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Literature Review in Social Science Research

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This post reviews the importance of literature related to the study. As a researcher you ought to abstract the Previous research studies , and review significant writings of authorities in the area under study. Literature review provides a background for the development of the present study and brings the reader up to date. Since further research is based upon everything that we know about a problem this section gives evidence of the investigator’s knowledge of the field. We should therefore include a brief summary, indicating areas of agreement or disagreement in findings, or gaps in existing knowledge.
Literature Review
Literature Review
The author finds an opportunity to justify his own endeavour and to emphasise new, worthwhile elements of his/her study. This resume is not a summary of everything you have read nor a chronological list of the roost pertinent abstracts that the reader must dissect to discover how they relate to the present problem. Rather the resume is a well-integrated discussion of the previous relevant studies and theories which points up the issues involved in the present investigation. In a logically structured discussion, you bring together the results of the existing research, show how the studies are related, point out areas of agreement and disagreement, and indicate where gaps or weaknesses exist that have given a rise to the present study. The significance of the problem, the need for conducting the investigation, and the logical rationale that justifies your hypothesis become evident when the problem is placed in this wider framework of knowledge.

Importance of the literature review

Literature review is a prime idea for a researcher as it helps him or her to have a thorough understanding of the topic and to determine whether the topic is worth studying (Creswell, 2009). The researcher gets the insight of previous work and gets to know whether the topic is researchable or not. Once the researcher discovers that the topic is researchable, it becomes easier for him or her to limit the scope to a needed area of inquiry. Wilkinson (2000) advocates that literature review enables a researcher to achieve specific aims. This is so because review of relevant literature provides a background to the study and forms an essential part of the research process. Reviewing relevant literature provides the researcher with a degree of competence within their research area (Kasonde-Ng’andu 2013).It also enables a researcher to synthesise and gain a new perspective by identifying relationships between ideas and practice (Hart 1998). Review of relevant literature also helps the researcher to distinguish what has been done from what needs to be done and enables him or her to identify important variables that are relevant to the topic. Literature Review, also helps draw the researcher’s mind to areas that need further investigation thereby avoiding wondering about. It is important for a researcher to review relevant literature before embarking on conducting a research because literature review helps the researcher to establish the context of the topic or problem and it also helps in rationalizing the significance of the problem. Furthermore, Researchers should never abandon the review of literature upon completion of the research proposal. It should rather be a continuous process until such a time that they write a report on the subject (ZERNET, 1991).

Importance of the literature Review

For several years, the library has been the stock house for encyclopaedia, dictionaries, textbooks, journals and periodicals, magazines and newspapers, projects, theses or dissertations. It has been a repository of writings, books and manuscripts. It has also been a kind of literary museum for books and manuscripts. If you have been to a big library like the National or University Libraries and Company Libraries, or even the British Council Libraries, you would see that the ability to use the library is an indispensable asset to effective review of literature. However, with the explosion of information and/or of knowledge, ideas in every human interest have been altered as a result of research findings and applications of information and communication technology (ICT). Since libraries can no longer hold all the required information and again since the users of libraries have become more sophisticated in their wants and desires for knowledge and since ease and speed of access to information are very important priorities in library search, two types of libraries have evolved. These are the physical libraries and the e- libraries. The e-libraries or virtual libraries provide new ways of storing and accessing vast amount of information from any part of the world. The use of computer, CD-ROMs, floppy disc, flash drive, etc. are fast replacing and supplementing the shelves of texts and periodicals. In other words, with the computer, you can access any type of vast amounts of information, countless online data bases and manipulated factual information with increased accuracy, efficiency and little or no time. A summary of the steps you can use in conducting your literature review are as follows:
  • Identify, select and list the key words or concepts which are associated with the topic of investigation.
  • Use the selected key words or concepts to access relevant references from such preliminary sources of information as the catalogue, the index and dissertation abstracts or computerized referencing services.
  • When you have obtained the list of useful references you can now consult libraries and other information depositories in order to access references materials. You can also make use of the internet to access the materials.
  • Before you start reading, you should be able to get index cards on which to record the information, prepare a note card or index card for each reference material consulted, such that at the end you arrange them sequentially according to subheadings in the literature review.
  • Read the reference materials and as you read make brief notes and pay attention to the problem, procedure, design, result or just the summary for theoretical opinions.
  • For quick identification, each entry on an index card should be clearly coded at the top using the key words for the broad topic. After this, the author’s names and date of publication come next, followed by the title of the work and the full citation of the work and the ideas which you find useful.
  • In writing out the references in the index cards, you have to choose a referencing style and be consistent with it.
  • Ensure that you review or dwell more on the primary sources of information than the secondary sources. This will enhance the authenticity of your work, and provide you with comprehensive, unadulterated and un-mutilated first-hand information.
  • Consult the most recent references first. This will help you to save time, get the most recent materials and avoid redundant and unnecessary materials.
  • You will save a lot of time by first reading through the abstract and/or summary of any referenced material. This will enable you to quickly ascertain the relevance of the materials.
  • Lastly, organise and write-up all the insights you received while reading. This should be a critical appraisal of the state of the art in the area of investigation. You have to ensure that you understand all the related issues. The ideas must flow in accordance with the trend of thought.
More important yet to note is that the reviewed literature should not be presented disorderly. It is always recommended to begin with studies conducted outside Africa then in African countries and then in the country in which the researcher intends to carry out the research. Literature review can also be presented in themes. Creswell (2009) states that there is no single way to conduct a literature review though many scholars proceed in a systematic fashion to capture, evaluate and summarise the literature. Example: On the topic on abortion, the following sub themes can be used:
  • Causes of abortion among secondary school students.
  • Effects of abortion on secondary school students.
  • Methods used in abortion

