Literature Review: Steps and Framework

• Review of Related Literature involves a summary of journal articles, books, and documents.
• It describes past and current information on a specific research topic.
• Theoretical Framework is the structure that supports a research theory.
• It guides the research and provides context for findings.

Key Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

• Locate relevant literature on the topic.

• Identify the literature that is most relevant to the research question.

• Relevance of the selected literature should be critically assessed.

• Organize literature into digestible subtopics or themes.

• Compose the literature review by summarizing and synthesizing findings.

• A literature review includes an introduction, main body, and conclusion.

• Key steps in conducting a literature review: Locate, Identify, Evaluate, Organize, and Write.

• Literature is organized into subtopics to document the need for a proposed study.

• Literature reviews should include both quantitative and qualitative studies.

• A literature review summarizes existing research on a topic

• It provides context and identifies gaps in knowledge.

• Systematic Review approaches literature with specific criteria.

• Meta-Analysis combines results from multiple studies to identify overall trends.

• Literature reviews must provide the subject's historical background.

• Literature reviews rely solely on secondary sources.

• International studies are often overlooked in literature reviews.

• Use academic databases and libraries for credible sources when searching for literature.

• Consider theoretical frameworks when conducting a literature review.

• Literature reviews are essential for understanding the current state of research.

• Literature reviews identify gaps in the literature or research topics.

• A review of related literature (RRL) is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers.

• RRL describes the past and current state of information on a research topic.

• RRL organizes literature into subtopics and documents the need for a proposed study.

• The purpose of a literature review is to find what information exists on the topic.

• Literature reviews display relationships between previous studies or theories which can provide research context.

• Literature reviews identify main ideas, conclusions, and theories, and establish similarities and differences, as well as identify gaps in the existing research.

• Important points for an RRL: provide a historical background of the subject, presenting all available relevant materials.

• An RRL should help develop the theoretical framework as well as present a summary in relation to the model or framework.

• Common errors include relying on secondary materials and the overlooking of sources.

Five Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

• Identify Key Terms
• Locate Literature
• Critically Evaluate and Select resources
• Organize the Literature
• Write a Literature Review

Literature Review Structure

• Part 1: Introduction explains the topic and types of sources used.
• Part 2: Main Body analyzes and synthesizes the existing research.
• Part 3: Conclusion presents a general consensus on the topic or any gaps.

Explore literature review essentials: summarizing articles and building theoretical frameworks. Learn key steps—locating, identifying, evaluating, organizing, and writing. Understand the structure, including introduction, body, and conclusion, for effective reviews.