Research Lecture Notes PDF

**Research --** is a process of executing various mental acts for discovering and examining facts and information to prove the accuracy or truthfulness of claims or conclusions, requires to ask, inquire, investigate about chosen research topic, a way of discovering new knowledge, applying knowledge...

**Research --** is a process of executing various mental acts for discovering and examining facts and information to prove the accuracy or truthfulness of claims or conclusions, requires to ask, inquire, investigate about chosen research topic, a way of discovering new knowledge, applying knowledge in various ways as well as seeing relationships of ideas, events and situations, and requires to work logically or systematically and collaboratively with others. The importance of research in daily life: Widens learners' vocabulary Facilitates problem-solving acts Improves learners' learning abilities Increases social awareness and cultural heritage Encourages cooperative learning Provides mastery of procedural knowledge Hastens/quickens conceptual understanding Encourages higher-order thinking strategies Elevates interpretative thinking through graphic skills There are **characteristics, processes and ethics of research** **Characteristics**: 1**. Accuracy**-- correctness of data/information 2\. **Objectiveness**-- specificity of data to be studied 3\. **Timeliness**-- date /time when the research took place 4\. **Relevance**-- importance of the study for a particular period or time 5\. **Clarity**-- correct understanding of the topic or issue 6\. **Systematic**-- a step by step/organized process to do the task Research followed a particular process to produce meaningful, relevant and beneficial research. **Research as a Process** ** ** is a scientific process of collecting empirical data that are intended for drawing a conclusion. It consists of the following core steps: **Research Processes** 1\. Develop a research plan 2\. Collect research data 3\. Analyze research data 4\. Present the findings 5\. Disseminate and utilize findings 6\. Define research problem **Research Ethics** At the core of a research undertaking lie ethical considerations. One of the very important considerations of qualitative research is ensuring that the informants are not harmed in any way possible. This is known as the **ethics of non - maleficence** - Researchers ought to be aware of the direct and indirect consequences of the study particularly on the participants. 1\. **Scientific soundness**.- Once crucial consideration in conducting a qualitative research 1.1. The extent of tangible benefits that the investigation could produce. 1.2 Objectives can be so hard to achieve when the researcher does not possess sufficient background and skills required. 1.3. An inexperience person in research is usually advised to seek clear guidance and constant supervision from experts 2**. Consent** 2.1 Seeking informed consent as a voluntary agreement of the participants to be involved in the study is prerequisite for almost all types of research. 2.2. Before the research starts, an informed consent should be obtained from each participant 2.3 Used if the approval from adult participants is sought while in formed assent is sought from participants who have not yet reached the legal age or very young to give consent but old enough to understand the risks and benefits 2.4 Participants should be clarified about the following: Purpose of the study Types of question Potential risks and benefits Method of anonymity 3\. **Informant validation** - A validation of qualitative data should be done with the participants Remember that it is so unethical to report a particular statement which is not actually expressed by any of the research inform ants. 4\. **Confidentiality-** Retaining anonymity than revealing full identification of the participants should be dealt with utmost care 5\. **Exploitation** -Being exploited in the conduct of a research is usually at tributed to the research participants. This happens when the researcher gets along with them just to gain favor. Though it is always understandable that the researcher should satisfy his intellectual and emotional responsibility to the participants being studied, others are tempted to abuse the 6\. **Misrepresentation** - Participants' narratives as presented in the research report should be assured Statements that would seem faulty to largely provoke mistrust on the part of the informants 7\. **Identification of the participant by self or others** - Researcher must mind the method of anonymizing the identity of the participants Whether the concerned are willing to divulge their identity or not, the researcher should responsibly handle the data with maximum care. **Sources of research topics** 1\. Work Experience 2\. General periodical ex. Gazette, newsletter 3\. Professional periodical ex. Teacher's Journal, Housekeeping 4\. Previous reading assignments in your subjects 5\. Mass Media communication press 6\. Books, internet, peer-reviewed journals These are the guidelines in choosing a research topic: 1. **Personal resources** Ex. Knowledge of the customers' in the bakery due to your work in the bakery 2. **Interest in the Subject Matter** Ex. Interest in electrical installation 3. **Availability of information** Ex. Knowledge about bookkeeping because your relatives are businessmen 4. **Timeliness and Relevance of the topic** Ex. Health protocol (handwashing, Face mask, Face Shield, and Social Distancing) during this pandemic. 4. **Limitations of the subject** 5. Ex. Senior citizens in Barangay San Juan who stayed a home during pandemic **These are to be avoided in selecting a research topic:** 1. **Controversial topics** Ex. Corruption, Same sex relationship Actress life style 2\. **Vaque subjects** ex. Immorality 3\. **Too narrow subjects** ex Teenagers health Issue 4\. **Highly technical subjects** ex. Medical frontliners health condition 5\. **Hard-to-- investigate subjects**---ex. Witchcraft practices **Purposes of Research** 1\. To learn how to work independently 2\. To learn how to work scientifically or systematically. 3\. To have a deeper knowledge of something 4\. To increase your mental abilities by letting you think in higher-order thinking strategies (HOTS) of inferring, evaluating, synthesizing, appreciating, applying, and creating. 5\. To improve reading and writing skills 6\. To familiarize with the basic tools of research and various techniques of gathering data and presenting research findings 7\. To free from domination or strong influence of a single textbook to a certain extent. **Research i**s a process of executing various mental acts for discovering and examining facts and information to prove the accuracy or truthfulness of claims or conclusion. It requires to work logically or systematically and collaboratively with others. **There are two major type of Research** 1\. **Qualitative Research**-- is a research type that puts premium or high value on people's thinking or point of view conditioned by their personal traits. 