REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

• DEFINITION

A review of related literature is the process of collecting, selecting, and reading books, journals, reports,
abstracts, and other reference materials. The following information 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 confirms the existence and seriousness of the problem
4. General and specific findings of studies related to the problem
5. Recommendations for further study given in related studies

• PURPOSE

The purpose of a literature review is to gain an understanding of the existing research and debates
relevant to a particular topic or area of study, and to present that knowledge in the form of a written
report. Conducting a literature review helps you build your knowledge in your field. You’ll learn about
important concepts, research methods, and experimental techniques that are used in your field. You’ll
also gain insight into how researchers apply the concepts you’re learning in your unit to real world
problems. Another great benefit of literature reviews is that as you read, you’ll get a better
understanding of how research findings are presented and discussed in your particular discipline. If you
pay attention to what you read and try to achieve a similar style, you’ll become more successful at
writing for your discipline.

• RRL in Quantitative Research

Quantitative studies include a substantial amount of literature to provide direction for the research
questions or hypotheses. In planning a quantitative study, the literature often is used to introduce a
problem in the introduction; is described in detail in a section titled "Related Literature" or "Review of
Literature" or some other similar concept; and typically is advanced as a basis for comparing with results
to be found in the study. Regardless of the placement, the literature is used deductively as a framework
for the research questions or hypothesis.

• Steps in conducting a systematic review

Step 1: Framing questions for a review

- The problems to be addressed by the review should be specified in the form of clear, unambiguous and
structured questions before beginning the review work.
Step 2: Identifying relevant work
-The search for studies should be extensive.
Step 3: Assessing the quality of studies
-Study quality assessment is relevant to every step of a review.
Step 4: Summarizing the evidence
-Data synthesis consists of tabulation of study characteristics, quality and effects as well as use of
statistical methods for exploring differences between studies and combining their effects (meta-
analysis).
Step 5: Interpreting the findings
-The issues highlighted in each of the four steps above should be met.

•Meta Analysis in Quantitative Research

in a meta analysis, you will use statistical methods to bring together the results of multiple studies. In
these studies, an average of weighted effect sizes is often calculated. Before embarking on a meta-
analysis, make sure you are familiar with reviews and in particular systematic reviews.

• In-Text Citation and Referencing styles

Insert an in-text citation when your work has been influenced by someone else's work, for example:
when you directly quote someone else's work or
when you paraphrase someone else's work
The in-text citation consists of author surname(s)/family name(s), in the order that they appear on the
actual publication, followed by the year of publication of the source that you are citing.
For direct quotes, make sure to include page or paragraph number. eg. (Weston, 1988, p. 45; ). Page
numbers are not normally included when paraphrasing but may be included if desired.
The in-text citation is placed immediately after the information being cited.
If your citation is at the end of a sentence, ensure the full stop is placed after the reference.
If quoting or citing a source which has been cited within another document, mention the original source
together with the secondary reference details; for example: (Smith, 2008, as cited in Jones, 2010). In
this case, only the secondary reference (i.e. Jones, 2010) should be included in the reference list.
PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER you should use secondary sources ONLY where you are unable to obtain a
copy of the original, or the original is not available in English.
In-text citations are usually included in the word count of your document.
For citations in brackets with two authors the ‘&’ symbol is used. If the author citation forms part of
your sentence the word ‘and’ must be used
There are many different citation styles. In the past, each discipline followed its own referencing rules,
but today there’s a growing tendency among universities and colleges to choose one single style.
The most common citation styles in English include APA, Chicago, Harvard, and MLA. These styles,
among others, are widely used throughout many different academic disciplines.

• Examples of MLA Referencing Style

STRUCTURE
Author. Title of source. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication
date, Location.
Author: Surname, Other names as per work; see specific examples for multiple authors
Title of source: as per work; see specific examples for capitalization, formatting and punctuation
Title of container: e.g. collection of essays, journal, newspaper, television series, web site Other
contributors: e.g. editor, director, performer, illustrator, translator
Version: e.g. edition, director’s cut, metric version, unabridged
Number: e.g. volume, issue, episode
Publisher: primarily responsible for publication or distribution of work; not needed for periodicals
Publication date: the one used
Location: location in container, e.g. page number/s in anthology, disc # in set, URL/DOI, artefact in
archive

Examples:

James, Henry. The Ambassadors. Rockville: Serenity, 2009. Google books. Web. 16 Mar. 2010.
http://books.google.com

Bodnar, Kipp, and Jeffrey L. Cohen. The B2B Social Media Book. Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec.
2012.

• Examples of APA Referencing Styles

STRUCTURE
Last, F. M. (Year Published). Book. City, State: Publisher.

Example:
Carley, M. J. (1999). 1939: The alliance that never was and the coming of World War II. Chicago, IL: Ivan
R. Dee.

Melville, H. (1989). Hawthorne and his mosses. In N. Baym (Ed.), The Norton anthology of American
literature (3rd ed., pp. 12-34). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

• Ethical Standards in Literature-Review Writing

1. Always acknowledge the source of information, whether it is a primary or secondary source. Make
certain that you cite your sources by creating a reference list and in-text citation. Avoid plagiarism. Do
not just copy tables, figures, data, ideas, images, and words of other authors, making it appear that such
works are yours. Always give credit to the authors of studies you have cited in your review

2.Recognize the ideas, theories, and original conceptualizations of others. People who have contributed
to your topic or helped you shape your topic should be properly acknowledge.

3. Be critical in the studies you will include in the literature review.

•Make sure that major and milestone studies are well reviewed.
•Also include minor studies that have significant contributions to your topic.
•Do not underscore a study that runs contrary to your problem statement