In celebration of the resumption of schools ordered by the Federal Government of Nigeria today – the 18th of January 2021, I would like to dedicate this article to one of the project assistance services we render to student researchers. Without any doubt, the literature review is an integral aspect of any research project. It is required to know the past works done on the research area. The chapter two of every project, thesis or dissertation work is mostly composed of the literature review. Do you now know how to go about getting the most useful literature for your research? Which means do you know or use to collect your literature? How do you even know how accurately to select the relevant literature for your particular project? These and more will be learnt in today’s blog article.
What is even Literature Review?
As its name implies, literature review involves the collation of ideas, views, positions and opinions, expressed in the writings of recognized authorities as well as findings of previous researchers in one’s area of investigation {Issa, 2003}. Similarly, Akinwumiju {2000} describes the review of related literature as involving the systematic identification, location and analysis of documents containing information related to the research problem. It aims at providing information about what had already been done; how they were done and with what results. One of the very early activities in any research investigation is the review of related literature. By this, we refer to the body of research information relating to the present research.All the necessary information needed to put the research in proper context once the research problem has been identified and formulated would derive from the literature review. Until this had been done, the research cannot proceed effectively considering the great amount of information to be sought from a variety of sources-primary and secondary-there is no doubt that the review of related literature is a serious task deserving an equally serious attention. As a result of this, literature review has been considered as “a systematic process that requires careful and perspective reading and attention to detail” {Akinwumiju 2000}. Thus, its goal is to determine what others have learnt or done about similar research problems and to gather information relevant to the current research problem.
Its Project Aspect
The Chapter Two of the research project is usually devoted to it. Basically, it serves three purposes namely: –
To set the theoretical framework for the research project.
To establish the present research efforts within the mainstream of other related ones previously conducted.
To determine the state-of-the-art in that particular area of study (Issa, 2006).How To Determine the Quality of Literature Review
To determine the quality of literature review on any given topic, it is necessary to provide answers to the following questions namely: –
How wide {or otherwise} is the scope of the literature reviewed?
How up-to-date are the materials/studies reviewed?
How relevant are the materials reviewed to the subject of the present investigation?
How well organized is the entire literature review?
Has it such things as introduction, subheadings, summary and appraisal of reviewed literature?
Is it possible to present a summary of the entire review in a paragraph of few sentences?
The Requirements of a Good Literature Review
To be able to carry out a good work of literature review, one is expected to demonstrate the following abilities namely: –
The ability to find relevant sources quickly.
The ability to peruse so many sources quickly.
The ability to identify, for further use, all relevant materials contained in the sources perused.
The ability to interpret and organize information accumulated from the various sources consulted (Issa, 2006).7 Methods to a Good Literature Review
To this end, Osuala (1993) identified seven (7) specific procedures as the means by which a good literature review can be carried out successfully namely: –
Getting a clear picture of the subject under investigation
Orientating oneself toward the empirical research done in the broad area in which the problem lies.
Demonstrating a good ability of reading at a high rate of speed.
Searching for library sources in a systematic and thorough manner.
Taking notes systematically in the light of such criteria as uniformity, accuracy and ease of assembly.
Taking as complete notes as he might need.
Recording references on 3×5 cards, each carrying labels of topic or topics.
Functions of a Good Literature Review
Opeke (1995) quoting from Casteller and Heisler (1977) enumerated the functions of a good literature review to include the following namely: –
To study the history of the problem.
To aid in the selection of investigative procedure i.e. methodology.
To become familiar with the theoretical background of the problem.
To assess the merits of previous studies.
To avoid unintended duplication.
To justify the selection of the problem.
By and large, a good literature review enables the researcher to understand previous studies; and to determine the adequacy or otherwise of their design and methodologies and to sharpen his own research focus.Necessary Preparations for Doing a Good Literature Review
The need to spend time to prepare for a good literature review is borne out of the fact that the initial time spent will save one’s time in the long run. Hence, before starting on literature review, you are advised to do the following: –
Find out what references are available.