Citation in Literature Review

Whenever you lift any idea or ideas from any referenced materials, you must duly acknowledge the source. This includes verbatim quotations, paraphrased statements, diagrams, tables etc. You have to note that careless statements from newspapers and magazines are not appropriate in research. Sources can be cited in the text in various ways, while full bibliographical details of the reference materials are listed at the end of the write-up. You will see some examples later. Different formats for preparing references are available. In educational research reports, the style used is in line with most psychological journals but most universities prefer and use the APA (American Psychological Association) style. This will help to avoid plagiarism, which meansusing someone’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own, without acknowledging your source. Even using your own previously published work as new scholarship can mount to a type of plagiarism academically termed self-plagiarism. There are two ways to refer to the works of other authors:
  1. Paraphrasing allows you to summarise another author’s ideas in your own words, whilst still acknowledging the original source. Quotation marks are not needed. A concise well-paraphrased account demonstrates your understanding of what you have read. When paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another work, you are encouraged to provide a page or paragraph number, especially when it would help an interested reader locate the relevant passage in a long or complex text. If you refer to a table or diagram, you must include a page number as the reader may wish to check it.
  2. Direct quotes: This is the use of other people’s words exactly the way you heard or read them. Although this can be used in your report, there should be some limitations in order to avoid your report becoming a ‘cut and paste’ exercise. Quotations should be used sparingly, as the person reading the assignment wants to see your views and analysis of what you have read. When you use a direct quote always give the page number(s) or paragraph number for non- paginated material and place double quotation marks around the quotation.

Example of Paraphrasing

Text from the original article: Little is known about whether and how early childhood living arrangements affect adult children’s propensity to take aging parents into their homes. Past research on caregiving has focused on the characteristics of current family structure such as sibling composition, the marital status of parent or child, or competing roles (Szinovacz, 1997). Bad paraphrasing: Not much is known about how living arrangements in childhood affect adult children’s willingness to take elderly parents into their homes. Past research on looking after elderly parents has focused on the characteristics of current family structure such as brothers and sisters, the marital status of parent or child, or competing roles (Szinovacz, 1997). = only a few words have been changed, not reflecting any understanding or interpretation of the original. Good paraphrasing: Research has tended to focus on the effect of current family structure on adult children’s willingness to look after their elderly parents – in consequence, little is known about the effects of childhood living arrangements (Szinovacz, 1997). = the content has been rephrased.

