1. Planning an Applied Research Project
Chapter 5 – Writing a Literature Review
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Learning Objectives Compare insights from various scholarly articles
Prepare a clear and well organized literature review
Make a case for your purpose statement and research questions
Take notes in a manner useful to conducting a literature review
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Key Terms Audience Coherence Criteria for evaluation Focus
Logical flow
Perspective
Point of view
Tone
Voice
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Purposes of a Completed Literature Review
Provide information to scholars
Include a comprehensive set of information about the current status of research in the field
Demonstrate your credibility
Encourage support for your research
Enable you to move forward with your research
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Audience Scholarly professionals in the field Industry professionals
Journal editors
Editorial boards of journals
Other students
Other colleagues
People interested in your topic
Funders
Reviewers of proposals
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Voice and Tone Objective Dispassionate voice
Third person point of view
Avoid:
Condescension
Familiarity
Lack of enthusiasm
Personal point of view – “I” “we”
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. The Perspective of a Literature Review
Broad picture of the state of scholarship in an area (and often related areas)
Picture of the quality and range of the scholarship
Discussion of patterns and gaps in the key findings of various scholarship
Analysis of the findings in the scholarship without too much detail
Evaluation of the scholarship to point out the necessity or value of the proposed project
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Constructing the Written Literature Review
Collect your notes into categories – methods, findings, sample sizes, etc.
Organize into a coherent essay with sections
Write the sections
Write a conclusion and then an introduction
Write transitions between sections
Review to ensure a focus on findings
Check for accurate sources and sufficient references
Revise for clear, objective point of view
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Constructing the Written Literature Review (cont’d)
Structure of a Literature Review
Introduction – explaining the topic and the significance of the purpose statement and research questions; often including background information
Subsections with headings – patterns of findings, gaps in findings, research methods, sampling strategies, applications
Conclusion – summarizing key findings and pointing out the need for the research
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Constructing the Written Literature Review (cont’d)
Elements of a Literature Review
Clear introduction
Strong logic
Comprehensive summary
Careful reasoning
Statements about common patterns of research (documented by sources)
Statements about gaps (documented by sources)
Comments on research methods (documented by sources)
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Criteria for a Good Literature Review
Good Literature Review are:
Well written
Carefully constructed
Persuasive
Well organized
Insightful
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Criteria for a Good Literature Review (cont’d)
Clarity
Coherence
Comprehensiveness
Cogency
Currency
Credibility
Creativity
Contribution
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. Review of the Class Session
Anything unclear?
One thing that I learned from this class is …
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.