Where and when they could be found.
Get familiar with library sources within your vicinity.
Know the rules and regulations guiding the use of the library
Make a list of key words relating to your research topic so as to guide your literature search.
Instance of Project Topic and Applicable Literature Review
To put all these theories to practical perspective, if you are an undergraduate student in the department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages for example and are working on the project topic “Dialectal Study of the Urhobo Language, Delta State”, you will probably have a literature review from library and even online search with the following keywords:
Sociolinguistics
Language contact
Urhobo Language
Subfields of sociolinguistics
Dialectology
Diglossia
Mutual intelligibility
Dialectologists
Dialect Continuum/Chain
Types of dialects
Isolect
Standard variety
Sociolect
Regiolect
Idiolect
From the project topic and the aspect of research, these keywords were highlighted to aid during the search for literature review. These definitely will become handy in the library, on internet search bars and other reference locations. During the search, past works from other researchers can be found that will be instrumental during the compilation of the project work afterwards. Also, it should be noted that not all works found are relevant so one must know how to sieve out the best contents from all of them.Guidelines for Carrying out a Good Literature Review
Re-read all notes made during your search exercise so as to refresh your memory and get rid of some works that may no longer seem sufficiently related to your study. The following guidelines would help: –
Make an outline of all the materials you have consulted.
Examine each of the materials with regards to your outline such as to enable you sort out your references into appropriate piles.
Take a list of the references identified for a given subheading and examine the relationships and differences between them.
Ensure that the review flows in such a way that the references that are not too related to the problem are discussed first, and the most related ones come last.
Conclude your review with a brief summary of the literature and its implications for your own study. This is usually referred to as Appraisal of the Literature Review (Issa, 2006).
Things You Must Not Do When Reviewing Literature
For you to achieve a good review of related literature in your field, you need to take note of the following things when reviewing literature: –
(a) Do not be in a hurry to do literature review just to get started in your research project. If you do, then you are more likely to over-look previous studies containing ideas that would have helped to improve your work.
(b) Avoid the temptation to over-depend on secondary sources at the expense of primary sources. Whereas the former refer to materials, which contain account of events/phenomena by one who was not a witness to them, the latter contain direct accounts of events by the witness.
(c) When reading research articles, avoid the temptation of concentrating on research findings at the expense of valuable information on methods, measures etc.
(d) Avoid being too broad or narrow in your literature search as both have obvious disadvantages
(e) Ensure that the bibliographic data {references} concerning the materials being reviewed are not wrongly copied. Otherwise, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to locate the materials (Issa, 2006).Our rendered services
We have competent first-class research assistants and graduate scholars who can assist with you with your project, thesis and dissertation works. Apply for any service now and get our resumption promo offer.You can reach out to us now to aid you with your literature review via any of these contacts; +2348107714449 or +2349091884943 on call, text message or even Whatsapp chat. You can as well visit our desk @ www.aosacademy.com/research-institute. Need materials like past projects, books, articles and journals for your research literature review? Visit our online library via the link: www.aosacademy.com/library.References
Akinwumiju, J. A. (2000). EME 409 Educational Research Methods: External Studies Programme. Ibadan: The Centre for External Studies.
Issa, A. O. (2003). “Research Project and Library Research”. In Kolawole, A. A and A. O Issa. Library and Information Science: An Introductory Text. Offa: Dee Root. PP 72-88.
Issa, A. O. (2006). Practical Guides to Project Writing For Students in Polytechnics, Colleges and Universities. Offa, Kwara: Department of Library and Information Science, The Federal Polytechnic, Offa.
Opeke, R. (1995). “The Literature Review”. Paper presented at the Workshop on technical writing and Reporting Skills for Library and Information Professionals. Held at the SS Peter and Paul Seminary, Bodija, Ibadan. 20-22 Nov.
Osuala, E.C. (1993). Introduction to Research Methodology Benin City; Ilupeju Press Ltd.