Transcript Chapter 3 Critically reviewing the literature

Slide 3.1
Chapter 3
Critically reviewing the literature
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.2
Learning outcomes
• By the end of this chapter you should:
• Understand the importance and purpose of the critical
literature review to your research project;
• To be able to adopt a critical perspective in your reading;
• Know what you need to include when writing your critical
review;
• Be aware of the range of primary, secondary and tertiary
literature sources available;
• Be able to identify key words and to undertake a literature
search using a range of methods;
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.3
Learning outcomes
• Be able to evaluate the relevance, value and sufficiency of
the literature found;
• Be able to reference the literature found accurately;
• Understand what is meant by plagiarism;
• Be able to apply the knowledge, skills and understanding
gained to your own research project.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.4
Reasons for reviewing the literature
• To conduct a ‘preliminary’ search of existing
material
• To organise valuable ideas and findings
• To identify other research that may be in progress
• To generate research ideas
• To develop a critical perspective
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.5
The literature review process
Figure 3.1 The literature review process
Source: Saunders et al. (2003)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.6
The Critical Review (1)
Approaches used
Deductive Develops a conceptual framework from the
literature which is then tested using the data
Inductive Explores the data to develop theories which are
then tested against the literature
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.7
The Critical Review (2)
Key purposes
• To further refine research questions and objectives
• To discover recommendations for further research
• To avoid repeating work already undertaken
• To provide insights into strategies and techniques
appropriate to your research objectives
Based on Gall et al. (2006)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.8
Adopting a critical perspective (1)
Skills for effective reading
• Previewing which is looking around the text before you start
reading in order to establish precisely its purpose and how it
may inform you literature search
• Annotating that is conducting a dialogue with yourself, the
author and the issues and the ideas at stake
• Summarising the best way to determine that you’ve really got
the point is to be able to state it in your words. Outlining the
argument of text is a version of annotating, and can be done
quite informally in the margins of the text
• Comparing and contrasting: ask your self how you thinking has
been altered by this reading or how has it affected your
response to the issue and themes your research
Harvard College Library (2006)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.9
Adopting a critical perspective (2)
The most important skills are
• The capacity to evaluate what you read
• The capacity to relate what you read to other
information
Wallace and Wray (2006)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.10
Adopting a critical perspective (3)
Questions to ask yourself
Why am I reading this?
What is the author trying to do in writing this?
How convincing is this?
What use can I make of this reading?
Adapted from Wallace and Wray (2006)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.11
Content of the critical review
You will need to
• Include key academic theories
• Demonstrate current knowledge of the area
• Use clear referencing for the reader to find the
original cited publications
• Acknowledge the research of others
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.12
Is your literature review critical?
Checklists Box 3.2 and Box 3.3
Complete the checklists to evaluate your
literature review
Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.13
Structure of the literature review
Three common structures
• A single chapter
• A series of chapters
• Throughout the report
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.14
The key to a critical literature review
• Demonstrate that you have read, understood and
evaluated your material
• Link the different ideas to form a cohesive and
coherent argument
• Make clear connections to your research
objectives and the subsequent empirical material
Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.15
Categories of Literature Sources
• Primary (published and unpublished)
• Secondary
• Tertiary
Detailed in Tables 3.1 and 3.2 Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.16
Literature sources available
Literature sources available
Figure 3.2 Literature sources available
Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.17
Journals
• Journals are also known as ‘periodical’
‘serials’ and ‘magazines’ and are published
on a regular basis. Journals are a vital
literature source for any research. They are
well covered by tertiary literature, and good
selection can be accessed from most
university libraries (printed or online)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.18
Refereed academic Journals
• Articles in refereed academic journals (such as Journal of
management studies)are evaluated by peers academic prior
to publication, to assess their quality and suitability, they
are usually written by experts in the field. There will be
usually be detailed footnotes, an extensive bibliography ,
rigorous attention to detail and verification of information.
