Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T20:10:29.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Literature Review

from Part I - From Idea to Reality: The Basics of Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

By
Rachel Adams Goertel
Edited by
Austin Lee Nichols  and
John Edlund
Austin Lee Nichols
Affiliation:
Central European University, Vienna
John Edlund
Affiliation:
Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
Get access

Summary

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources that establishes familiarity with and an understanding of current research in a particular field. It includes a critical analysis of the relationship among different works, seeking a synthesis and an explanation of gaps, while relating findings to the project at hand. It also serves as a foundational aspect of a well-grounded thesis or dissertation, reveals gaps in a specific field, and establishes credibility and need for those applying for a grant. The enormous amount of textual information necessitates the development of tools to help researchers effectively and efficiently process huge amounts of data and quickly search, classify, and assess their relevance. This chapter presents an assessable guide to writing a comprehensive review of literature. It begins with a discussion of the purpose of the literature review and then presents steps to conduct an organized, relevant review.

Keywords

Literature SearchConceptual SaturationSystematic ReviewNarrative ReviewIntegrative Review
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods and Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Volume 1: Building a Program of Research
 , pp. 65 - 84
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Boote, D. N. & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational Researcher, 34(6), 3–15.Google Scholar
Bruce, C. S. (1994). Research students’ early experiences of the dissertation literature review. Studies in Higher Education, 19(2), 217–229.Google Scholar
Cooper, H. M. (1984). The Integrative Research Review: A Systematic Approach. Sage.Google Scholar
Cooper, H. M. (1988). Organizing knowledge synthesis: A taxonomy of literature reviews. Knowledge in Society, 1, 104–126.Google Scholar
Creswell, J. (2015). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, 5th ed. Pearson Education, Inc.Google Scholar
Galvan, J. (2006). Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Behavioral Sciences, 3rd ed. Pyrczak Publishing.Google Scholar
Garrard, J. (2017). Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy: The Matrix Method. Jones and Bartlett Learning.Google Scholar
Hart, C. (1998). Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. Sage.Google Scholar
Heinrich, K. T. (2001). Mind-mapping: A successful technique for organizing a literature review. Nurse Author & Editor, 11(2), 7–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hochrein, S. & Glock, C. (2012). Systematic literature reviews in purchasing and supply management research: A tertiary study. International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, 7(4), 215–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jesson, J., Matheson, L., & Lacey, F. M. (2011). Doing your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques. Sage.Google Scholar
Krathwohl, D. R. (1998). Methods of Educational and Social Science Research: An Integrated Approach, 2nd ed. Longman.Google Scholar
Levy, Y. & Ellis, T. J. (2006). A systems approach to conduct an effective literature review in support of information systems research. Informing Science: International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 9, 181–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyden, J. R., Zickmund, S. L., Bhargava, T. D., et al. (2013). Implementing health information technology in a patient-centered manner: Patient experiences with an online evidence-based lifestyle intervention. Journal for Healthcare Quality, 35(5), 47–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCabe, T. (2005) How to conduct an effective literature search. Nursing Standard, 20(11), 41–47.Google Scholar
Mertler, C. A. & Charles, C. M. (2011). Introduction to Educational Research. Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Moher, D., Shamseer, L., Clarke, M., et al. (2015). Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols. System Review, 4, article1.Google ScholarPubMed
Nobre, M. R, Bernardo, W. M., & Jatene, F. B. (2003). Evidence based clinical practice. Part 1 – well-structured clinical questions. Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira, 49(4), 445–9.Google ScholarPubMed
Oliver, P. (2012). Succeeding with Your Literature Review: A Handbook for Students. Hill Education.Google Scholar
Rhoades, E. A. (2011). Literature reviews. The Volta Review, 111(1), 61–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowley, J. & Slack, F. (2004). Conducting a literature review. Management Research News, 27(4), 31–39.Google Scholar
Siddiqi, S. & Sharan, A., (2015). Keyword and keyphrase extraction techniques: A literature review. International Journal of Computer Applications, 109(2), 18–23.Google Scholar
Skinner, B. F. (1956). A case history in scientific method. American Psychologist, 11, 221–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stake, R. E. (2010). Qualitative Research: Studying How Things Work. Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Torraco, J. (2005). Writing integrative literature reviews: Guidelines and examples, Human Resource Development Review, 4, 356–367.Google Scholar
Webster, J. & Watson, R. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a literature review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), xiii–xxiii.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Literature Review
  • Edited by Austin Lee Nichols, Central European University, Vienna, John Edlund, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
  • Book: The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods and Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Online publication: 25 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009010054.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Literature Review
  • Edited by Austin Lee Nichols, Central European University, Vienna, John Edlund, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
  • Book: The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods and Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Online publication: 25 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009010054.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Literature Review
  • Edited by Austin Lee Nichols, Central European University, Vienna, John Edlund, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
  • Book: The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods and Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Online publication: 25 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009010054.005
Available formats
×