Literature Review

Discuss the significance of literature review in designing research.

Carrying out literature review allows us to

• provide evidence on the need of our study - e.g. to identify new practices to improve learning in classrooms
• document how our study would add to the existing researches (to ensure it is not a duplicate on existing studies)

From the 'personal -development' perspective, it develops our aptitude as a researcher

• through building our research skills in the use of libraries (print and non-print)
• to develop skills to locate information/ materials in a timely manner
  
• to find examples and models that are useful to our study
• to learn how other educators compose their research studies
  

Is there a difference between a quantitative and qualitative literature review?
There are 3 primary difference in terms of

• the amount of literature reviewed and cited
• the use of the literature review at the beginning of the study
  
• the use of the literature review at the end of the study.

In quantitative research, a substantial amount of literature is cited at the start to justify the need and importance of the study, hence the purpose and rationale of the study to be carried out; wherease in qualitative research, minimal amount fo literature is cited and there is no extensive discussion at the beginning of the research so that participants would be able to generate emerging views without being constrainted or influence by the views of others.

At the end of the result, in quantitative research, the findings were to confirm or disconfirmed predictions drawn from the literature whereas in qualitative research, it findings are used to support or modify existing findings in the literature.

Outline the 5-step approach in conducting a literature review

They are:

1. Identifying key terms (that are relevant to the research studies, for search purpose)
2. Locate literature - through different databases (online or print)
3. Critically evaluate and select literatures that are relevant to the research study
4. Organise the literature - by taking notes and organising them in a literature map
5. Writing the literature review - to report on the summaries of the literature to be included in to report.

What is the relationship between a literature review and the identification of a research problem and the research questions?

• With the key terms drawn from the research problem and questions, we surface literatures related to evaluate.
• Through evaluation of the literatures, previously 'unknown' relationships between variables might emerge as we organise the information and map them in the literature map.
  
• The new relationships or unknown variables might require us to re-visit our research questions to clarify the research objectives, hence sharpening the research questions.
  
• This would be an iterative process until we are clear of the direction of the research study.