1. MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

2. The Literature Review
This lecture is organised as follows 1. Definition of a literature review 2. Why do a literature review? 3. Literature review sources 4. Searching and accessing the literature
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

3. Lecture Structure Continued
5. Hints on writing a literature review
6. Evaluating your own literature review
7. Referencing
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

4. 1. Definition and Introduction
An effective analysis and evaluation of selected literature on a chosen topic .
It focuses on what is known and what remains unknown or contested about the research problem (Hart 1988).
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

5. Cont.
It describes, compares, contrasts, connects and evaluates the major theories, themes, arguments, methodologies, approaches and controversies in the scholarly literature on a subject matter
It also establishes the relevance of this information to your own research
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

6. 2. Why do a literature Review?
To suggest methods you will use to collect data for your research
To position the research in respect of others hence bringing out the importance of your research
To identify the gaps and shortcomings of what other researchers have written about your problem.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

7. Cont. To bridge knowledge gaps between literatures.
To stimulate new ideas.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

8. Cont.
To bring out areas of agreement and disagreement among scholars in your study area
To deepen your understanding of the study area and hence assist in the development of the research problem from the general to the specific.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

9. 3. The Literature Review Sources
Libraries
Internet
Organisational data bases
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

10. Cont.
Hints on sourcing literature
Check onto the credentials of your source e.g reputation of a university or experience of the researcher
Consult academics and professionals in that area as they may have some good reputable sources to look into.
Keep a bibliographic trail of your search-ISBN numbers of books. Why?
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

11. Cont. Hints on sourcing literature
For cyberspace, take note of search engine, online addresses and dates. Why?
Categorize the sources according to sub-topics.
The easiest way is to scan the work using abstracts and introductions as guides to determine the relevancy and quality of the source.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

12. Cont. (b) Literature Types
Primary
Sources:?
Memos
Letters
Interviews
Speeches
Laws
Internal records
Tertiary
Sources:?
Indexes
Bibliographies
Internet ?
Secondary
Sources:?
Encyclopaedias?
Textbooks
Handbooks?
Magazines
Newspapers
Newscasts
Internet
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

13. 4. Searching and Accessing the Literature
Definition
This involves you going into the sourced material and selecting those sections or articles that are relevant to your research problem.
As you do this, you must check on the following things:
Objectivity, as some authors may write in a biased way.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

14. Literature Search Cont.
Value or relevance of the works under review in terms of its contribution to your study area.
Persuasiveness, in relation to the strength of the arguments presented.
Provenance in terms of availability of evidence to support arguments and
Depth and scope, in terms of content.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

15. Searching Cont.
NB* A full understanding of the key words and synonyms associated with your research problem is the key to unlocking the doors to your literature sources and searches especially when using the Internet.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

16. How to expand and narrow your search on the internet
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

17. 4. Explain the relevance of a Literature Review to the components of a Research project
To finding research topic and problem statement
To the methodology
To the analysis and presentation of results
To the conclusions and recommendations
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

18. 5. Hints on Reviewing Literature
Design the structure and contents of the research.
Arrange your topics in a logical and sequential manner. Your ideas must flow.
You must be present in the literature review. How?
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

19. Cont.
Use direct quotations sparingly. Cutting and pasting is discouraged.
Avoid plagiarism/bootlegging and over-reliance on limited sources of literature .
Also avoid over-reliance on gray materials.
Make reference to specific examples. Lengthy case studies?
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

20. Cont. Length of literature review?
Use words that link paragraphs and which show contrast and development of your argument e.g ‘hence, tconversely, in addition, etc’.
Have a section where you present an overview of the literature review in terms of; Trends, quantity, quality, key arguments, knowledge gaps etc
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

21. 6. Evaluating your own Literature
This can be achieved by asking yourself the following questions;
was there adequate scope in my review?
did I critically analyze the available literature?
Were knowledge revealed in the literature?
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

22. Cont.
did the review correctly position the research in respect of others?
did I make reference to the most current literature in my review?
did my review assist in the development of the research problem?
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

23. Cont.
were the areas of agreement and disagreement between authors brought out and discussed effectively?
NB* The more positive answers you get to these questions, the better will be the quality of your review. Remember to thoroughly revise your literature review in order to get rid of any typographical, grammatical and punctuation errors.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

24. 7. Referencing
The following points generally apply with regards to this issue;
Decide 0n the method of referencing; either Harvard or APA .
The references should reflect works cited in the text.
The references should be traceable
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

25. Cont.
They should be in alphabetical order and preferably not numbered.
They should be typed in lower case
References whose titles are more than 1 sentence should be single spaced.
Preferably, the references that you will have cited can be grouped into textbooks, journals and websites.
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny

26. THANK YOU
THE END!!!
6/4/2018
Our Hands, Our Minds, Our Destiny