FACTORS AFFECTING
LITERATURE REVIEW
A literature review is an exhaustive appraisal of all
the valid literature in a field of study that seeks to understand the
development of knowledge in the field. In doing so, it provides an explanation,
interpretation, summary, and critical assessment of the knowledge of the field
with respect to the research question in consideration.
Literature
review provides an exhaustive overview of the development of
knowledge in the field while also informing the reader of the author’s depth in
the field and demonstrates the research’s place within the field
What to do in the literature review
·
provide an outline of the issue or theory under investigation,
extrapolates to include the objectives.
·
Categorize different literature in the field of study based on
various criteria.
·
Compare and contrast between different works.
·
Conclude with providing an assessment and singling out works
that give the best arguments and make a significant contribution to the
knowledge of the field
The Factors involved and its Development
Development of the Literature Review
Four Stages of development
while doing a literature review includes the following:
·
Formulation of a problem- this is a crucial step, whereby you
setup a criteria through which to select relevant literature.
·
Searching for relevant literature- find appropriate literature
for the criteria you have set from reliable sources.
·
Evaluating and appraising the literature- many methods could be
employed for this step. You could read the introduction and the abstract to
filter and select the ones you deem suitable.
·
Analysing and synthesizing pertinent literature- This forms the
crux of the review paper, the final part where you read, analyse, and
synthesize the literature to provide the chain of development of knowledge in
the field
·
What
to consider when choosing the literature for the review.
1
Literature must be critically evaluated before being reviewed. When
choosing scientific works for the review, look for the
following:.
1.
Originality of the work
Choose works based on their originality.
2.
Methodology and its credibility
Evaluate the methodology of each work and assess their credibility.
3.
The objectivity of the author
This is important to understand and will provide you with a
better guideline of the purpose of the work.
4.
The persuasiveness of the arguments
Each work has different tones and some of the arguments are more
persuasive than the rest.
5.
The significance of the work to field.
This is a key aspect when choosing literature for review. Do not overlook the
works that added significant value to the field.
What are the analytical features of a literature review.
The literature review isn’t just a summary of all
the critical points in the knowledge of the field, it is an analysis,
primarily. The literature review provides a summary and synthesis of the
literature, categorized in a defined organizational pattern. Do the following
in a literature review:
·
Reinterpret old materials in the light of new information in the
field, thereby, combine old with new materials.
·
Doing the above step will help you in providing the chain of
progression of knowledge in the field.
·
Evaluate the sources and provide an overview of significant
works to your problem.
