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Chapter 3
Critically reviewing the literature
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.2
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should:
Understand the importance and purpose of the critical
literature review to your research project;
To be able to adopt a critical perspective in your reading;
Know what you need to include when writing your critical
review;
Be aware of the range of primary, secondary and tertiary
literature sources available;
Be able to identify key words and to undertake a literature
search using a range of methods;
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.3
Learning outcomes
Be able to evaluate the relevance, value and sufficiency of
the literature found;
Be able to reference the literature found accurately;
Understand what is meant by plagiarism;
Be able to apply the knowledge, skills and understanding
gained to your own research project.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Secondary
Tertiary
Detailed in Tables 3.1 and 3.2 Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.16
Journals
Journals are also known as periodical
serials and magazines and are published
on a regular basis. Journals are a vital
literature source for any research. They are
well covered by tertiary literature, and good
selection can be accessed from most
university libraries (printed or online)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Professional Journals
Professional Journals (such as People
Management) they are produced for their
members by organization such as the
chartered Institute of personal and
development (CIPD). They contain a mix of
news related items and articles that are
more detailed. However you have to
exercise caution
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.19
Trade Journals
They fulfill a similar function to professional
journals. They are published by trade
organizations or aimed at particular industries or
trades such as carting or mining. Often they focus
in new products or services and news items, they
rarely contain articles based on empirical research,
although some provide summaries of research,
You should therefore use these with consideration
caution for you research project.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.20
Books
Books and monographs are written for specific audiences.
Some are aimed at the academic, with a theoretical slant.
Others, aimed at practicing professionals, may be more
applied in their content. The material in books is usually
presented in a more ordered and accessible manner than in
journals, polling together a wider range of topics, they are
therefore, practically useful as introductory sources to help
clarify your research question(s) and objectives or research
methods you intend to use. Some academic textbooks such
as this one are now supported by web pages providing
additional information.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.21
Newspaper
Newspaper are good source of topical events,
developments within business and government, as well as
recent statistical information such as share prices, they also
sometimes review recent research report.
Again you should be carful when you use newspaper in
your research project as newspaper may contain bias in
their coverage, be it political geographical or personal.
Reporting can also be inaccurate and you may not pick up
any subsequent amendments
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.22
Reports
Reports include market research reports
such as those produced by Mintel and
keynote government reports and academic
reports. It is not easy to get access for these
reports as they are not as widely available
as books. It is important to try to assess the
authority of the author, and to beware of
personal bias
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.23
Conference proceedings
Conference proceedings sometimes referred to
as symposia, as often published as unique
titles within journals or as books. Most
conferences have a theme that is very specific,
but some have a wide-range overview. Many
conferences have associated web pages
providing abstract and occasionally the full
papers presented at the conference .
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.24
Theses
Theses are unique and so far a major
research project can be a good source of
further references. Unfortunately, they can
be difficult to locate and, when found,
difficult to access as there may be only one
copy at the awarding institution.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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And
Discuss these with a tutor (if possible)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Discussion
We believe you should be taking every
opportunity to discuss your research. In discussing
you work with others, whether face to face, by
email or by letter ,you will be sharing your ideas,
getting feedback and obtaining new ideas and
approaches. This process will help you to refine
and clarify your topic.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Referencing
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
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Plagiarism
Four common forms
Stealing material from another source
Submitting material written by another
Copying material without quotation marks
Paraphrasing material without documentation
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Summary: Chapter 3
The critical literature review
Sets the research in context
Leads the reader into later sections of the report
Begins at a general level and narrows to specific
topics
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.39
Summary: Chapter 3
A literature search requires
Three main categories of sources
Clearly defined research questions and
objectives
Defined parameters
Use of techniques ( brainstorming and
relevance trees)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009