Business Research

Methods
Lecture 3

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Accessing and reviewing literature as part of

research
Lecture Outline:
Why is it so important in research?
What is a literature review?
Identifying research questions/ objectives
How to put a lit. review together
Writing critically, building argument
Reading
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2007) Research
Methods for Business students
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2003) Business Research Methods
Hart, C. (1998) Doing a Literature Review
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Why do you need a literature review ? (part 1)

You need to know what has been done before (by other writers
and researchers)
Linked to what you are researching and why
Position the study
Using relevant theoretical concepts
Apply theory to practice
Demonstrate knowledge in subject(s)
Demonstrate (library)research skills

Why (part 2)

Learn from others mistakes

May help with your (practical) research
How can you add to whats already there
Or whats missing
It is expected
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What is a literature review?

A critical discussion of existing knowledge drawn from:

Books
Articles
Journals
Research publications
Chance to demonstrate your understanding!
You need to demonstrate that you know what others have said
You need to go beyond description
Make an argument for your research
reviewing the literature
The first attempt at looking to see what is out there
and - The literature review
A more detailed (thoughtful) and crafted - review
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What is a literature review?

It is not!
A
A
A
A

descriptive account
list
summary
book review / or library report

OR

Thinly disguised paraphrasing

Information removal

And!

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You need to read!

. Start early and
continue throughout
the whole of the work
.

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Research Questions
There is little point in carrying out a research project if there
is no aim / no problem / no issue to research
RQs are Those that originate, shape and are to some extent
answered by the study Clough and Nutbrown (2002:32)
Framing a research problem the questions
Using what is already there and building on it

Finding out new ideas !

Not
The questions you ask respondents
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Reading
Research questions develop out of your reading.
.. Some reading has more value than others!
Oldest appears in text books
Cutting edge in conference papers and then Journals
Internet and popular sources be selective
You are looking to make an argument for your research
to do this look at what others have said on the same
subject.
What is the writer trying to say?
What evidence does the writer have to substantiate the claim?
Do you accept this?
Does it fit with what you know?
Why? who says? So what?
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Strategies for literature searching

Trawling vs. Fishing (Easterby-Smith et al 1991)..
Exploratory RQS = trawl
Finding directly = fish

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How to put a lit. review together -Writing

critically, building an argument
Organising and expressing ideas..

analysis

knowledge

synthesis

comprehension
Analysis the job of systematically breaking down something
into its constituent parts and describing how they relate to each
other.
needs to by systematic
the data for analysis is information - the interpretations
understandings and arguments that others have proposed
need to extract key ideas, theories, concepts and
methodological assumptions from the literature
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How to put a lit. review together -Writing

critically, building argument
Synthesis - the act of making connections between the parts
identified in the analysis
not simply a matter of reassembling the parts into the
original order but looking for a new order
new or different connections and patterns
need to have a comprehensive knowledge of subject and
think in broad terms
Comprehension -need to be able to describe discuss and
explain the substance of an idea
Knowledge - the foundation for analysis is thinking in various
ways about what you are reading
to enable you to dig beneath the surface of an argument
and to be able to see the origins of research
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to understand the typology of origins and assumptions

The critical literature

review - structure
No single structure but!..
Start at a more general level
Before narrowing down to RQs
Provide a brief overview of ideas
Summarise, compare and contrast
Naroww down to highlight most relevant
Provide a detailed account of the findings
of this!

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The critical literature review - structure

Demonstrate competence by referring to prominent writings in
the field
These are linked to authority
Eg Red Hot Chilli Peppers on Global Warming
BP on own oil reserves
Develop your version of literature to lead up to your research
problem
Dont
Put everything you have read into the review
Stop doing it
Do
Review several times
And!
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Thinking time is important

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An alternative way of thinking about the

literature
Physical analogies
Visual analogies
Personifications

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