IR1IMEM YEAR ONE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYL2: Reviewing Literature, Formulating

Research Problem, Variables

DR. JAVED-VASSILIS KHAN, Drs. Allerd Peters, Frank Weissman

BREDA SEP2011

INDEX

Reviewing the Literature

REVIEWING THE LITERATURE

Integral part of research processIn initial stages it helps to:

Establish theoretical roots

Clarify ideas

Develop research methodologyLater serves to:

Consolidate your knowledge

Integrate your findings with existing knowledge

LITERATURE REVIEW

Most (graduation) proposals suffer from superficial understanding of the issue at stakeIf understanding about a subject does not go beyond ‘common knowledge’ => research ideas will be superficial and not state-of-the-art

LITERATURE REVIEW HELPS:

Clarify your research problem/questionParadox, chicken-egg problem

Iterative process

Improve research methodologyMethodologies used by others, pros/cons

Broaden knowledge baseWhat are findings around your RQ?

What theories have been put forward?

What are gaps in existing literature?

Contextualize findingsHow do your findings fit into the existing body of knowledge?

LITERATURE REVIEW

Before writing a research proposal you are able to give at least an informed answer to:

What is already known with respect to my subject?

What theories and concepts are relevant?

What research strategies and methods have been employed by others performing similar research?

What questions have remained unanswered/ what suggestions for further research have been done?

What researchers are important with respect to this topic?

LITERATURE REVIEW: HOW TO

Search existing literature in your area of interestReview this existing literatureDevelop a theoretical framework for your RQDevelop conceptual framework

SEARCH

ASSESSING LITERATURE QUALITY

How can I see if it is a good source?Plenty of material => even more difficult to assessNot that easy

INDICATORS FOR A GOOD SOURCE

1. Carries a title2. Has the author/s clearly listed3. Uses sources according to an international standard

• reference list & in-text referencing according to e.g., APA4. Is published at credible publishing houses 5. Is referenced by other researchers too

If 1-3 are not met, the source is of questionable quality => refrain from using itIf 4-5 are met, the source is of good quality => use it!

INDICATORS FOR A GOOD SOURCE

1. Carries a title2. Has the author/s clearly listed3. Uses sources according to an international standard

• reference list & in-text referencing according to e.g., APA4. Is published at credible publishing houses 5. Is referenced by other researchers too6. Has a summary or abstract 7. Is incorporated in electronic library collections8. Is balanced in its word use and uses factual

argumentation in stead of rhetoric

WEB SOURCES

Easy to find -> hard to assess for qualitySearch engine can find a site but does not evaluate itWeb sources can be published by anybody => no peer review, no editorial boardMany web sources have their own agenda Need to cross-check Download all material found on the Internet

SOURCES

http://scholar.google.comhttp://portal.acm.orghttp://ieeexplore.ieee.orghttp://sciencedirect.comConference paper => less time to prepare, less time to review, more recent, limited scopeJournal paper => more preparation, strict review process, established knowledge, easier to generalizeBook chapter => even more established knowledge but no peer review

CREDIBLE PUBLISHING HOUSES

ACM IEEE Elsevier Springer Taylor & Francis SAGEMcGraw Hill Oxford University Press…

SEARCHING vs. FINDING

Search easy but Find not easy Main problems:

Sticking to the obvious

Using tutor cited literature

Inefficient search strategies

Content is not possible to be accessed

EFFICIENT LITERATURE REVIEW STRATEGIES

Search – find - evaluateRQ, general knowledge, literature => derive keywordsUse specialized, credible sources Select sources in comparable contextAfter having compiled a list of articles => evaluate & prioritize

ARTICLE EVALUATION

Evaluate quality based on the afore mentioned indicators => how many indicators does it satisfy?Read abstract => is it interesting for my RQ? If yes => read conclusions => still interesting?Answer the question: ‘This source I can use for my research, because it gives the following information:...’Only now you read the whole article