becomes a hyperparody of
soliloquy . . . . (30).

While a few online romances have happy endings, Miller explains that most do not:

From my research, only about one in four online relationships turns out happy.
People get into this bodice-ripping mentality in the beginning [of online
relationships]. But after you've had "sex" with someone in the virtual way,
there's a real desire to actually be intimate. When the two do meet, the
relationship can't handle reality. Either the affair ends or it destroys their
marriages. (39)

If you do not identify the source in introduction to the long "block" quotation:

While a few online romances have happy endings, most do not:

From my research, only about one in four online relationships turns out happy.
People get into this bodice-ripping mentality in the beginning [of online
relationships]. But after you've had "sex" with someone in the virtual way,
there's a real desire to actually be intimate. When the two do meet,
the relationship can't handle reality. Either the affair ends or it destroys
their marriages. (Miller 39)

Links: https://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr123/intextcitation2010.htm