CHAPTER FIFTEEN

LITERATURE REVIEW

15.1 Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

        i.            Define what literature review is;

      ii.            Write literature review in any research study

    iii.            Outline the sources to get literature review

    iv.            Explain the importance of literature review

15.2 Introduction

Typically, the literature review is the second chapter of a research paper. The literature review is a crucial component of the research procedure. It motivates, informs, educates, and illuminates. It creates ideas, aids in the formulation of meaningful research questions, and facilitates the research design process. It is also essential to the writing process. A well-constructed literature review is an essential factor for establishing the credibility of a researcher. This review aims to provide the researcher with a thorough understanding of the state of the art in the field in which he or she is doing research. It informs the researcher of the regions covered, the areas yet to be explored, and the investigative approaches to utilize.

15.3 What is Literature Review?

When doing any study, you must reference the work of others to see how far they have progressed in the field. By doing so, you will learn from prior work and have a solid grasp of the subject field.

Books review entails reading literature and analyzing what others have done in the past. The primary objective is to extend what is known about the study issue and to add fresh information to what is already known. A literature review is an evaluation of research discovered in the academic literature that pertain to a person's chosen field of study (Book & Beile 2005).

15.4 Literature Review Sources

The examination of relevant literature entails the methodical identification, location, and evaluation of papers providing information pertinent to the study issue. The papers include research reports (projects, dissertations, and theses), textbooks, reviews, magazines, abstracts, yearbooks, journals, government publications, speeches, conference and seminar/workshop reports, and newspaper stories.

15.5 Literature Review Writing

An effective literature review is more than a summary of research papers and their results. Rather, it depicts the key concerns and interrelationships related with the investigated information, arguments, and topics. This type of literature review describes what has been published about the subject, how this information has been regarded by other academics, and the most significant research findings across studies. Conducting a literature review demonstrates an author's understanding of a certain subject of research, including its terminology, theories, major variables and phenomena, and technique and history (Randolph, 2009). In creating a literature review, the following must lead the researcher:

§  The tasks must be arranged in a sensible order

§  If reviewing the literature on learning theories, begin with the earliest and work your way to the most recent.

§  Try to refer back to your research questions and hypotheses so you don't stray from the subject matter

§  Use more current sources, unless they are unavailable, or the work is really relevant. If, for instance, a book was published in 2010, you should prioritize it above one published in 1990.

§  Use your expertise to connect the concept and discovery to make them relevant, rather than leaving them as separate pieces.

§  Only data pertinent to the research should be provided.

§  Cite only those statements that the original author said so clearly and succinctly that any attempt to paraphrase them might result in a loss of their original meaning.

§  Divide the literature review into sections, focusing on the variables retrieved from the study questions or hypotheses.

15.6 Significance of Literature Evaluation

The evaluation might be helpful for the following:

        i.            Informing the researcher on what has previously been done in the area and what needs further investigation.

      ii.            Presenting potential research designs and methodological approaches that may be utilized in the research investigation.

    iii.            Suggesting potential modifications to the research to prevent unintended complications.

    iv.            Identify any potential research gaps.

      v.            It supplies the researcher with helpful theoretical and empirical information stated by others or previous researchers on the same topic and problem he sought to examine.

    vi.            It guarantees that published works are not accidentally or unnecessarily duplicated.

  vii.            It aids the researcher in identifying a standardized instrument that may be applicable to his study.

viii.            It permits the researcher to avoid the blunders of previous researchers and gain from their experiences.

    ix.            It promotes a deeper grasp of the investigated issue and its most significant component.

      x.            It gives comparison information for evaluating and interpreting one's findings.;

    xi.            It describes what is known in the field of research. This comprises the most significant ideas, research methods, and outcomes.

  xii.            It illustrates the unresolved issues in the field of research.

xiii.            The information gained from the review will also assist the researcher construct good and relevant study hypotheses

xiv.            It demonstrates how the present study fits inside the grand scheme of things.

  xv.            It highlights the similarities and contrasts between the current study and past studies.

15.7 Acknowledgment of Information Source

Other people's work that you evaluated must be recognized. That is recognizing those who perform the task. You should not claim ownership of the concepts. There are two primary ways to cite the work of other researchers in a literature review. One is direct citation, in which the actual words of the scholar are enclosed in quotation marks. For instance, Kajuru (2010) states, "Students perform better when taught mathematics utilizing a cooperative technique as opposed to the traditional way." Kajuru(2010) emphasized that students perform better when they are taught mathematics utilizing the cooperative technique as opposed to the traditional way.

Student Exercise

1.      Identify four essential considerations for preparing a literature review.

2.      Provide 10 reasons why you must do a literature review for your research.

3.      Mention any five literature review steps.

4.      Define literature review, then list any five literature sources.

15.8 Summary

In this chapter, you learnt that literature review is reading through literature and reviewing what has been done by others in the past. Also, guidelines are provided when writing a review of literature.You have seen the importance of literature review and ways to acknowledge the scholars in a text.

References

Anaekwe, M. C. (2002). Basic research methods and statistics in education and social sciences. Enugu: Podicks Printing and Publishing Company.

Awotunde, P. O. &Ugodulunwa, C. A. (2002). An introduction to statistical methods in education. Printed and published in Nigeria by FcbAnieh (Nig) ltd.