Examples of Direct Quotes in Literature Review

When quoting always provide the author, year and page number (or paragraph number for non-paginated material). For quotations under 40 words, incorporate it into the text and enclose it with double quotation marks. For example: The provision of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in classrooms which according to Kharade and Thakkar (2012) “can help to promote constructivist innovation in the teaching-learning process, contributing to the realisation of meaningful authentic, active-reflective and problem-based learning” (p. 1)will probably ease the way to adoption of the new education system, centred on the learners. If the quotation appears at the end of the sentence, end the quotation with quotation marks, cite the source in brackets and end with a full stop after the closed bracket. For example: The College Undergraduate Handbook for Undergraduate Students 2011/12 for the College of Human & Health Sciences states “The risk of cheating is immense, … a student aspiring to become a …nurse might find his/her career path being closed prematurely, if found guilty of cheating” (Swansea University College of Human & Health Sciences, 2012, p. 24). If the quotation is 40 words or more (not something that you should expect to do) then do not use quotation marks, but indent the quotation by half an inch on the left margin (in the same position as a new paragraph). Double-space the entire block quotation. The citation should be included using one of the methods described below (In-Text Citations) with the page number, paragraph number or the full citation as the final element in the block of text, after the final punctuation mark. For example: Careful consideration of method is needed with data collection as it … is a practical activity, one that has to be carried out with time, spatial and resource constraints. It is therefore important to consider how valid social research data can be collected effectively and efficiently within those constraints. The history of social research has included the development of a range of research ‘tools’ to help social researchers to organise and manage the task of data collection. (Matthews & Ross, 2010, p. 181) Quotation marks Use double quotation marks when the title of an article or chapter in a journal or book is mentioned in the text. For example:
  • Benton’s (2011) chapter, “Diet, Behaviour and Cognition in Children”
Capitalise major words in title of books and articles within the text and all words of four letters or more. Capitalise the first word after a colon or a dash in the title. When capitalised word is hyphenated, capitalise both words. For example:
  • In their book, Key-Concepts in Social Gerontology
In the article, “Are Emergency Admissions in Emergency Cancer Care Always Necessary? Results From a Descriptive Study” Double or single quotation marks Double quotation marks enclose in text quotations, except when quotations are 40 words or longer. Single quotation marks are used within double quotation marks when the original text was enclosed in double quotation marks. For example:
  • Miele (1993) found that “the ‘placebo effect,’ which has been verified” (p. 276).

Quotation of online material without page numbers

If paragraph numbers are visible, use them instead of page numbers. Use the abbreviation para. For example:
  • Basu and Jones (2007) went so far as to suggest the need for a new “intellectual framework in which we consider the nature and form of regulation in cyberspace” (para. 4).
If the source includes headings and neither paragraph or page numbers are visible, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it to guide the reader to the quoted text. For example:
  • The World Health Organisation (2014) states that “Pneumonia is the ‘leading infectious cause of death in children worldwide, accounting for 15% of all deaths of children under 5 years old (Key Facts section, para. 1).
In some cases when no page or paragraph number is visible, headings may be too long to cite in full. Instead, use a short title enclosed in quotation marks for the citation. For example:
  • “Surprisingly little evidence is available on the effectiveness of psychiatric interventions for people with dementia in general hospital settings” (Sheehan, Stinton, & Mitchell, 2009, “Do psychiatric interventions work,” para. 1).
The heading was “Do psychiatric interventions work for people with dementia on general hospital wards?”)

Changes when quoting that require explanation

Use three spaced ellipsis points (…) within a sentence to indicate that material has been omitted from original source. Use four points to indicate any omission between two sentences. If you want to emphasise a word or words in a quotation, italicise the word or words. Immediately after the italicised words, insert within brackets the words (emphasis added). Italics Use italics for titles of books, journals, videos, TV programmes, and microfilms Critical Social Policy Lifespan Development

