This document provides information about conducting a literature review in research. It defines a literature review as a systematic method of identifying and analyzing existing scholarly work on a topic. The purposes of a literature review are discussed, including giving context and justification for the research topic. Key aspects covered include sources to review, such as academic journals and books, as well as strategies for finding and evaluating relevant literature. The document also distinguishes between descriptive and critical literature review approaches. Overall, the text outlines best practices for performing a comprehensive literature review.

1. LITERATURE REVIEW
Ghulam Abbas
LISC,IUB

2. What is our own Understanding of
Literature Review in Research?
Why do we review literature while
conducting research? Lets’ share the
reasons.
We review literature because it
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3. WHAT IS LITERATURE REVIEW?
Literature review is systematic, explicit,
and reproducible method for identifying,
evaluating and interpreting the existing
body of recorded work or knowledge
produced by researchers, scholars and
practitioners. Literature review appears
as a part of researcher’s academic
development- of becoming expert in the
field.

4. Ten Reasons for Literature Review
i. It gives new ideas
ii. It helps researchers understand what other
researchers have done in the area of study
iii. It broadens the perspective and sets the work of
researcher in the context
iv. It supports the direct experience of the
researchers
v. It legitimates the arguments of researchers
vi. It helps to change mind of the researcher
vii. It opens up new dimensions for researchers
viii. Researchers can effectively criticize what others
have done
ix. It provides opportunities to researchers learn
more about research methods and their
application in practice
x. It help researchers identify areas which have not
been researched/addressed

5. Four Main Functions of Literature Review
i. To give reasons why the topic is of
sufficient importance
ii. To provide the reader with a brief up-to-
date account and discussion of literature
on the issue relevant to the topic
iii. To provide a conceptual and theoretical
context in which the topic for research
can be studied
iv. To discuss relevant research carried out
in the same area or similar topics.

6. Literature Review Answers the
i. What are key sources?
ii. What are the key theories, concepts and
ideas?
iii. What are rationale grounds for the
discipline?
iv. What are the main questions and problems
that have been addressed to date?
v. How is the knowledge on the topic
structured and organized?
vi. What are the origins and definitions of the
terms relevant to the topic?
vii. What are the implications of the research?
viii. What are the major issues and debates
about the topic?

7. Activity
• Literature is usually reviewed during
research project. Academia is required to
conduct and supervise the researches.
Enlist the ways of literature review you
adopted in your recent research project.
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8. Literature Review: Basic Strategies
A researcher has to Plan
• Where to review
• What to review
• Whom to review
• How to find/locate what a researcher needs to
review
Where to review
• Library
• Computer and Internet

9. Literature Review: Where to review-Library & Internet
Sources of Information in the Library
• Librarians
• Catalogues
• Databases and Computers
• Abstracts and Reviews
• Dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference
books
• Open Shelves
Internet as Source of Information
• Search engines
• Databases
• Online Journal
• Keywords

10. What to Review: Sources of Literature Review
i. Books
ii. Academic Journals
iii. Reports
iv. Popular Media-Magazines etc
v. Computer-based materials
vi. Memos, minutes, and internal reports
vii. Published and unpublished
papers/dissertations/theses/ researches
viii. Contemporary and classic work
ix. Introductory and overview texts
x. Edited collections and literature review
xi. Methodological and Confessional writings

11. Sources of Literature Review
• Enlist different sources of literature which
you have consulted/used for the research
you have just undertaken or intending to
undertake. Write the full name of the
source, author, and publisher of each.
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12. Literature Review: Whom to Review
• Supervisors/mentors
• Experts
• Researchers
• Seniors and
• Colleagues

13. Literature Review:
How to Find What Researcher Needs
• Seek guidance from supervisor, or fellow
researchers
• Locate books, journals, and other relevant
material: from libraries and Internet
• After identifying the material/locations search
other relevant material
• Once researcher has identified relevant journals,
look through recent issues for up-to-date
information on the topic
• Read outwards from original sources: interesting/
repeating references
• Identify key texts: seek out latest editions
• Researcher has to try ensuring that s/he has
developed understanding of the topic
• Researcher has to use time ad resources
appropriately for extensive review

14. Literature Review: Quick Review of a Book/Journal
• Pick up a relevant book or journal
• Give yourself five minutes
• Note down all the salient points about the
book, journals’ article related with the
research
• Summarize the key messages of the book/
article in the journal relevant to the research
• Concentrate on the content, method, or
theory of the text, or try to do all the three

15. Critical Literature Review
Critical Literature Review is one that
• Goes beyond description by offering
opinions, and making a personal
response, to what has been written
• Relates different writings to each
other, indicating their differences and
contradictions and highlighting what
they lack
• Does not take what is written at face
value
Continued………

16. Critical Literature Review
• Strives to be explicit about the values
and theories which inform seem
necessary for reading and writing
• Views research writing as a contested
terrain, within which alternative views
and positions may be taken up
• Shows an awareness of the power
relations involved in research, and of
where writers are coming from
• Uses a particular language (authors
assert, argue, state, conclude or
contend) in impersonal voice

17. Critical Literature Review
Assessing an argument- Analyzing
i. Researchers should Identify conclusion and
reasons: look for ‘conclusion indicators’
(keywords: therefore, so, should, hence,
thus); look for ‘reason indicators’ (keywords:
because, for, since); and/or
• Researcher should ask ‘what is the passage
trying to get him/her to accept or believe?’
• Researcher should ask ‘what reasons,
evidence is it using in order to get him/her
believe?’

18. Critical Literature Review
Assessing an argument- Evaluating
ii. Researcher should evaluate truth of reasons
iii. Researcher should assess the reliability of any
authority on whom the reasoning depends
iv. Researchers should find ‘is there any additional
evidence which strengthens or weakens the
conclusion?’
v. Researcher should assess the plausibility of any
explanation
vi. Researcher should assess the appropriateness
of any comparison identified
vii. Can researcher draw any conclusion from the
passage? If so what it suggests?

19. Critical Literature Review
Assessing an argument- Evaluating
viii. Researcher should know ‘Is any of
the reasoning in the passage parallel
with reasoning which researcher
knows to be faulty’?
ix. Researcher should know ‘do any of
the reasons embody a general
principle?’ If so must evaluate it.
x. Researcher should assess ‘is the
conclusion well supported by the
reasoning?’

20. Recording the Literature Review
• The author or authors
• The title of the paper, report or book
• The date of publication
• In case of book or report; the
publisher and place of publication
• If it is a chapter in an edited book, the
title, and the editor of the book and the
page numbers of the chapter;
• If it s paper in a journal, the title of the
journal, volume and issue number, and
pages;
• If it is website, the date researcher has
accessed the information

21. How many References
• In one ethnographic journal, the number
of references per article varied from 12
to 60
• In one social policy journal, the number
of reference per article varied from 10 to
140
• In one management journal, the number
of reference per article varied from 18 to
135

22. Why References
Researcher should use references to:
• Justify and support the arguments
• Allow him/her to make comparisons
with other research
• Express matters better than s/he could
have done so
• Demonstrate his/her familiarity with
the field of work

23. Activity
• As a researcher, how you will do
literature review?
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24. Activity
• As a research supervisor, what tips
you will provide to your students to do
literature review?
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25. Literature Review
Thank you