A session on Literature Reviews for the School of Accountancy Honours students

1. Library Training:
Literature Review
1 3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0
ElizabethMoll-Willard
FacultyLibrarian:AgriSciences
emw@sun.ac.za

2. Outcomes
• What is a literature
review?
• Purpose of lit review
Basics
• Select a topic
• Search the literature
• Evaluate the literature
• Critique the literature
• Write the review
Steps

3. The
Basics

4. What is a literature review?
A literature review is a critical
evaluation, summary and explanation
of the complete and current state of
knowledge on a limited topic.

5. How-to
literature
review

6. Steps of a literature review
Select a topic
Search the
literature
Evaluate the
literature
Critique the
literature
Write the review

7. Step 1:
Select a
topic

8. 1. Select a topic
You will have already been given a topic 

9. Step 2:
Search the
literature
Step 1:
Select a
topic

10. 2. Search the literature
i. Finding the literature
◦ Search strategies
ii. Manage your literature
◦ Inclusion / exclusion criteria
◦ Reference Managers
◦ Skimming

11. Search strategies
Creating search strategies combines your keywords with using advanced
search options or operators that speak directly to the database
To get tips on how to create search strategies:
◦ Use the ‘search help’ on the database
◦ Use the specific advanced searches on the database
◦ OR consult a librarian on how to use Boolean operators

12. ii. Manage your literature
Collect and select the data
◦ Use the inclusion / exclusion table to help manage your literature
Reference managers
◦ Collate your literature and make referencing easy
Skimming
◦ Learn to skim read your literature!

13. Literature Synthesis table
AUTHOR (S)
(YEAR) TITLE
PURPOSE
OF THE
STUDY
METHOD SAMPLE FINDINGS THEMES SIMILARITIES UNIQUENESS DATA QUALITY
Mather, C. and
Greenberg, S.,
2003. Market
Liberalisation in
Post-Apartheid
South Africa: the
Restructuring of
Citrus Exports
after
'Deregulation'.
Explores the
impact of market
liberalisation on
South Africa’s
citrus export
Industry,
specifically from
a grower’s
perspective
Literature
review
conducted
Qualitative
data collected
from
interviews
Growers from
4 co-
operatives
within 4
specific
geographical
areas
Former cooperatives
have faced
problems in using
the resources they
inherited from the
past, increasing
differentiation
between those who
are able to take
advantage of
deregulation
and those who are
not. Deregulation
has affected labour
on farms and in
packhouses but
could be as a result
of liberalisation of
the economy having
intensified structural
changes in the
agricultural labour
market that have
been present for
some time.
The literature review synthesis table

14. Reference management tools
Programs that assist you in storing your
citations, managing your citations and then
inserting citations in a specific citation style
while you write your assignment

15. How to skim read
First
sentence of
each
paragraph
Introduction
+ conclusion
Table of
contents
Abstract
Title, author,
journal, date

16. Step 3:
Evaluate the
literature
Step 2:
Search the
literature
Step 1:
Select a
topic

17. 3. Evaluating the Literature
Through evaluating your literature, you can start to group it by theme,
and develop your “argument” or golden thread

18. Evaluating the Literature
Purpose of article
•Why was the article written?
•To persuade the reader to do something? Inform the reader? Prove something?
Type of audience
& journal
•Is it a scholarly journal?
•For what type of reader is the author writing?
Organization and
content
•Is the material organized and focused?
•Is the argument / presentation understandable?
•Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece?

19. iii. Evaluating the Literature
Bias, date,
bibliography
• Bias: Does the publisher / author have a bias?
• Date: Is it up-to-date, out-of-date or timeless?
Authority /
author
• Is the author an expert in this field? What else have they written?
• Where is the author employed?
• Has the author won any awards?
Usefulness &
coverage
• Is the article relevant to the current research project?
• Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it
an overview?