Specific in-text citations in Literature Review

How to cite authors in your report. 1.       One author In-text citation requires that the last name of the author and the year of publication be inserted into the text, for example: Marks (2011) states that … or …(Marks, 2011) 2.       Two authors If there are two authors of a work, both should be cited.
  • Bee and Boyd (2010) state that … or …(Bee & Boyd, 2010)
Note. Link the two authors’ names with and when cited outside parentheses. Link with an ampersand (&) inside parentheses.
  1. Three authors
If there are three, four or five authors of a work all authors should be cited the first time. Subsequently use et al. after the first author.
  • (Rolfe, Jasper, & Freshwater, 2010) – First cite
  • (Rolfe et al., 2010) = subsequent cites
Note. There is a comma after the second-to-last author.
  • 4.       Six or more authors
If there are six authors or more, only the first author is cited followed by et al.
  • ….Yamada et al. (2003) or … (Yamada et al., 2003)
Note. et al is Latin for “and others”. 1.4.1          More than one work cited If you cite two or more works within the same parentheses they should be in alphabetical order of author.
  • ….(Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby, 2010; Rolfe, Jasper, & Freshwater, 2010).
Arrange two or more works by the same authors (in the same order) by year of publication. Place in-press citations last. Give the authors’ last names once; for each subsequent work, give only the date. …. (Phiri, 2008, 2010, 2012) 1.4.2          Author with two or more cited works in same year Use lower case letters (a, b etc.) to distinguish between works published in the same year by the same author (s).
  • …Banda (2010a) states that… this was supported by Banda (2010b) …
The suffixes are assigned in the reference list, where these kind of references are ordered alphabetically by title (of the article, chapter, or complete work). 1.4.3          Authors with the same last name If a reference list includes publications by two or more primary authors with the same last name, include the first author’s initials in all text citations, even if the year of publication differs. Initials help the reader to avoid confusion within the text and to locate the entry in the list of references. Davies, H., Brophy, S., Dennis, M., Cooksey, R., Irvine, E., & Siebert, S. (2013). 1.4.4          Secondary referencing Secondary referencing is where you need to refer to the work of an author which you have not read in the original, but have learnt about from another author. Whenever possible you should use the original work. If this is not feasible, you must make clear that you have not read the original by referring to the work in which you found the reference. In the reference list only include details of the work that you read.
  • Kleinman (1996) cited in Cunningham-Burley (1998) has argued…
or It is the non-professional arena that illness is first defined (Kleinman, 1996, cited in Cunningham-Burley, 1998) 1.4.5          Websites It can be difficult to identify the author of a webpage, so decide who is responsible for the page and that person or corporate body can be referenced as the author. Searching the ’About Us’ or ‘Contact Us’ will help to identify the author. If no author can be found use the webpage title. If no title use URL. 1.4.6          Abbreviations (readily identified through abbreviation) as authors Only abbreviate that help you communicate with readers. Abbreviate in the text only if it is conventional and if the reader is more familiar with the abbreviation than with the expanded form or if considerable space can be saved.
  • First citation in text: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, 2013)
  • Subsequent citations in text:  BBC (2013)
Parenthetical format, first citation in text (British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2013) Parenthetical format, subsequent citations in text (BBC, 2013) Works with no identified author or with an anonymous author When a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article, a chapter, or a web page, and italicise the title of a journal, a book, a brochure, or a report:
  • the book Dictionary of Food Science and Nutrition (2006)
  • the website (“AWMGS (All Wales Genetics Medical Service),” 2013)
When a work’s author is designated as “Anonymous” cite in text the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date:
  • (Anonymous, 2012)

Ethical Considerations in Research Literature Review

You are aware that educational research is a systematic study which makes use of scientific approaches and methods in problem solving situations. It implies that scientific attitudes should be brought to bear in carrying out such activities like the research process. The scientific attitudes which should be applied in the research process include:
  • Openness:- especially in the areas of data collection, treatment of findings and literature review.
  • Honesty:- especially in the areas of data collection, treatment and interpretation.
  • Humility:- especially in the areas of validation of instrument.
  • Objectivity:- especially in drawing conclusions from the research findings.
You are cautioned, at this moment, that you have to adhere strictly to the rules of the game in order to minimise ethical issues which are often encountered in the conduct of the research studies. Such ethical issues may include:
  1. Plagiarism
This refers to copying someone’s work without acknowledging him as the source of such information. In the academic circle, it is a very serious offence which can lead to litigation, denial of the award of degree or certificate, termination of appointment among others. Therefore, in order to apply your attitude of openness and scientific honesty, you must acknowledge all authors consulted. 2. Arm-chair Researching This refers to people staying on their tables and manipulating figures and building up a theoretical framework, and later publishing the concoction as an empirical study. These days, students are used to coping or photocopying previous research works from other institutions and submit same in their own name, in their own institution. This is against the ethics of the research enterprise. According to Anaekwe (2002), it negates the purpose of research and kills initiatives and intellectual growth in research business. DO NOT INDULGE IN SUCH MAL-PRACTICES. 2. Faking The ability to Fake things involves the documentation of false information or sources of information. As a researcher, you should endeavour to present authentic sources of information used in the study. This will enhance the content validity of your work as well as the replication of the work and the retrieval of such source materials by subsequent researchers. 3. Over-citation of a particular Author Some students often over-cite the works of their supervisors and/or lecturers. This is not very good as it limits the research to a microcosm of available information. Avoid it.

