literature review topics

literature review topics

Effective Strategies for Conducting a Literature Review

1. Introduction to Literature Review

Many postgraduate courses expect the review to be a “mini research paper” where the research question is quite clearly understood and the more it is related to the research, the better are the chances of evaluation. More theoretical topics may have a not-so-strict requirement for this, but it all helps to have a more focused review. Understanding the expectations and purpose of the literature review helps to write a good one. Different types of reviews have different types of strategies, but the aim is to find a logical path through the literature and focus on relevant connections.

Different disciplines have varying expectations of the literature review. This is the first point to consider when embarking upon a literature review for research. It helps understand the different forms of literature review, i.e. chronological, methodological, topical, etc., and to understand the step-by-step processes involved in crafting a review.

A literature review is an important and integral part of research today. It helps new researchers like oneself understand where their work fits into the broader disciplinary field. It helps us familiarize ourselves with the varying methodologies and recent research advancements in our field. A good literature review is not one that simply recounts the contents of a set of articles; it is more an analysis of the work which helps us understand the inter-relationship of the works in the field and the significance relative to the other works. It helps identify the gaps, raises questions, and identifies what the research to be conducted will contribute to the field.

2. Identifying Research Objectives and Questions

Once the researcher has clarified the research question, the next step is to determine the specific research objectives. In general, the overall purpose of the research is closely related to the type of research question that is asked (Hill et al, 1997). The objective of the research should be closely related to the research study of your dissertation. What you want to do should be something that you can achieve with the resources that you have. The last step is to select the research question that is manageable in the context of the time that you have for the project, your knowledge of the level of statistical analysis that is available to you and the availability of data. The ability to refine a research objective into a clear research question is a crucial skill and is something that takes practice. A well-defined question is also more achievable and the process of refining a research objective into a specific research question provides a useful framework for judging the feasibility of a project.

3. Searching and Selecting Relevant Literature

The ability to save searches and to create search agents is a useful feature of many databases. This allows the database to automatically email you when new material meeting your search criteria is entered into the database. This can save you considerable time in the long run and will increase the efficiency of your search process.

The reference list from a relevant article is an excellent source of leads to other relevant research. It is not efficient to then track down each article now – it is likely that your library will only subscribe to some of the journals. The reference lists and the articles found electronically can then be further investigated at the library.

One source of relevant material may lead to another. Look for links to other sites, as this can lead to serendipitous findings. Ensure that you record and follow up these tangent leads. The internet provides an enormous database of resources; however, it is important not to limit your searching to online material. Many journals, which still only exist in hard copy, are now archived on the web.

An initial search using keywords is the obvious starting point. It is important to be both systematic and creative in your approach to this process. It is essential that you are clear about the topic you are seeking to investigate before commencing an internet search. Using one of the search engines, type in the keywords or a phrase relating to what you’re researching on the web. If you are not finding what you want or find too much material, try varying the search engine.

The intention of a literature review is to make a clear, reasoned and critical analysis of the existing body of scholarship about a stated topic. When conducting searches for relevant literature, an inquiring mind is essential. An inquiring mind necessary in this context is not only inquisitive but also persistent. The review of literature is a dynamic process and adds considerably to the value of a research project.

4. Analyzing and Synthesizing Literature Findings

Problems in methodology are often not addressed. Approaches to interpreting findings of a single study, as well as meta-analytic approaches can be quite complex and need to be better understood. Meta-analysis may be the least well understood and most problematic of the data analysis and synthesis methods. (For an example showing the complexity of employing meta-analysis see Klein, 1996 and for an introduction to meta-analytic technique see Schmidt & Hunter, 1995). Questions asked by those attempting to interpret single study findings are often, “what do the findings mean?” or, “how can we make use of the results?”, and “what are the implications and limitations of the study?”. These are questions of great importance to the local policy analyst and decision-maker as well as the researcher seeking to apply results to the development of future investigation. Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are often not present in the primary research reports and authors can only speculate to provide answers. Speculation is a fall-back position for the researcher who has exhausted efforts to derive theory driven tentative conclusions by searching for patterns in data, using deductive logic. High quality research findings are best utilized when well-supported conclusions can lead to concrete actions designed to solve specific social and practical problems. In order to be able to draw inference and speculate validly, the results of the study must be put in context with existing knowledge and interpreted findings of similar studies. The researcher must attempt to unearth patterns of findings and compare findings with theoretical predictions. This interpretive process can be quite informal and the first attempt to interpret findings occurs during the note taking phase. Unfortunately, because the results of the studies are so often taken at face value, this type of interpretive analysis is seldom available to the reader of research reports.

5. Writing and Presenting a Comprehensive Literature Review

At a minimum, a comprehensive literature review needs to cover at least the principal and secondary sources on the proposed research question, if not more. Phrases such as Sage, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and so on will be familiar to you and will help you to identify some of the key players in the field. You should aim to cover a body of literature in depth, so a reader can understand your conceptual framework and rationale, and can also follow the development of ideas and your empirical research. Your literature review represents an important component of your research. It is not an opportunistic PR exercise to make you look better, but it is the in-depth explanation of your research area, and the demonstration of your knowledge and work rationale. Other researchers looking to extend the same field of study may find your insights to be extremely valuable, and will in turn, save time, effort, and resources if you can present comprehensive literature covering one particular topic or theme. Earlier it was noted that the process of conducting a literature search can be likened to fishing. The literature review then is the angler pulling in and examining his catch to finally determine what is edible and what is not!