literature review backgroundViva Du文档格式.docx

1、 Bell, 2007）. In other words, a good literature reviewing process is not simply about searching for past studies on a particular topic and then describing the relevant information/results generated by each study, but more importantly it should also re-organize and critically evaluate the selected li

2、terature, integrate their results, interpret the cumulative findings and ultimately to produce a comprehensive and coherent report of the synthesis findings on the chosen topic （Kennedy, 2007）. It aims to review the critical points of current knowledge and demonstrate the relationship of each work t

3、o the others under consideration, thus it does not contribute any original experimental work （Gall, Borg, & Gall, 2002; Hart, 1998）. Purposes of conducting a literature reviewBy conducting a literature review, the researcher can gain a comprehensive understanding and increase ones own knowledge abou

4、t the area of interest based on what have already been studied and published by other scholars （Gall et al., 2002）. This will help the researcher to know what is already known in the field so that s/he would not “reinvent the wheel”. From readers point of view, this will also bring the readers up to

5、 date with what have been currently studied and known. The researchers can also check ideas and test personal perceptions during this process. The relevant theories and concepts on a particular topic will be explored by reviewing a variety of sources （Gall et al., 2002）. Based on this existing knowl

6、edge, researchers will need to think critically about the key issues and ask themselves questions such as “are these findings reliable?”, “ are there any gaps among those studies that need to be looked into in future studies?”, or “are there any major debates in the field and how can my research con

7、tribute to them?” （Bryman & Bell, 2007）. The existing knowledge from the literature combined with critical thinking can help the researcher revise and refine the research questions or analytical framework for his/her own research project or provide some basis for future studies （Hart, 2001）. For exa

8、mple, researchers may conduct a literature review is to explore what methods and research strategies are often adopted in conducting the studies in a field of interest. These methods and strategies need to be compared and critically evaluated in order to explore any potential problems that are affec

9、ting the validity and reliability of previous studies （Dellinger, 2005）. In this process, researchers can learn from others mistakes and therefore to refine the research design of their own research project （Gall et al., 2002）. Furthermore, researchers review literature to find out any inconsistenci

10、es or significant controversies in previous findings or any unanswered questions in a particular area （Colling, 1003; Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007）. Thus the process of conducting a literature review helps researchers to decide their research focuses （such as focusing on testing a particular h

11、ypothesis） or suggest new future research directions. In short, a literature review is a means of developing an argument about the significance of ones research and where it leads. The review should show why the proposed research questions are important. In some instances, researchers may interpret

12、what other scholars have argued in previous literature and use those prominent writings to support a particular viewpoint. This is a means of affirming the researchers credibility as someone who is knowledgeable in the chosen area （Bryman & Bell, 2007）.Common steps in conducting a literature reviewT

13、here are many different ways of conducting a literature review due to different philosophical positions held by the researchers. However According to Denyer and Neely （2004） the following steps are vey often included.First of all, the research topic needs to be narrowed down in order to limit the nu

14、mber of sources that should be read and reviewed. By narrowing the topic down, the researcher will be more focused on one specific area. This enables the literature review and the analysis to be more comprehensive and remain a better quality （Cronin, Ryan, & Coughlan, 2008; Deakin University Library

15、, 2011）. Secondly, develop the criteria for judging whether a study was conducted well enough to be included in the synthesis. It is unlikely that one or a couple of articles will provide sufficient information relevant to the chosen topic. Researchers always need to read a large amount of articles

16、that seem to be relevant in order to discover what is generally agreed or what are the main debates in the field. Therefore the predetermined criteria can help researchers to make good and consistent judgments on what need to be included or excluded during the literature review process. Moreover “a

17、lack of time” is a common limitation for research projects, this second step saves researchers time on reviewing literature and enables the research process to be efficient （Bryman &Bell, 2007）. The next step is to think about what themes and critical issues connect the literature together as the li

18、terature review requires a re-organization and a synthesis rather than simply summarize each work one by one. Some scholars classify these three steps into one and name it “problem formulation”. It involves identifying which topic or field are to be examined and what its component issues are （Trochi

19、m, 2006）.After the problem formulation, the following step is to begin searching for the relevant materials and identify the key issues and findings demonstrated by those studies. The researcher needs to evaluate how the evidence supports the authors arguments and how these arguments or proposed the

20、ories and concepts are related. In this process, it is important to highlight any major debates on the topic and any inconsistency of those findings in order to produce a thorough critique of existing literature. The reviewer needs to distinguish between facts and opinions and justify how these exis

21、ting arguments and models are related to the reviewers own research area （Dees, 2003; Sharp et al., 2002）. From here on researchers can start designing the research. However it is worth noting that researchers should not stop reviewing the literature once they start designing the research and collec

22、ting data. The review should be carried out more or less throughout the entire research process in order to keep researchers up to date with any current studies in the same field （Bryman & Bell, 2007）. The reason is that research projects often take a few weeks or months or even years, in the meanti

23、me the research gap that you are currently working on may have already been filled by another researcher latest study. In this case, you may want to change the research direction to avoid duplication of effort. Another reason is that continuously reviewing more literature throughout the research pro

24、ject may enable the researcher to gain better insights and new ideas towards the research questions and therefore to generate better research outcomes （Galvan, 1999）.Key elements of a literature A literature review consists of three main parts: a introduction, a main body and a conclusion （The Unive

25、rsity of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center, 2009）. The introduction is an overview of the chosen topic. It briefly outlines the main issues or theories under investigation. The objectives of the literature review are presented here as well. The main body of the literature review should clearly identi

26、fy the key arguments in the field （Saunders et al., 2007; The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center, 2009）. The arguments may be divided into categories, for example, the ones that support a particular viewpoint may be discussed together and those that show an opposite position may be discu

27、ssed together against the former ones （Sharp et al., 2002）. The link between those positions should be portrayed clearly in order to identify why the differences/debates exist. The work that provides the most convincing arguments or makes the greatest contribution to the development of that particul

28、ar field should be highlighted here （Bryman & Bell, 2007; H. Cooper, 2010; The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center, 2009）. This process requires a critical thinking and the researcher should give considerations to the following few aspects when reviewing each work: 1） are the arguments su

29、pported by empirical evidences, 2） are there any bias in the research design, 3） does the work significantly contribute to the research area or provides any valuable insights that worth mentioning in the literature review （Machi, 2009）.Approaches to the literature reviewLiterature reviews can have d

30、ifferent purposes, goals, focuses, perspectives, coverage strategies, organizations and audiences. They may have different focuses on either research methods, research outcomes, theories or applications. Researchers may attempt to integrate what others have written and highlight the central issues, or to criticize those arguments, or to build connections between related topics （Kennedy, 2007）. Based on these differences, literature reviews can be classified into the following types:Argume