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1. ABSTRACT
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2. Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 3
II. RESEARCH METHOD 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................... 3
1. OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 3
2. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES ................................................................................ 4
3. SUITABILITY.................................................................................................................... 5
4. GENERALISABILITY ...................................................................................................... 6
5. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES .......................................................................................... 6
III. RESEARCH METHOD 2: SAMPLING............................................................................... 7
1. OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 7
2. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES ................................................................................ 8
3. SUITABILITY.................................................................................................................... 8
4. GENERALISABILITY ...................................................................................................... 9
5. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES .......................................................................................... 9
IV. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................... 10
V. REFERENCE....................................................................................................................... 11

3. I. INTRODUCTION
In research world, the work of investigating any chosen issue and conducting studies over them
requires appropriate approaches in order to acquire accurate and effective outcomes (,).
Therefore, evaluating and choosing relevant research methodologies in alignment to defining
research plan is of importance for a researcher (Kothari, 2004). Among various techniques,
literature review and sampling are of the two crucial approaches that have been utilized from
times to times in almost every research process. A must for any researchers to fully apply these
methodologies is to be well-aware of their merits, demerits, situational suitability, the
generalizability in broadband study as well as potential issues related in these approaches‘
implementation process. Since varied researches differentiate themselves on specific contents,
tackled issues, subject and goals, the understanding of different methods is extremely valuable
for scholars to consider the best suitable methodology (Hart, 2008). By exploring in-depth
knowledge upon suggested methods, this report could be a source of reference for other
researchers in choosing the most compatible researching tools for their own studies.
II. RESEARCH METHOD 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1. OVERVIEW
A literature review is defined as a ―critical analysis of a segment of a published body of
knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of
literature, and theoretical articles‖ (Patrick, 2005). In particular, literature review improvises
researchers, with their needed foundation to exhaustedly inquire a chosen topic. It is a thorough
overview and at the same time critical evaluation of previous writings on specific area of interest.
Through many forms of writing – from occasional reviews written by commercial publishers,
scholarly articles to related dissertations to name a few, literature review ultimately brings them
altogether and elaborate significant writings on the topic. It not only examines researches that
had been previously conducted in the past related to research area, but it also considers,
encapsulates, compares and contrasts, and correspond to a suitable range of scholarly resources
that are directly linked to the current research. For students are in the middle of a thesis or
dissertation‘s writing process, the purpose of the literature review is to present their own

4. intellectual grasp over the topic by sharing investigated knowledge which is existing in the area
of interest and critically evaluating this information. It essentially helps in identifying key
theorists, research categories and writings as well as needed vocabulary, tools, historical works,
and crucial variables applied in the field of study.
2. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
There are many reasons to name when conducting literature review for its outstanding functions.
In the determination itself, it could be established as preliminary work for further developing or
motivating upcoming research as well as utilized to identify and formulate specific research
problem (which is appropriately referred to as ‗literature survey‘).
The merits of the method could be totalized into some notable aspects. Firstly, literature reviews
stimulate deeper learning, and efficiently provide readers assessment on students‘ knowledge and
understanding of a particular topic. The review works brilliantly in assessing different cognitive
levels (Bryman, 2007). Secondly, at any research‘s current state, once researcher has determined
an area of focus for their project, searching for relevant information resources would help in
identifying what has been previously known about the chosen topic and how extensively
mentioned issues has already been studied. In other words, literature reviews do give proper
conceptual framework for research or project planning. Through reviewing process, clear ideas
rooted from previous works‘ investigation could also help authors in building up new research
topics on the basis of existing literatures. Thirdly, as part of the reviewing‘s nature, when getting
to know related studies in the past of relevant topic, students‘ analytical skills shall be greatly
enhanced. They would have a chance to not only explore the unidentified field of study but also
know how to identify differences in varied works alongside with expertise‘s views upon chosen
issues. Based on the outcomes of this process, researchers can also conclude for themselves key
resources for consultation in the current research to be undertaken. Additionally, with suitable
supervision and practices, several graduate attributes for instance project management and life-
long studying could be learnt and improvised as well.
On the other hand, this methodology does impose some demerits. In particular, not all
information resources are of availability. Sometimes, researchers may not have granted to access

