Competency: Selects relevant literature from reputable journals and cites related literature using standard style (APA, MLA, or Chicago Manual of Style), and follows ethical standards in writing related literature and to illustrates and explain conceptual framework.

New definition of RRL

The RRL is the use of ideas in the literature to justify the particular approach to the topic, the selection of methods, and demonstration that this research contributes something new.

The Review of Related Literature (RRL) is an important component of the research process and the research itself.

Two ways of looking at the RRL

Point of view of the:

From the point of view of the researcher:

It helps shape the research as:

• Earlier studies help you identify a research problem;

• Broaden your knowledge in the research area;

• Provides important clues/leads to help you determine the topic of inquiry;

• Shows “what is already known” vs. “what needs to be known”;

• Provides the foundation and justification for your research problem;

• Helps you framing the valid research methodologies, approaches, goals, and research questions for your study; and

• Provides clues/leads with regard the theoretical framework and methodological approach.

From the point of view of reader:

It provides the bigger picture:

• Shares with the reader the results of other studies that are closely related to the proposed study;

• Relates the proposed study to the on-going conversation on the topic;

• Provides the reader a benchmark for comparing your study with other studies;

Helps the reader identify and appreciate the value-added information of your study (originality).

Why Should be Cited?

1. Citing identifies sources used in a research project

2. It gives credit to those researchers, authors, and writers whose words or ideas you borrow, acknowledging their role in shaping your research

3. It allows others to follow-up on or retrieve this material

4. To avoid charges of plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is:

· The unacknowledged use or appropriation of another person’s words or ideas

· A form of cheating or stealing

· A serious academic offense

When we borrow words or ideas from sources to support our argument or research, we must give proper credit. By crediting our sources, we avoid plagiarism.

If we do not cite a source –intentionally or unintentionally we are guilty of plagiarism.

When should be Cited? When in doubt, give credit to source!

· Many students plagiarize unintentionally.

· Remember, whenever we summarize, paraphrase or quote another author’s material, we must properly credit our source.

· If we are using another person’s idea, we must also cite our source.

· In any of these cases, must credit to source.

Citations, Paraphrasing, and References Using APA 7^th Edition

Citations

· APA Style uses the author-date citation system, in which a brief in-text citation direct readers to a full reference list entry.

· The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix) and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication.

· This enables readers to locate the corresponding entry in the alphabetical reference lists at the end of the paper.

· Each work cited must appear n the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix).

· Both paraphrases and quotations (discourage to use) require citations.

Paraphrasing

· Restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words.

· Allows you to summarize and synthesize information from one or more sources, focus on significant information, and compare and contrast relevant details.

· Requires you to cite the original work using either the narrative or parenthetical citation format.

References

· Are not the same as Works Cited or Bibliography

· Have four elements: the author, date, title, and source.

* Author: who is responsible for this work?

* Date: when was this work published?

* Title: what is this work called?

* Source: where can I retrieve this work?

What is an In-Text Citation?

In-text citations are citations that appear in the body of an essay or paper. In-text citations have two formats - narrative and parenthetical:

• Narrative citations: Author last name/s are included in the text as part of the sentence. The publication year and page number (if applicable) follows in parentheses. The author’s last name can be included any place in the sentence where it makes sense.

• Parenthetical citations: Author last name/s and publication year and page number (if applicable) appear in parentheses. A parenthetical citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence.

Narrative citations

* In a narrative citation, the author's name appears in the sentence and not in parentheses.

Example: Walters (2003) wrote that most people tend to follow the path of least resistance.

* When the name of the author appears in a sentence, the year of publication, if available, follows it. If the year of publication is not available, n.d. (no date) is used instead.

Example: Johnson and Travers (2016) discussed the causes of this disaster, while Marston (n.d.) focused on the consequences.

* Page numbers must be used inside the parentheses after a direct quote (a direct quote is a word-for-word quote that is placed within quotation marks). If page numbers are not available, other locators are used, such as paragraph numbers

Example: (para. 10). Page or paragraph numbers are not required when paraphrasing.

* Book titles and the titles of other standalone works are formatted in title case and in italics. Example: Little House in the Big Woods.

* Journal article titles and the titles of other parts of works are formatted in title case and in quotation marks. Example: "The Iridescent History of Light."

Parenthetical citations

* A parenthetical citation is one where all the required information is placed in parentheses.

* In APA style, the information in parentheses consists of the last name(s) of the author(s), the year of publication, and page or paragraph number(s) in the case of an exact quote. Examples: (Smith, 2017); (James, Vargas, & Rhodes, n.d.).

• If there is no author, then the title of the article is placed in parentheses, followed by the year (or by n.d. if there is no date).

Example: ("The History of the Circus," 1997).

For long titles, a shortened form of the title is used in parentheses. For example, the title "Milk Chocolate Is Better Than Dark, the End," would be shortened in the parentheses to "Milk Chocolate."

In-text citations and the References list

In-text citations (narrative or parenthetical) must parallel the entries on the References list. She the examples below -- parallel elements are in maroon.

APA 7^th Edition Reference Examples

The American Psychological Association (APA) have provided new manual as their 7^th edition. Here are some of the new guidelines to help researcher to properly format the reference list in APA Style:

• Begin with the reference list on a new page after the text.

• Place the section label “References” in bold at the top of the page, centered.

• Order the reference list entries alphabetically by author.

• Double-space the entire reference list (both within and between entries).

• Apply a hanging indent of 0.5 in. to each reference list entry, meaning that the first line of the reference is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 in. from the left margin. Use the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program to apply the hanging indent.

For more information about the change of the APA format from 6th to 7th edition, click this link:
library.carleton.ca/sites/default/files/help/APA%20Notable%20Changes%206th%20to%207th.pdf