• Such articles are written for a more narrow audience of
scholars with a particular interest in the field. The language
used may be technical or highly specialized as a prior
knowledge of the topic will be assumed.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.19
Professional Journals
• Professional Journals (such as People
Management) they are produced for their
members by organization such as the
chartered Institute of personal and
development (CIPD). They contain a mix of
news related items and articles that are more
detailed. However you have to exercise
caution
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.20
Trade Journals
• They fulfill a similar function to professional
journals. They are published by trade
organizations or aimed at particular industries or
trades such as carting or mining. Often they focus
in new products or services and news items, they
rarely contain articles based on empirical research,
although some provide summaries of research,
You should therefore use these with consideration
caution for you research project.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.21
Books
• Books and monographs are written for specific audiences.
Some are aimed at the academic, with a theoretical slant.
Others, aimed at practicing professionals, may be more
applied in their content. The material in books is usually
presented in a more ordered and accessible manner than in
journals, polling together a wider range of topics, they are
therefore, practically useful as introductory sources to help
clarify your research question(s) and objectives or research
methods you intend to use. Some academic textbooks such
as this one are now supported by web pages providing
additional information.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.22
Newspaper
• Newspaper are good source of topical events,
developments within business and government, as well as
recent statistical information such as share prices, they also
sometimes review recent research report.
• Again you should be carful when you use newspaper in
your research project as newspaper may contain bias in
their coverage, be it political geographical or personal.
• Reporting can also be inaccurate and you may not pick up
any subsequent amendments
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.23
Reports
• Reports include market research reports
such as those produced by Mintel and
keynote government reports and academic
reports. It is not easy to get access for these
reports as they are not as widely available
as books. It is important to try to assess the
authority of the author, and to beware of
personal bias
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.24
Conference proceedings
• Conference proceedings sometimes referred
to as symposia, as often published as unique
titles within journals or as books. Most
conferences have a theme that is very
specific, but some have a wide-range
overview. Many conferences have
associated web pages providing abstract and
occasionally the full papers presented at the
conference .
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.25
Theses
• Theses are unique and so far a major
research project can be a good source of
further references. Unfortunately, they can
be difficult to locate and, when found,
difficult to access as there may be only one
copy at the awarding institution.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.26
Planning your search strategy
• All our students have found their literature search a time
consuming process, which take far longer than expected.
Fortunately, time spent planning will be rapid in time
saved when searching the literature. As you start to plan
your search, you need to beware of information overload!
• One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to start the main
search for your critical review with a clearly defined
research question (s), objectives and outline proposal.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.27
The literature search strategy (1)
Write down
•
•
•
•
parameters of your search
key words and search terms to be used
databases and search engines to be used
criteria for selection of relevant and useful
studies
And
Discuss these with a tutor (if possible)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.28
The literature search strategy (2)
• Define the research parameters
• Generate key words
• Discuss your research
• Brainstorm ideas
• Construct Relevance trees - use computer software
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.29
Defining the parameters of
your search
• For most research questions and objectives you will have a
good idea of which subject matter is going to be relevant.
You will, however, be less clear about the parameters
within which you need to search. In particular, you need to
be clear about the following (Bell 2005):
• Language of publication (e.g. English);
• Subject area (e.g. accountancy);
• Business sector (e.g. manufacturing);
• Geographical area (e.g. Europe);
• Publication period (e.g. the last 10 years);
• Literature type (e.g. refereed journals and books).