5. certain information, especially sensitive sources. The lack of knowledge shall lead students to
unnecessarily spend their time on searching for the literature reviews which is on the contrary to
initial purposes of reviewing. Furthermore, the technique requires intimate supervision from
lecturers particularly for the students who are inexperienced in this type of assessment. Also,
upon any literature review‘s completion, researchers should own a solid knowledgeable
foundation of the chosen topic and a well awareness of future direction to undertake the research.
Those who do not possess these two areas of understanding might have to cope with difficulties
in upcoming research phases. This disadvantage also consequently leads to the time-consuming
assessing process from teachers‘ point of views. Particularly, the review at various levels upon
chosen topic which related to a considerable amount of previous works shall require much time
for the supervisors to correct as well as provide proper feedback for their students. Hence, should
any additional questions arise during the course of research; researchers should reach out for
consultation in order to quickly clear up questionable aspects.
3. SUITABILITY
In almost every cases, literature reviews is proved to be a helpful and handy guide to a particular
content. If researchers are limited in time to carry out the research, literature reviews could give
them an overview or act as a stepping stone for further topic development. To professionals, the
reviews are functional reports that keep these experts up-to-date with current practices in the
field of study. For scholars, the in-depth results and the breadth of literature review emphasizes
writer‘s credibility in his or her own field. It could also be utilized to provide a solid background
when investigating chosen issues. Comprehensiveness in literature‘s knowledge of the field is
crucial to most research papers (Breacher & Avon, 2005). Nonetheless, in the case of historical
researches, students who start reviewing process from the most recent informative sources
backwards may confuse with data collection method. To some extent, learning from earlier
endeavors through chronicle order might turn the case into gathering data instead of reviewing
literature as usual. Therefore, writers of such context should be well-aware of the tool and take
necessary amendment to avoid unwanted outcomes.

6. 4. GENERALISABILITY
The generalizability of this chosen methodology does hugely relied on the quality of reviewed
literature presented in reviewing results. A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a
list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It's usually a bad sign to see
every paragraph starting with an author‘s name. Instead, organizing literature review into sub-
sections that well-present themes or identifiable trends, including relevant theories is best
advised. Proper researchers do not seek out to list all published material, but to synthesize and
evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question. Supporting for
this, the examined literature themselves must also be proper in which correlated and interlinked
to facilitate the framework selection. Usually, the option of grouping those items is helpful in
indicating inner elements‘ comparisons and relationships.
5. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
When implementing literature review, one fact should be recognized was that the review is
somehow interpreted as an unceasing and time-consuming action runs throughout researchers‘
work (Patten, 2004). It needs much of understanding not only in terms of in-depth knowledge but
also proper approach.
Regarding timing issues, common questions might pop up in students mindset could be ranged
from ―When to start reading?‖ to ―From where to start reading?‖ and ―When to start drafting
review?‖ Frankly, these all come to quite consensus answers. Students are advised to begin
reading at the earliest to prevent gathering and accumulating copies of all studies for later
reading. Sometimes, reverse chronological order or in other words, ‗latest first‘ might be more
appropriate for researchers. They could spend time in investigating recent works first and then
move further to the older ones to ensure a continuous direction of learning. Subsequently, review
drafting should be conducted alongside with current investigation as early as possible, recording
all noticeable information on researchers‘ way of exploring the topic. Systematically update and
allocate the right flow of literature in the review is key objectives they have to bear in mind to
produce worth-reading reviews.

