Reviewing Related Literature

REVIEWING RELATED
LITERATURE
WHAT IS A REVIEW OF LITERATURE?
A review of related literature is the

process of collecting, selecting, and
reading books, journal articles, reports,
abstracts, and other reference materials,
including electronic sources (CD-ROM) and
the world wide web (www) to get relevant
information about the problem under
investigation.
From the various sources, information on
the following may be collected:
1. Background information about the problem and
related concepts;
2. Theories that explain the existence of the problem
and the possible connection between certain factors
and the problem;
3. Data that confirm the existence and seriousness of
the problem;
4. General and specific findings of studies related to
the problem; and,
5. Recommendations for further study given in related
studies.
WHY REVIEW LITERATURE?
Related literature can help a researcher identify and
develop a research problem, formulate a research
framework, and identify and use appropriate research
methodologies and tools.
A review of related studies helps justify the need for
studying a problem.
Related literature helps prevent unnecessary
duplication of a study.
There are many research problems that are already
“over studied” and yet, similar studies are still being
conducted.
WHEN TO START REVIEWING
LITERATURE?
While the research problem is still being

conceptualized, the researcher must
already start reviewing literature.
In identifying and defining the research

problem, the researcher must be able to show
evidences that the problem really exists and is
worth investigating.
WHAT TO REVIEW AND WHERE TO GET
THE MATERIALS TO BE REVIEWED?
Researchers should be familiar with the
different sources of information related to the
research problem.
The most common types of sources of information for a
research problem are:
general references, primary sources, and
secondary sources
General References
General references shows where to
locate other sources of information
related to a certain topic.
Examples of general references
available in most libraries are indexes,
reviews and abstracts. Indexes are
usually published by field of
specialization.
Primary Sources
Results of many research studies are
published in journals or monographs.
These articles or reports are generally
written by those who actually
conducted the study, thus, they are
called primary sources. Many research
journals are published monthly,
quarterly or yearly
Secondary Sources
These refer to publications where
authors cite the work of others. The
most common secondary sources are
books, reviews, yearbooks and
encyclopedias. Secondary sources are
good references for overview of the
problem.
STEPS IN LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Review the precise definition of the research
problem. Note the key variables specified in
the study objectives and hypothesis.
2. Formulate “search terms” or key words
pertinent to the problem or question or
interest.
3. List in a note or index card the
bibliographical data of the pertinent
sources selected, including:
Author of the source
Title
Name of the Publication
Date and place of publication
Page/s of the article
Volume and number for journals
4. Read the selected reading materials,
take notes and summarize key points.
Notes are preferably written in note cards

for easy retrieval and classification.
In reading the articles, the researcher may
follow the following steps:
Read the abstract or summary
Record the bibliographic data
Take notes. Be brief as possible, but include all relevant
information which you can use in your full review, such as:
the problem, the objectives and hypothesis, the procedures,
major findings, and conclusions
A note card may contain the following:
Author
Research Title
Objective
Hypothesis (if needed)
Research Methods
Major Findings
Conclusion
WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
After taking notes from the different sources

reviewed, the researcher prepares the final
review. Most literature reviews consist of the
following parts: introduction, body, summary,
and conclusion
1. Introduction – The introduction briefly

describes the nature of the research problem
and explains what led the researcher to
investigate the question.
2. Body – The body of the review briefly
reports what experts think or what other
researchers have found about the research
problem.
Studies done on one key element or factor

of the research problem are reviewed
under that topic followed by studies done
on other aspects of the problem.
3. Summary – The summary of the review ties
together the major findings of the studies
reviewed. It presents a general picture of what
has been known or thought of about the problem
to date. It presents similar results, as well as
contradicting results.
4. Conclusion – This part presents the course

of action suggested by the literature. Based on
the state of knowledge revealed by the
literature, the researcher could further justify
the need for his/her study.
Common
Citation Formats
in APA (American
Psychological
Association) Style
7th edition
APA CITATIONS IN TEXT
In-text citations are citations within the main body
of the text and refer to a direct quote or
paraphrase. They correspond to a reference in the
main reference list. These citations include the
surname of the author and date of publication only.