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.30
Generating your keywords
• It is important at this stage to read both articles by key
authors and recent review articles in area of your research
.This will help you to define your subject matter and to
suggest appropriate key words. Recent review articles in
your research area are often helpful here as they discuss
the current state of research for a particular topic and can
help you to refine your keywords. In addition ,they will
probably contain reference s to other work that is pertinent
to your research question(s) and objectives.(Box 3.8) If
you are unsure about review articles ,your project tutor
should be able to point you in the right direction. Another
potentially useful source of references is dissertations and
theses in your university's library.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.31
Generating your keywords
• After re-reading your lecture notes and textbooks and
undertaking this limited reading you will have a list of subjects
that appear relevant to your research project. You now need to
define precisely what is relevant to your research in terms of
key words. The identification of keywords or ‘research 'terms is
the most important part of planning your search for relevant
literature (Bell 2005). Key words are the basic terms that
describe your research questions(s) and objectives, and will be
used to search the tertiary literature. Keywords (which can
include authors’ surnames identified in the examination of your
lecture notes and course textbooks)can be identified using one
or a number of different techniques in combination.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.32
Discussion
• We believe you should be taking every
opportunity to discuss your research. In discussing
you work with others, whether face to face, by
email or by letter ,you will be sharing your ideas,
getting feedback and obtaining new ideas and
approaches. This process will help you to refine
and clarify your topic.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.33
Initial reading, dictionaries, encyclopedias,
handbooks and thesauruses
• To produce the most relevant keywords you may need to
build on your brainstorming sessions with support
materials such as dictionaries ,encyclopedias, handbooks
and thesauruses, both general and subject specific. These
are also good starting points for new topics which may be
unfamiliar and for related subject area. Initial reading,
particularly of recent review article, may also be of help
here. Project tutors ,colleagues and librarians can also be
useful sources of ideas.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.34
Initial reading, dictionaries, encyclopedias,
handbooks and thesauruses
• It is also possible to obtain definitions via the Internet. The
online search engine Google offers a ‘define’(by typing
‘define:[enter term ]’) that provides links to websites providing
definitions .Definitions are also offered in free online
encyclopedias such as Wikipedia(see box 3.9).These are often
available in multiple language and, although anyone is allowed
to edit the entries, inappropriate changes are usually removed
quickly [Wikipedia 2008].However, whilst these websites may
be useful for a quick reference or in helping to define keywords,
your university will almost certainly expect you to justify the
definitions in your research project using refereed journal
articles or textbooks.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.35
Conducting a literature search (1)
Approaches can include
• Searching tertiary literature sources
• Obtaining relevant literature
• Scanning and browsing secondary literature
• Searching using the Internet
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.36
Conducting a literature search (2)
Searching using tertiary literature
• Ensure key words match controlled index language
• Search appropriate printed and database sources
• Note precise details used – including search strings
• Note the FULL reference of each search found
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.37
Conducting a literature search (3)
• Printed sources
• Databases – use of Boolean logic and free
text searching (Table 3.3)
• Scanning and browsing
• Searching the Internet (Tables 3.4 and 3.5)
Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.38
Conducting a literature search (4)
Searching the Internet
Saunders et al. (2003)
Figure 3.3 Searching the Internet
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.39
Conducting a literature search (5)
Searching the Internet
Saunders et al. (2003)
Figure 3.3 Searching the Internet (Continued)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.40
Evaluating the literature
• Define the scope of your review
• Assess relevance and value
• Assess sufficiency
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.41
Recording the literature
Make notes for each item you read
Record –
• Biographic details
• Brief summary of content
• Supplementary information
Sharp et al. (2002)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.42
Recording the literature
• Bibliographic details (Table 3.6)
• Brief summary
• Supplementary information (Table 3.7)
Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.43
Plagiarism
Four common forms
• Stealing material from another source
• Submitting material written by another
• Copying material without quotation marks
• Paraphrasing material without documentation
Adapted from Park (2003), cited in Easterby-Smith et al. (2008)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.44
Summary: Chapter 3
The critical literature review
• Sets the research in context
• Leads the reader into later sections of the report
• Begins at a general level and narrows to specific
topics
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 3.45
Summary: Chapter 3
A literature search requires
• Three main categories of sources
• Clearly defined research questions and
objectives
• Defined parameters
• Use of techniques – ( brainstorming and
relevance trees)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009