7. On the other hand, as derived from the disadvantages above, the lack of accession to needed
informative resources might constraint students from researching. Since related sources cannot
be reached, literature review shall then be incomplete, forming some possible biases in reviewing
towards available information. This consequently leads up to finding of readymade literature
reviews or advanced/annual reviews of all types as well. In fact, they should only serve as spring
board to start review rather than as substitutes. Moreover, researchers should beware of ones
hidden bias in selectively choosing only results that serve researcher‘s perspectives. Misdirected
flow shall lead to biased research as a result.
Last but definitely not least, ethical issues are crucial in considering literature review. Each
research problem demands a clear research design and uniquely written literature review, not a
duplication of others‘ efforts. When using other‘s work, students are required to give appropriate
credits. Quoting from other authors or using abstract/annotation should be the last resolutions
and only when cannot access, read and digest the original. Most importantly, the research should
not be plagiarized from any sources or intentionally misrepresent, misinform, mislead, and/or
intentionally misinterpret contents belonging to others. It is an ease of mind to use available
works or modifying ideas from different authors but research is not supposed to be conducted
that way.
III. RESEARCH METHOD 2: SAMPLING
1. OVERVIEW
Sampling is an essential constituent of any piece of research for its remarkable impact on the
quality of the author‘s results/findings (Fowler, 2008). The research methodology is widely used
for collecting information upon a specified population. Initiated from statistics, this method is
concerned with selecting a subset of individuals from within a statistical population to draw out
characteristics of the entire population. Each observation criteria is aimed to measure one or
more attributes such as age, location, hobbies, etc. of observable entities differentiated as
independent objects or personalities. The outcomes shall then employ probability theory and
statistical theory to figure out underlying implications. For its scientific and reliable in nature,

8. this approach is utilized in majority of current researches, especially to those that may concern
varied surveys.
2. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Choosing sampling tool could bring back many advantages in advance. First of all, volume of the
data applying this method is relatively small-medium sized, which can be gathered and examined
quickly (Gillham, 2008). This aspect is extremely helpful and time-saving for those who desired
to have the results urgently. Furthermore, it is economically and helps reducing costs for
researchers to gather information upon a part of the whole large population. This is also practical
when the study universe is infinite. On the other side, since the sample is small in proportion,
detailed and specified information from sample‘s respondents can be collected which likely to
produce more accurate outcomes and specific indications than the large-scale one. Moreover,
referring to the selection of targeted sampling objects, qualified personnel as examining
authorities could be appointed. This shall reduce the likeliness of irrelevant responses.
Opposed to the merits above, sampling also possesses several drawbacks in itself. It is possible
to obtain inaccurate or misinterpreted results if defined sample might not have been drawn
properly out of needed population from the research. Sample errors in those cases may come
from insufficient size of sampled group which incapable of representing the entire universe in the
study. Hence, careful study of the population is needed to help students in rightfully selecting
samples. Also, the investigator may fall into the trap of personal bias especially regarding
technique choice and drawing sampling units. When objects of intended population is partly
selected or misconducted in selection, biased sample shall appear.
3. SUITABILITY
The suitability of sampling may acquire very few conditions. Firstly, when the studied universe
is relatively small, it is not advisable to choose sampling technique of data collection. In contrast,
a too broad area of study and/or outreach the researcher shall place them into unreasonable large
population or sample which might cause difficulties to further topic development. Moreover,
students are suggested to consider whether they would have enough time and resource for
covering the entire population. Choosing the right sample is a real challenge as well. To

