This document provides an overview of the key stages of the research process, from defining the problem through developing a theoretical framework, designing the study methodology, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting results to answer the research questions and hypotheses. It discusses establishing the scope and limitations of the study, as well as identifying variables and generating hypotheses. The purpose of a literature review and operational definitions are also outlined.

1. Where we are now…
Observation/
Background
survey
Broad area of
research
Literature review
Problem
definition
Problem
statement
Research
questions
Scope and
limitations
Benefits
Theoretical
framework
Variables clearly
identified
Hypothesis
generation
Research
design
Methods
Data
collection
Analysis
Interpretation
Deduction
Hypothesis
substantiated?
RQ answered?

2. Setting the limits on your
research

3. Operational Definitions
 Not ‘dictionary type definitions
 What you will using in your research
 Based on literature and past research
 How you will operationalize the
variable/construct

4. Operational Definitions
 Try defining
 Girls and boys’ sense of belonging in single-
gender schools

5. Literature Review

6. Today’s objectives
 Describe what a literature review is
 How to conduct a literature review
 Using library databases

7. What is “literature”?
 Scholarly Journals ( Educational Technology R
&D, ELT Journal)
 Professional Journals ( Educational
Leadership, )
 Monographs
 Books; research reports; dissertations; other?
 Media
 Popular magazines (e.g. Dewan SIswa, Time)
 Newspapers (e.g., Berita Harian; The STAR)
 Remember – be critical…
 question what you read

9. Literature review
 What is a literature review ?
 Discussion of published information in a
particular subject area
 Sometimes, information in a particular
subject area within a certain time period

10. Literature review
 Can be a simple summary of the sources
 Has an organizational pattern and
combines both summary and synthesis

11. Literature review
 SUMMARY - recap of the important information
of the source
 SYNTHESIS - a re-organization, or a
reshuffling, of that information.
 gives a new interpretation of old material
 combine new with old interpretations
 trace the intellectual progression of the field,
including major debates
 evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the
most pertinent or relevant.

12. Literature review
 Refer Purposes

13. Refer research article
Online learning motivation

14. What you should do
 Generally
 Identify key terms
 Locate literature
 Critically evaluate and select the literature
 Organize the literature
 Write a review

15. PREPARATION
 Clarify your topic
 Conceptual analysis
 Identify keywords

16. PREPARATION
CONCEPT 1
KEYWORD
KEYWORD
CONCEPT 2
KEYWORD
KEYWORD
CONCEPT 3
KEYWORD
KEYWORD
TOPIC

17. TOPIC
An evaluation of the usability
of UiTM support web site for
students with special needs

18. CONCEPTS
 Evaluation
 Usability
 Web sites
 Students with special needs
 UiTM

19. CONCEPTS
 What combination of concepts will other
authors have researched & published?
 Should you ignore any concepts for the
literature review?

20. CONCEPTS
 Evaluation √
 Usability √
 Web sites √
 ??
 Special needs √
 Students - in this context ?
 Nottingham University X

21. CONCEPTS
evaluation

22. CONCEPTS
usability evaluation

23. CONCEPTS
evaluation
websitesusability

24. CONCEPTS
evaluation
websitesusability

25. CONCEPTS
evaluation
websitesusability
special needs

26. Try one
Mobile application for Dyslexic students

27. Mapping out
 Build family tree
 Identify variables
 Identify context/ setting
 Identify theories
 Look for research done in the area
 Categorize
 Defining
 Historical
 Justification
 Methods
 Scope
 Context

28. Conducting a literature review
 Start with a known item/ variable
 Use simple “Google search”
 Etd
 Annotated bibliography
 Dissertation abstracts
 Move on to library online databases

29. Where to start looking
 Start with your (sub)discipline first
 Has anyone in your field studied this problem?
 E.g., Education? = ERIC database
 Branch out to other disciplines – esp. if the
topic is interdisciplinary
 What has been done in other (related) fields?
 E.g., Psychology (PsycINFO); Sociology
(Sociological Abstracts); Cultural Theory…ETC.

