Literature Review as a secondary research method

• A Literature Review is a secondary (data has been recorded by someone else) research method involving a search and evaluation of existing knowledge on a particular topic.

• The purpose of a literature review is to:

  • Find out what information is already available on the particular topic

  • Find the similarities and differences of opinion on the topic

  • Find gaps in the research, i.e. those areas that need to be covered more thoroughly or that have not yet been investigated.

• A literature review does not contain any new research, but rather is an overview and critique of work that already has been published

• A literature review is completed before a person does a research project to help inform the research. That is, it gives the researcher an understanding of what people already know/ believe about a topic. It may help the researcher to decide on how they will conduct their research if previous researchers have had successes or failures with a research methodology e.g. surveys, interviews, case studies.

• A high quality literature review will use peer reviewed articles. Peer reviewed articles are those that have been reviewed by academics in the field of study specific to the research topic. Experts in the field have agreed that the methodology, arguments and conclusions are sound.

• Peer reviewed articles can be found on the following databases:

  • Google Scholar

  • https://phcs.softlinkhosting.com.au/oliver/home/browse/list

  • EBSCOHost Research Databases

  • Britannica Online Encyclopedia

• Once credible and suitable sources of data have been found, the researcher can begin building their literature review.

Advantages:

• They ensure the researcher has become familiar with the topic.

• They provide clarity and direction for the researcher to carry out their own research.

• Literature reviews are versatile. They can be conducted for almost any topic and can provide information either at the overview level or in-depth. The points can be organised into issues or themes that relate to the research proposal.

• They are inexspensive and time efficient

Disadvantages:

• An effective literature review requires high-level literacy skills to identify resources, analyse sources and write a meaningful summary.

• It can be demanding reading other people's research and making sense of it.

• The data may not be current

• Sometimes, students may not have access to certain information (some articles need to be paid for). This can then often limit the scope of the research.

Building a literature review involves three simple steps:

1. Gather your peer reviewed articles. For the purpose of a liteature review in CAFS, you will need to gather three articles related to the topic of socialisation across the lifespan.

2. Read through each of the articles. Whilst reading, you are looking for the key ideas and themes related to your topic. Use different coloured highlights as you read (one for each theme).

3. Complete the following table as you read through the articles.

Writing a Literature Review

Introduction

• Outline and define the focus of a literature review.

• Outline the purpose of conducting the literature review - to investigate previous research undertaken on a topic.

• Define socialisation

• Introduce your themes.

Body

• Group the literature according to common themes (each theme will form a new paragraph)

  • (Are there specific issues that come up in each of the articles? Discuss how each author writes about these issues. Do the authors agree or disagree? Give examples from the articles to illustrate your points)

• Discussion of the methodologies used to acquire the information.

  • (Did they survey or interview people or use a case study, was this a large or small study, was it conducted over a long or short period of time)

• An assessment of the value and relevance of the source (Is the information good quality? How do you know this?)

Conclusion

• Summarise major contributions of the literature

• Evaluate the current state of literature reviewed

• Point out major flaws, or gaps in research

• Outline issues important to future study

Activity

Topic = Socialisation through the Lifespan.

The steps involved:

1. Search for and collect information in a chosen area

2. Make a summary of the information

3. Analyse the information and identify any areas of controversy

4. Present the information in a logical and organised style

YOUR TASK

Using the previous Steps to forming a Literature Review, find TWO

sources of information on the chosen topic.

a) Pick a stage of the life cycle you are most interested in.

b) Find TWO different sources of information on socialisation in this stage of the Life Cycle.'

c) Read through the information and find the themes. You may find it easiest to relate your themes to:

• • The different stages of the lifespan (i.e. one paragraph focusing on infancy, the second on childhood and the third on adolescences) OR

  • The different influences on socialisation (i.e. one paragraph looking at the influence of parents on socialisation during infancy and childhood, the second looking at the influence of peers and the third at the influence of the media).

d) Present your information in a clear and logical format.

Examples of articles you could use:

Mackey, E. and La Greca, A. (2009). Social Development. In: Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development, 1st ed. USA: Macmillan Reference, pp.446-450.

Bourne, H. (2016). Peer Relationships. In: The Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy through Adolescence, 3rd ed. Gale, pp.2082-2086.

Longe, J. (2016). Peer Groups. In: The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 3rd ed. Farmington Hills MI: Cengage Learning, pp.860-862.