Literature

Written works, especially those considered of superior merit.

Written works (e.g., book, research articles, government document, etc.), which are published on a particular subject.

Review

A formal assessment of something. 

A critical appraisal of a research articles, books, films, etc.

Literature Review

A review of reading materials of what has been published on a topic by previous scholars & researchers to convey what knowledge & ideas have been established on a topic.

• Identify what has already been done & what knowledge has been established on a topic

• Help in planning what to be done

• Give the rationale for further research

• Identify research strategies & procedures

• Avoid mistakes done by earlier researchers & build a research upon their strengths

• Help in data interpretation

Concept is... 

• Something conceived in the mind; thought or notion

• An abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances

• A mental image that has no meaning to someone else except for the one who conceptualize it

• It is mere what you think – not something that you can describe

• Find articles in your mainstream areas – Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, etc. 

• Avoid articles on management, which are published in Engineering or Science outlets.

• Preferably indexed in Scopus, Web of Sciences (WOS), ABDC (Australian Business Deans Council), or ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia).

• Highly cited articles.

• More recent ones (preferably the latest 5 years, except for references of Classic Theories). 

#1. Identify concepts & keywords within your research question. Example, RQ1: What is the effect of Lean Manufacturing on Operations Performance?

#2. Treat each component as a separate concept (i.e., Effect, Lean Manufacturing, Operations Performance).

#3. For each concept, list down its relevant keywords.

#4. Search literature using the keywords. 

#5. Gather all relevant literature. 

Literature is always available online. Below are the databases that can be used to find articles: 

1. Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/ 

2. Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/basic-search 

3. Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/ 

4. Dimensions: https://app.dimensions.ai/discover/publication 

5. Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

6. Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/ 

7. DOAJ: https://doaj.org/ 

8. ERIC (for education): https://eric.ed.gov/ 

9. Econbiz (for business, management, economics): https://www.econbiz.de/ 

10. Lens: https://www.lens.org/ 

11. IEEE Explore: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/home.jsp 

Literature can also be found by using reference managers (e.g., EndNote, Mendeley, etc.).

1. Undertake a first read of the articles (title, abstract, & keywords). 

2. Undertake an initial classification & grouping of literature. 

3. Use an indexing or summary system 

   • Tabulate Article title | Author & year | Name of journal | Purpose or objectives | Theory used | Methodology | Independent Variable | Dependent Variable | Moderating Variable | Mediating Variable | Control Variable | Context/Sample Size | Country | Type of Analysis | Key findings | Suggestion for future research. 

   • Write a short summary or key thought on the articles including comments | strengths | weaknesses. 

Make Connections…

Make sure!!! Transitions between sentences & between paragraphs are clear, smooth, & well-organized. How to connect?

Use transition words & phrases. Download here. 

We can also use academic phrase bank. Download here. 

Note: The structure of literature review depends on the purpose of the review.

Citation

A short note recognizing a source of information (i.e., book, paper, especially in a scholarly work. 

A reference to a published or unpublished source (not always the original source). 

References

A list of work cited. 

References should be arranged in alphabetical order, & typed in single space.

Common Issues in Literature Review

Tends to summarize articles, rather than criticizing literature. 

Fails to conceptualize the concepts clearly & critically.

Fails to relate concepts with theory underlying the study.

Unable to differentiate what to write in LR, theoretical framework, & hypotheses.

Practicing “copy & paste”, leading to plagiarism.

Evaluating the content of your critical literature review

• Have you ensured that the literature covered relates clearly to your research question and objectives?

• Have you covered the most relevant and significant theories of recognised experts in the area?

• Have you covered the most relevant and significant literature or at least a representative sample?

• Have you included up-to-date literature?

• Have you referenced all the literature used in the format prescribed in the assessment criteria?

Evaluating whether your literature review is critical

• Have you shown how your research question relates to previous research reviewed? 

• Have you assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the previous research reviewed?

• Have you been objective in your discussion and assessment of other people's research?

• Have you included references to research that is counter to your own opinion? Have you distinguished clearly between facts and opinions?

• Have you made reasoned judgements about the value and relevance of others research to your own?

• Have you justified clearly your own ideas? 

• Have you highlighted those areas where new research (yours!) is needed to provide fresh insights and taken these into account in your arguments? In particular:

✔ where there are inconsistencies in current knowledge and understanding?

✔ where there are omissions or bias in published research?

✔ where research findings need to be tested further? 

✔ where evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory or limited?

• Have you justified your arguments by referencing correctly published research?

Evaluating the structure of your literature review

• Does your literature review have a clear title, which describes the focus of your research rather than just saying 'literature review'?

• Have you explained precisely how you searched the literature, and the criteria used to select those studies included?

• Does your review start at a more general level before narrowing down?

• Is your literature review organised thematically around the ideas contained in the research being reviewed rather than the researchers?

• Are your arguments coherent and cohesive - do your ideas link in a way that will be logical to your reader?

• Have you used sub-headings within the literature review to help guide your reader?

• Does the way you have structured your literature review draw your reader's attention to those issues which are going to be the focus of your research?

• Does your literature review lead your reader into subsequent sections of your project report?

Cooper, C., Booth, A., Varley-Campbell, J., Britten, N., & Garside, R. (2018). Defining the process to literature searching in systematic reviews: a literature review of guidance and supporting studies. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 85. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0545-3

Paul, J., & Criado, A. R. (2020). The art of writing literature review: What do we know and what do we need to know? International Business Review, 29(4), 101717. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101717

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039 

Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2017). Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 39(1), 93-112. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X17723971