9. effectively deliver research outcomes, the sampling population unit should behave
homogeneously upon majority of characteristics (Orcher, 2007). Hence, the chosen population
should be taken into consideration whether their compounding parts sharing relevant common
features serving study goals. In most cases, sampling tool is highly recommended for its
suitability, especially in business-oriented researches. Many trade associations hired this
methodology to exploit their targeted customers under specified business contexts to figure out
implications for firms.
4. GENERALISABILITY
Generalizability of sampling could be interpreted into two major questions: ―Can the findings
from a population‘s sample be generalized to the population from which the sample was
selected?‖ and ―Can the findings from a study of one population be generalized to another,
somewhat different population?‖ In fact, sample generalizability greatly relied on its quality,
which is defined by the quantity of sampling error—the difference between a sample‘s
characteristics and the features of chosen population from which it was selected. The larger the
sampling error is, the less representative the sample would be—and thus the less generalizable
the findings. The characteristics distribution among a representative sample‘s components should
be the same as the distribution of those among the total population (Iarossi, 2006). In an
unrepresentative sample, some features are appeared to be overrepresented or underrepresented
which shall then produce insufficient results for the study. On the other hand, if a relatively small
sample has been examined in previous experiment or field study project, the research should be
recreated in other distinguished settings or, preferably, with a representative sample of the
population to which generalizations are sought.
5. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
Within this methodology, there are certain points that need cautious approach from researchers,
Muijs (2004) stated. First and foremost, a biased selection of sampling in the context of
qualitative research shall generate concern for generalization. In particular, such sample is not
relevant enough to present the whole population or somehow of researchers‘ bias towards
specific ideas. To some extent, it would be of importance for students to survey personnel who

10. well-represent the population at large. Therefore, they must ensure that surveyed participants
include relevant groups from larger population in the correct proportions. Secondly, sampling
tools, except for the simple random type, cannot be viewed as totally unbiased even if they are
random. There are certain levels of probability that might distort outcomes rooted from other
technique‘s sample selection. Thirdly, in some circumstances, it may be feasible to skirt the issue
of generalizability by conducting a census —studying the entire population of interest—rather
than drawing a sample. This is what the federal government attempted to do every 10 years with
the U.S. Census (Guppy & Gray, 2008). The reason that social scientists don‘t often try to get
collective data from all members of a large population is simply that doing so would be too
costly and time-consuming—and they could do almost the same using a sample.
IV. CONCLUSION
Appealing to almost every researcher, literature review and sampling are of crucial research
methodologies. With wide application across various fields and areas of interests, the two tools
possess many undeniable merits as well as remaining demerits. In terms of suitability and
generalizability, these approaches greatly affected by its compounding elements which are
reviewed literature and sample respectively. Proper selection of those components is best advised
to bring back reliable outcomes. In application, regarding literature review, historical research is
a noticeable case that requires students to careful select reviewing order alongside with limited
data accession and ethical issues. Meanwhile, sampling errors are warning signs in conducting
the ladder research method with typical biased selection of sample. It can be said that, to produce
high-quality studies, properly applying these approaches is not an easy path but on the way of
approaching chosen topics through them, not only students‘ mindset are broadened but also their
skills set are much enhanced.

11. V. REFERENCE
1. Breacher, Alan & Avon J. Murphy. (2005). Review of Learning in the field: An
introduction to qualitative research. Technical Communication.
2. Bryman A. & Belll E. (2007). Business Research Methods. Oxford.
3. Fowler, F. J. (2008). Survey research methods. Sage Publications, London.
4. Gillham, B. (2008). Small-scale social survey methods. London.
5. Guppy, L. N., & Gray, G. A. (2008). Successful surveys: Research methods and practice.
Thomson Nelson, Toronto.
6. Hart C. (2008). Doing a Literature Review. Sage Publications, London.
7. Iarossi, G. (2006). The power of survey design: A user’s guide for managing surveys,
interpreting results, and influencing respondents. The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
8. Kothari C. R. (2004). Research Methodology – Methods and Techniques. New Age
International Publishers.
9. Muijs, D. (2004). Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. Sage Publications,
London.
10. Orcher, L. T. (2007). Conducting a survey: Techniques for a term project. Glendale, CA.
11. Patrick LJ, Munro S. (2005). The literature review: demystifying the literature search.
12. Patten, Mildred L. (2004). Understanding research methods: An overview of the
essentials. Pyrczak Publishing, Glendale, CA.