SOURCES OF EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION CONTENTS

Locating sources of gathering information about your topic requires extensive consultation of traditional as well as modern sources of educational information but most importantly, the knowledge of how to access them. These sources include primary and secondary sources, including essentially the use of the computer.

Traditional Sources of Information

A basic initial activity/requirement in any research, including educational research, is the acquisition of data or information relevant to the study or research. These data can be obtained from a variety of sources which may be categorised into primary and secondary sources. In education, some of these sources include books, periodicals, reports (technical, seminar, workshop), conference proceedings, academic theses and manuscripts. Electronic versions of most of these information sources are generally now available on-line and can be downloaded from the computer/internet. Books and journals are primary sources in educational research, since they contain original work of the writers and form materials for secondary sources. Professional journals especially are usually up to date, since the articles in them give reports of recent research studies. Books, although very useful, are usually not as current as journals. Primary sources usually provide more information about a study than can be found elsewhere, and are also a good source of the research methodology used, but they can be time consuming to cover the study. Locating sources of educational information can in fact be bewildering to neophyte researchers, but actually today the real problem is delimiting the scope of the vast resources to be consulted. For this, there are indexes, abstracts and other retrieval mechanisms available in the standard library to ameliorate this problem, e.g. the card catalogues and the bibliographic indexes. For example, the card catalogue will help the researcher locate pertinent books, and the indexes will help him/her find articles in journals.

The modern sources of information

Traditionally, the library has, over the centuries, been the main repository of non-electronic or hard copy sources of information, but the vast explosion of information or knowledge in the last half century or so, due partly to research itself, has rendered impossible the storage of information in the form of books and other hard copies, in one building or location (i.e. the library). The electronic digital computer can store an incredibly vast amount of knowledge or information in micro storage units (e.g. CD-ROM) which can be accessed with phenomenal speed and ease. Therefore, modern libraries, in addition to their shelves of books and periodicals now stock large collections of electronic materials, audio and video, which can be accessed in seconds. In many universities, computer terminals and keyboards have now replaced the old card catalogues and indexes. With the electronic digital computer, new knowledge/information in all fields is now being generated daily at an exponential rate, which information can now be accessed almost instantaneously from all over the world with the click of a button. CD-ROM journal indexes and database searches are very useful tools in identifying and locating various references for the researcher. The CD- ROM usually focuses on a single specific database. Online computer searches, on the other hand, can have up to 4000 databases which provide access to literally billions of records. Now a researcher can sit down before a computer monitor in the library or his office or home and with a flick of the button gain almost instantaneous access to previously unimaginable records of educational information from all over the world, information which are frequently updated. It however requires considerable skill and some practical experience and competence on the part of the researcher to sort out and sift through and efficiently manage this bulk of information to serve his/her purposes.

Some Common Sources of Information

In educational research, some of the most common sources of information are
  • Education Index
  • Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC) – a free bibliographic database of more than 1m citations on education topics since 1966
  • Dissertation Abstracts International
  • Psychological Abstracts
  • Review of Educational Research
  • Encyclopaedia of Educational Research
  • American Education Research Association (AERA)
  • British Education Research Association (BERA)
  • National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
  • International Education Research Foundation (IERF)
  • Museums
  • National Archives
  • Special Collections in Libraries
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