Literature review for essay

1. RES1:
LITERATURE REVIEW
Marianne Nylund
Diaconia University of Applied
Sciences
Spring 2018

2. Literature review in thesis – why?
To know what has been and has not been studied earlier
Share results of other studies
Relates your study to a large dialogue in the literature
Provides a framework establishing the importance of
your study
Comparing the results of other studies
When to stop reviewing literature – when have I
searched enough? Depends on the aim, type and length
of your thesis; repetition (when you don’t find anything
new); time frame
Creswell (2016, 58-59)
DIAKONIA-AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU / DIACONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES / 2

3. Steps in literature search (Creswell 2016, 60-61)
Identify key words
Search digital data
bases/ Refworks
5-50 references
Draft summaries
Write a literature
rewiew, organise
important concepts
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4. Different types of literature
review (Grant & Booth 2009)
1. Mapping review/systematic map: particular topic,
gaps in evidence base. Valuable tools policymakers,
practitioners, researchers
2. Meta-analysis: ”combines results of quantitative
studies to provide a more precise effect of the
results”
3. Rapid review: focusing on question, using broader or
less sophisticated search strategies
4. Scoping review: preliminary assessment of size and
scope of available literature
Altogether 14 different types of reviews
DIAKONIA-AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU / DIACONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES / 4

5. Descriptive literature
review- key concepts, key words
- Select digital/ electronic databases: list them
- What is the criteria to select literature?
 Language: English; other languages
 Time frame: last 10 years, last five years
 Where the research has conducted+ (country, area)
 Type of articles: qualitative or quantitative research,
amount of data, data analysis
 What are they key finding of the articles?
 What kind of recommendations there are for service-
users, practitioners, researchers, policy-makers?
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6. Example of a descriptive literature review
article
Boersa et al. (2013) The Application Of Dynamic Assessment In People Communicating At A
Prelinguistic Level: A Descriptive Review Of The Literature
 Data collection method
 multiple sources were consulted
 electronic databases, eg. academic search premier
 “the following combination of search terms was used: “dynamic assessment” and
“communicat⁄” or “language” (the asterisk is a truncation symbol which means that all words
starting with “communicat” are included in the search).”
 inclusion criteria (see the article, p. 121-122)
 the search in the electronic databases generated 210 hits
 after applying the above-mentioned criteria, 32 studies were selected for this review
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7. Literature
• Boersa, E., Janssena, M.J., E. M. G. Minnaertb, E. M. G. & Ruijssenaarsb, W. A. J. J. M.
(2013) The Application Of Dynamic Assessment In People Communicating At A Prelinguistic
Level: A Descriptive Review Of The Literature. International Journal Of Disability,
Development And Education, 60 (2), 119-145.
http://search.ebscohost.com.anna.diak.fi:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=118713
720&site=ehost-live
• Creswell, J. W. (2016) 30 Essential Skills for the Qualitative Researcher. Thousand Oaks,
California: SAGE.
• Grant, M.J. & Booth, A. (2009) A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and
associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal 26, 91-108.
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