1 author
2 authors
When there are two authors, separate their last names

with an ampersand (&), or with the word ‘and’ when they
appear in the running text.
3-5 authors
When there are three or more authors, separate their last

names using commas. The last two authors’ last names
should be separated by both a comma and an ampersand.
3-5 authors
If you cite the same source again, to save space, you

shorten the citation. Instead of including all the authors’
names, include only the first author, followed by “et al.”
(meaning “and others”).
6 or more authors
If a source has six or more authors, use the shortened

version from the first citation.
No author
If the author is unknown, the first few words of the
reference should be used. This is usually the title of the
source
Ifthis is the title of a book, periodical, brochure or
report, is should be italicised. For example: (A guide
to citation, 2017).
If this is the title of an article, chapter or web page,
it should be in quotation marks. For example: (“APA
Citation”, 2017).

Citing Authors With Multiple Works From One
Year
Works should be cited with a, b, c etc
following the date. These letters are assigned
within the reference list, which is sorted
alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
For example:
(Mitchell, 2017a) Or (Mitchell, 2017b).

Citing Multiple Works in One Parentheses
If these works are by the same author, the surname
is stated once followed by the dates in order
chronologically.
For instance:
Mitchell (2007, 2013, 2017) Or (Mitchell, 2007,
2013, 2017)

Citing Multiple Works in One Parentheses
If these works are by multiple authors then the
references are ordered alphabetically by the first
author separated by a semicolon as follows:
(Mitchell & Smith, 2017; Thomson, Coyne, &
Davis, 2015).
Citing a Group or Organization

When a source does not list an individual author, it can
often be attributed to an organization instead.
For the first cite, the full name of the group must be
used. Subsequently this can be shortened.
For example: (International Citation Association
(ICA), 2015)

Citing a Secondary Source
In this situation the original author and date
should be stated first followed by ‘as cited in’
followed by the author and date of the secondary
source.
For example:
Lorde (1980) as cited in Mitchell (2017) Or (Lorde,
1980, as cited in Mitchell, 2017)
APA
CITATIONS IN TEXT
Quotes
The structure of this changes depending on whether a
direct quote or parenthetical used:
Direct Quote: The citation must follow the quote directly
and contain a page number after the date, for example (Monge,
2017, p.104). This rule holds for all of the variations listed.
APA
CITATIONS IN TEXT
Quotes
The structure of this changes depending on whether a
direct quote or parenthetical used:
Parenthetical: The page number is not needed.
APA CITATIONS IN REFENCE LIST
A reference list is a complete list of references used in a piece of writing
including the author name, date of publication, title and more.
* every source cited in the text must also appear in your
reference list
An APA reference list must:
•Be on a new page at the end of the document
•Be alphabetically by name of first author (or title if the author isn’t
known, in this case a, an and the should be ignored)
•The format differs depending on the source type, but every
reference begins in the same way: with the author’s last name and
initials, the publication year or date, and the title of the source.
APA CITATIONS IN REFENCE LIST
 https://www.revistaclinicapsicologica.com/data-cms/articles/
20201017100147pmSSCI-247.pdf
REFENCE LIST

Journal Article in Print or Online in APA Format
Articles differ from book citations in that the publisher
and publisher location are not included. For journal
articles, these are replaced with the journal title, volume
number, issue number and page number. The basic
structure is:
REFENCE LIST
REFENCE LIST
REFENCE LIST
REFENCE LIST

Reviewing Related Literature

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reviewing Related Literature

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reviewing Related Literature

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

REVIEWING RELATED

A review of related literature is the

While the research problem is still being

In identifying and defining the research

Notes are preferably written in note cards

After taking notes from the different sources

1. Introduction – The introduction briefly

Studies done on one key element or factor

4. Conclusion – This part presents the course

Citing a Group or Organization

You might also like