30. Track your literature
 Keep a journal / page on your eportfolio– jot notes as
you read
 Why is each item of interest to you? Where does the item “fit”
in your research?
 Provides background/definitional information?
 Provides a good example to highlight your argument?
 Jot examples of great quotes – including page #s
 Remember – paraphrases must be cited as well
 Make copies as you go or better still upload /store in
Mendeley
 Difficult/time-consuming to go back
 Be aware of copyright rules/restrictions!
 Itemize everything – document full citation as you find relevant
information

31. Review
 “Re-views” – or looks again – at what others have done
in a particular area of study (so may include research,
opinion pieces, news articles, etc.)
 Is analytical and comparative – not purely descriptive
 Summarizing the articles is not enough – what does
this mean to you? How does this connect with other
things you’ve read?
 Use the literature
 to support/defend your argument
 To identify concepts/issues previously found to be significant
and/or insignificant – including points of controversy (“critical
eye”)

32. The Lit Rev Bullseye
 Think of the literature
search as a bullseye
 Your problem is in the
centre – has anyone
studied this topic before?
 Chances are – no hits!
 If there is??
 Slowly move your search
out & away from the
problem – to find other
relevant studies

33. The Lit Rev Bullseye - example
• What do we know about the
effects of playing online
games on rural young Malay
adults’ behaviours?
• Start with the exact question
– has anyone studied this?
• If no – are there studies of
how young adults’ behaviours
in general? Studies of online
gaming ? Studies that look at
the problem – but with a
different age group? In a
different locale?

34. Evaluating the relevance of the
literature: Questions to ask
 Topic relevance: Is the literature on the same
topic as your proposed study?
 Individual and site relevance: Does the
literature examine the same individuals and
sites you want to study?

35. Evaluating the relevance of the
literature: Questions to ask
 Problem relevance: Does the literature
examine the same research problem as you
propose in your study?
 Accessibility relevance: Is the literature
available in your library or can it be
downloaded from a web site?

36. Construct a Literature Map
 Identify key terms for the topic and put them at
the top of the map
 Sort studies into topical areas or “families of
studies.”
 Provide a label for each box which will become
a heading for the review
 Develop the map on as many levels as
possible

37. Literature Map
The need for Teaching Programs
to be Culturally Responsive
Bennett, 1995; Eastman,
Smith, 1991; Grant 1994; Noel,1995
Study Abroad
Programs
Attitude Toward
Study Abroad
King, Young ,1994
Personal insights
of Preservice Teachers
Friesen, Kang
McDongall, 1995;
Mahan, Stachowski, 1991
Possible
Improvements
Martin, Rohrlich ,
1991; Stachowski,
1991
Personal insights
of Preservice Teachers
Cockrell, Placier
Cockrell, Middleton
1999, Goodwin, 1997
Kea, Bacon, 1999
Predominantly
English
Speaking Countries
Mahan, Stachowski,
1990;
Vall, Tennison, 1992
Need for further study:
Non-English Speaking Cultures
Main Question: Do short-term
study
abroad programs in non-
English speaking cultures help
create cultural responsiveness
among preservice teachers?
Conventional
Programs
Colville-Hall
Macdonald,
Smollen, 1995;
Vavrus, 1994
Cross-Cultural
Programs
Cooper, Beare
Thorman, 1990;
Larke, Wiseman,
Bradley, 1990
U.S.
Programs

38. Literature Map

40. The LR frames your research

41. Exercise: Map your literature
 Find 5-10 articles related to your research problem
 Read the abstract
 Map out the literature
 Further action
 Summarize each study in an “abstract” that
highlights important elements
 Identify each article’s contribution to the study
 Choose the most relevant ones
 Write your review ( in a paragraph) and post it in
the group forum
 Example