4. LITERATURE review examples for university student

this explain how to prepare a university project regarding on literature review section

1. CONTENTS OF THE PROJECT REPORT 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1

2. 1. PRELIMINARIES Cover page Title page. Title of the work, author, module, date. Certification Declaration Dedication Acknowledgements.* Keep brief. Abstract. A brief, 1 page or less, summary of the work. Contents list. Include page numbers. List of figures/graphs/tables. Include page numbers. List of symbols and abbreviations.* 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2

3. 2. MAIN CHAPTERS INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY COLLECTED DATA AND ANALYSIS DISCUSSION OF RESULTS OR DESIGN CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3

4. 3. END MATTERS REFERENCES: A list of references cited in your project, arranged in acceding alphabetical order APPENDICES : Information that is not essential to explain your findings, but that supports your analysis (especially repetitive or lengthy information) or validates your conclusions should be placed in an appendix (plural appendices). Examples of such information include figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, questionnaires, pictures, lengthy derivations of equations, maps, drawings, letters, specification, computer program etc. 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4

5. LITERATURE REVIEW 5 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17/04/2019

6. INTRODUCTION A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers The objective of writing a literature review is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas. The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept such as your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing. It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 6

7. INTRODUCTION CONT.. Besides enlarging your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review let you gain and demonstrate skills in information seeking and critical appraisal (ability to analyse and identify unbiased and valid studies). A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7

8. QUALITIES OF A GOOD LITERATURE REVIEW A good literature review must do these things: Be organized around and related directly to the research question you are developing (or to your project) Presented into a summary of what is and is not known Identify areas of controversy in the literature Formulate questions that need further research 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 8

9. LITERATURE SEARCH A literature search is a systematic and thorough search of all types of published literature in order to identify a breadth of good quality references relevant to a specific topic Effective literature searching is a critical skill and valuable for any information gathering activity especially in academia Getting the literature search right will save hours of time through the course of your research/ project 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 9

10. LITERATURE SEARCH cont.. In practice, in addition to academic texts, journals are the main source of information for most in-depth literature searches. A journal is a scholarly publication containing articles written by researchers, professors and other experts. Journals focus on a specific discipline or field of study. Unlike newspapers and magazines, journals are intended for an academic or technical audience, not general readers. 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 10

11. PURPOSES OF A LITERATURE SEARCH There are several aims of conducting a literature search: Review existing critical opinions/theories Identify current research findings on a topic Identify potential research methods or models you could use Having carried out research, enabling comparison with your own research findings NOTE THAT: The literature search can be a time-consuming job therefore you need to be well prepared before beginning. 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 11

12. STAGES OF A LITERATURE SEARCH A good literature search involves the following steps which should be worked through systematically: 1. Background reading and preparation 2. Working with your title: identify search terms 3. Identify the resources to search 4. Search using search techniques 5. Collate your results 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 12

13. 1. Background reading and preparation Start by doing some background reading of textbooks, subject journals, etc., to get a grasp of the context of the topic and the terminology used in its discussion. From the background reading, identify a small amount of reading material to give you an overview of the topic. If there is a journal article related to the topic, this in itself may contain good suggestions for further reading 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 13

14. 1. Background reading and preparation cont.. TIPS: Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time. Write down the searches you conduct so that you may duplicate them if you need to later Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others. Ask your supervisor or a scholar in the field if you are missing any key works in the field. KEEP YOUR RECORDS!! 14

15. 2. Working with your title: identify search terms The simplest starting point for identifying key terms is to spend some time thinking about the wording you are considering for the draft title of your research. The key terminology associated with the topic will include a range of different terms. For example: Important authors Theories / concepts Key research reports 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15

16. 2. Working with your title cont.. For each of the key elements within your title you can think about: alternative terms (synonyms) – words used interchangeably related terms / concepts/ related words 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16

17. 3. Identify the resources to search There is no one single source of information that will contain everything you need for your literature search. A starting point for your search could be the Online Library. This will do a broad search of all the journal literature we have online access to. Use search engines such as Google Scholar 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17

18. 4. Search using search techniques Having identified the potential terminology to search with, and which databases to search, the quality of your results will be improved by employing some `search engine´ techniques. As a general rule avoid using the ‘simple’ or ‘basic’ search option (where you only get one box to type your words in). Always use the advanced search (or multi-search box search) for better results 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18

19. 5. Collating your results Analyse the material you find and group it in some order of priority. Filter out any peripheral materials and consider storing them separately from your core references. Note: It is essential that at every stage you keep accurate records of all searches and sources, and all references found and used! This will not only help you keep control of your research, but it will be vital when it comes to writing up your final reference and citations. Back-up your computer files regularly– every time you update them. 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19

20. Checklist: Ask yourself the following questions What is the specific problem, or research question that my literature review helps to define? What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? the effectiveness of a new procedure? etc. What is the scope of my literature review? What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government documents, popular media)? 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 20

21. Checklist: Ask yourself the following questions cont.. How good was my information seeking? Has my search been wide enough to ensure I've found all the relevant material? Has it been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material? Have I critically analysed the literature I use? Instead of just listing and summarizing items, do I assess them, discussing strengths and weaknesses? Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective? Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful? 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21

22. SOME ACCESSIBLE JOURNALS 17/04/2019 CEB 3228: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22