Practice using an online computer database to search for the literature on Bullying. Conduct several searches until you find an article that is as close as possible to your research topic. T

Review of the Literature

Chapter 2

Introduction

• Topic – subject or subject matter of a study

– e.g., “faculty teaching,” “organizational creativity,” “psychological stress”

• Conduct literature review about the topic

– Worth studying?

– Scope?

– Can be studied

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The Research Topic

• Gain insight into the topic by

– Drafting a working title

• “My study is about…”

– Posing a brief question

• What needs to be answered?

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• First step is to examine research on the topic

• How does this project contribute to the literature?

• New topic, new elements, replication with new participants?

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The Research Topic

• The topic can be researched if

– You have access to participants

– You have resources to collect and analyze information

• The topic should be researched if

– The research will add to the literature about the topic

– Scholars will be interested in the topic

– A study of it will advance your personal goals

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The Research Topic

The Literature Review

• Shares the results of other studies

• Relates the study to the larger dialogue in the literature

• Provides a framework for establishing the importance of the study

• Provides a benchmark for comparing the results to other findings

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The use of the literature:

• Seek opinion of adviser or faculty members

• Tell the reader you are aware of literature

• Literature reviews take several forms:

– Integrate what others have done and said

– Criticize previous scholarly works

– Bridge between related topics

– Identify the central issues in the field

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The Literature Review

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The Literature Review

The use of the literature:

• In quantitative studies, researchers use literature to:

– Provide direction to the research questions and hypotheses

– Introduce a problem

– Introduce and describe the theory that will be used

– Examine the usefulness of the theory

– Compare results with existing literature or predictions

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The Literature Review

The use of the literature:

• In mixed methods studies, researchers use the literature:

– In either a quantitative or qualitative approach

– In each phase, consistent with either the quantitative or qualitative approach

– Relative to the intended audience

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The Literature Review

Steps in conducting a literature review:

• Identify key words

• Search databases

• Identify about 50 research reports in articles or books

• Collect those that are central to your topic

• Design a literature map

• Draft summaries of relevant articles

• Write a literature review, organizing it by important

concepts

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The Literature Review

Searching computerized databases:

• Computerized databases of the literature are available the Internet

• Databases provide access to journal articles, conference papers and dissertations on a wealth of topics

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The Literature Review

Searching computerized databases:

• Some of these online databases include:

– ERIC – ProQuest – EBSCO

– Sociological Abstracts – PsycINFO – PubMed

– Science Direct – Google scholar – SSCI

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The Literature Review

Searching computerized databases:

• Use both free databases and those available in your academic library

• Search several databases, even those outside your field

• Use guides to terms to locate articles

• Locate articles close to your topic and use their terms in your search

• Use databases that provide access to full text

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The Literature Review

A priority for selecting literature material:

• Start with broad syntheses (such as encyclopedias) if you are new to the topic

• Turn to journal articles in national journals

– Best source for research reports

• Next, consider books

• Then examine conference papers

• Scan for dissertations

• Lastly, consider reports on the web

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The Literature Review

A literature map of the research

• A literature map is a visual summary of existing research on a topic

• The structure of the literature map may be:

– Hierarchical pattern

– Flowchart layout

– Series of circles

• Write a narrative description

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The Literature Review

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The Literature Review

Abstracting studies:

• Abstracts summarize major elements of the article

• For research studies:

– Mention the problem

– State the central purpose

– State information about the population and sample

– Review key results

– Point out methodological flaws (if a critique or methods review)

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The Literature Review

Abstracting studies:

• For nonempirical studies (essays, opinions, etc.)

– Mention the problem

– Identify the central theme

– State the major conclusions

– Mention flaws in reasoning or logic (if a methodological review)

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The Literature Review

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The Literature Review

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The Literature Review

Style manuals:

• Style manuals provide guidelines for producing scholarly work and include directions on:

– Citing references in-text

– End-of-text references

– Creating headings

– Footnotes (not used in all style manuals)

– Presenting tables and figures

• Reminder: Consistently use the chosen style manual

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The Literature Review

Definition of terms

• Identify and define terms that readers need to understand a

proposal

• Define terms introduced in all sections of the research plan:

– Title of the study

– Problem statement

– Purpose statement

– Research questions, hypotheses, or objectives

– Literature review

– Theory base of the study

– Methods section 24

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The Literature Review

Definition of terms

• Qualitative studies

– Inductive and evolutionary in nature

– The definition of terms may appear later in the written report, perhaps in the data analysis

• Quantitative studies

– Deductive with a fixed set of objectives

– All relevant terms are comprehensively defined earlier in the study

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The Literature Review

Definition of terms

• Mixed methods studies

– Follows the use of quantitative or qualitative approach

– Clarify terms related to mixed methods

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The Literature Review

Definition of terms

• Define terms when they first appear in the manuscript

• Use specific operational definitions

• Do not define terms using everyday language, be guided by the literature

• Define terms so that they accomplish different goals

• One may use a definition of terms section in the manuscript

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The Literature Review

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The Literature Review

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The Literature Review

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The Literature Review

A quantitative or mixed methods literature review:

• Introduce the review with a statement about the organization of the sections

• Review literature about the independent variables

• Review literature about the dependent variables

• Review literature that relates the independent variables to the dependent variables

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The Literature Review

A quantitative or mixed methods literature review:

• Provide a summary

– Highlight important studies

– Capture major themes

– Suggest why more research is needed

– Advance how the proposed study will fill this need

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The Literature Review

Summary

• Identify your topic through a brief title or central research question

• Use the literature to

– Present similar studies

– Relate the study to the literature

– Provide a framework for comparison

• Different purpose depending on approach

• Search databases using key terms

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