20. Mapping core ideas
PEST analysis
Export of
citrus
Market
Regulations Export
Citrus
South Africa
PEST Analysis
• You can use a mindmap style
to map out your themes /
ideas and structure your
research
• There are tools that let you do
this – such as CMAP tools, or
powerpoint (used here), or
just a simple piece of pen and
paper

21. Surveying the literature
This just means you look at an overview of all the literature you have
collected
◦ You can use the literature synthesis table to help here.
Synthesize the information
◦ Complete your table and analyse it

22. Literature Synthesis table
AUTHOR (S)
(YEAR) TITLE
PURPOSOF
THE STUDY
METHOD SAMPLE FINDINGS THEMES SIMILARITIES UNIQUENESS DATA
QUALITY
Mather, C. and
Greenberg, S.,
2003. Market
Liberalisation in
Post-Apartheid
South Africa:
the
Restructuring of
Citrus Exports
after
'Deregulation'.
Explores the
impact of
market
liberalisation on
South Africa’s
citrus export
Industry,
specifically
from a grower’s
perspective
Literature
review
conducted
Qualitative
data
collected
from
interviews
Growers
from 4 co-
operatives
within 4
specific
geographic
al areas
Former
cooperatives
have faced
problems in using
the resources
they inherited
from the past,
increasing
differentiation
between those
who are able to
take advantage
of deregulation
and those who
are not.
Deregulation has
affected labour
on farms and in
packhouses but
could be as a
result of
liberalisation of
the economy
having intensified
structural
changes in the
agricultural
labour market
that have been
present for some
time.
Market
regulation
Export regulations
(Butler,
Washington).
Effect on farm
labourers(Washin
gton). Similar to
Cohen for risk
factors.
Analysis of the
‘deregulation’ of
citrus exports
draws on political
economy
approaches
to markets and
suggests that the
impact of
liberalisation is
far more
complex.
Data was
triangulated
through
variables.
Bias was
countered
through pre-
testing.
All results
reported (no
leaving out of
results).

23. Step 4:
Critique
the
literature
Step 3:
Evaluate
the
literature
Step 2:
Search the
literature
Step 1:
Select a
topic

24. 4. Critique the literature
Two steps:
◦ Interpret the current understanding about the topic of research and
◦ Determine how this knowledge answers your research topic
What is the answer to the research question that you have posed given
what you know about the subject?
◦ Make sure your literature covers all aspects of your “research question”
sufficiently
Use your evaluation of literature and mapping to also build into the
critiquing

25. Step 5:
Write the
review
Step 4:
Critique
the
literature
Step 3:
Evaluate
the
literature
Step 2:
Search the
literature
Step 1:
Select a
topic

26. 5. Write the review
Write to understand
◦ Act of learning and owning the subject matter
Write to be understood
Write
Evaluate
Edit

27. Write early and write often
• the more you write, the easier it becomes and it becomes
a habit
Don't get it right, get it written
• drafting helps you to clarify your thoughts, start by writing
the parts you are clear on, this identifies the bits that
need more work

28. Main points to remember
when writing:
A 'golden thread‘
◦ an overall line of argument - running through the paper, holding it together
'Sign-posts‘
◦ crisp titles, sub-titles and headings that identify the direction being followed
'Authority‘
◦ good engagement with existing literature and a comprehensive bibliography
- the bibliography is the window to the paper and its author

29. Things to avoid
Avoid long quotations
◦ rather paraphrase or break up the quote with your own commentary
Avoid sloppy and inaccurate presentation and ensure that your
references are correct
©https://www.jewellerymonthly.com/a-diamond-in-the-rough/

30. Some basic structures to help
Introduction
◦ What it should include
Body
◦ What it should include
◦ How to structure a paragraph
◦ The funnel approach
Conclusion
◦ What it should include
30

31. •Explains the focus
•Establishes the importance of the subject
•What kind of work has been done on the topic
• identifies any controversies within the field
• any recent research which has raised questions about
earlier assumptions
•Background or history
•A purpose or thesis statement.
Outline - Introduction

32. •Headings or subheadings
•Summarises and evaluates
•Major themes or topics
•Most important trends
•Any findings about which researchers agree or
disagree.
Outline - Body

33. Topic
Sentence
• Summarises argument
• Indicates approach
Elaboration
• May provide additional information or restate the
topic sentence in a more extended way.
Evidence
• Maybe be quantitative or qualitative data, or
analysis of data.
Link
• This makes the connection to the next paragraph
explicit.
Paragraph structure

34. The funnel approach
Your topic
Effect of cold storage
on longevity of
proteas
General
Proteas
Cold storage methods
for proteas
Go from the general
to the specific
Cold storage positively impacts the Protea market through lengthening their shelf life

35. •Summarizes all the evidence
•Shows its significance
•Highlights gaps
•Indicates how previous research leads to your own
research project
Outline - Conclusion

36. Thank you!