2\. **Quantitative Research** - systematic investigation of phenomena by gathering quantifiable data and performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques. It collects information from existing and potential customers using sampling methods and sending out online surveys, online polls, questionnaires, etc., the results of which can be depicted in the form of numerical. After careful understanding of these numbers to predict the future of a product or service and make changes accordingly. A **topic** is researchable if the knowledge and information about it are supported by evidence that is observable, factual and logical. **Qualitative variables** aren't ordered on a numerical scale in statistics so they are assigned nominal scales. The word "nominal" means "name", which is exactly what qualitative variables are. **A nominal scale** is a scale where no ordering is possible or implied. It describes data that fits into categories. For example: **Eye colors** (variables include: blue, green, brown, hazel). **States** (variables include: Florida, New Jersey, Washington). **Dog breeds** (variables include: Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, Siberian Husky, Shih tzu). There are various **types of research**. 1. **Based on Application of Research method** 2. 2\. **Based on purpose** 3. **Based on data needed** Primary Secondary **Qualitative Research** has several **characteristics.** These are the following: ∗ Human understanding and interpretation ∗ Active, powerful and forceful ∗ Multiple research approaches and methods ∗ Specificity to generalization ∗ Contextualization ∗ Diversified data in real-life situation ∗ Abounds with words and visuals ∗ Internal Analysis There **are types of Qualitative Research** 1\. **Case Study**- tries to bring together all aspects and information about the unit under study, con tributing to explaining or describing something. This could be a country or a company. 2\. **Ethnography**- is one that allows the researcher to embed himself or herself in the natural set ting of the subject he or she tries to study 3\. **Phenomenology**- studies phenomena, or manifestations of things. It studies a particular phenomenon, in its many angles and facets, adding to knowledge about the phenomenon. 4\. **Content Discourse Analysis**- provides for a close reading of such articles. It allows the examination of how words, figures, pictures, and texts deliver meaning, and offer explications of cultures. Content analysis yields codes and categories, upon being subject to rigorous analysis. 5\. **Historical Analysis**- enables to explore and explain the meanings, phases and characteristics of a phenomenon or process at a particular point of time in the past. 6\. **Grounded Theory**- makes use of the research data to the tee. Instead of drawing on theory at the beginning of the research, this approach derives theory from the data collected through research. The theory is grounded in the data. For instance, your data would allow you to code and classify it, leading to the development of theory. **Qualitative research in different areas of knowledge:** The scientific approach gives stress to measurable and observable facts instead of personal views, feelings or attitudes. It can be used in researches under the hard sciences or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine) and natural sciences (biology, Physics, Chemistry). Considered as soft sciences are Anthropology, Economics, Laws, Politics, and all subjects aligned with business and all those focused on helping professions such as Nursing, Counselling, Physical Therapy and the like. **Qualitative Research has its strengths or advantages**: These are the following**:** **♦ It adopts a naturalistic approach to its subject matter, which means that those involve in the research understand things based on what they find meaningful.** **♦ It promotes a full understanding of human behavior or personality traits in their natural setting.** **♦ It is instrumental for positive societal changes.** **♦ It engenders respect for people's individuality as it demands the researcher's careful and attentive stand toward people's world views.** **♦ It is a way of understanding and interpreting social interactions.** **♦ It increases the researcher's interest in the study as it includes the researcher's experience or back ground knowledge in interpreting verbal and visual data.** **♦ It offers multiple ways of acquiring and examining knowledge about something** **Qualitative Research has its weaknesses or disadvantages:** These are the following**:** **⇒ It involves a lot of researcher's subjectivity in data analysis** **⇒ It is hard to know the validity or reliability of the data** **⇒ Its open-ended questions yield "data overload" that requires a long-time analysis. ⇒ It is time consuming** **⇒ It involves several processes, which results greatly depend on the researcher's views or interpretations.** **In planning a project/research, you need to see how you can do it**. 1\. Improve vocabulary 2\. Develop to communicate with others using newly learned words 3\. Distinguish a good research topic from a bad one 4\. Identify and characterize good topic for research 5\. Simplify a broad topic to smaller one 6\. Select a good research topic. **Topic** is researchable if the knowledge and information are supported by proofs that is observable, factual and logical. **Observable**: if the topic can be seen, heard, tasted, touched, and smelled-- senses can perceive **Factual**: if the topic is tangible, true, visible, and real **Logical**: if the topic can be conceived by our human mind. **Research Problem**---is a situation in need of a solution, improvement or alternation or a discrepancy between what is and what is ought to be. **Research question**---is an explicit query about a problem or issue that can be challenged, examined, and analyzed and will yield useful new information. **There are Guidelines in Formulating Research Questions**: 1\. Establish a clear relation between the research questions and the problem or topic. 2\. Review of Related Literature (RRL) would be the basis of research questions. 3\. Formulate research questions that can arouse curiosity and surprise with the discoveries or findings 4\. State the research questions with all dependent and independent variables referred to by theories, principles or concepts underlying the topic. 5\. The set of research questions or sub-problems be preceded by one question expressing the main problem of the research. 6\. Avoidance of research questions that are answerable by "yes or no" and the use of "how" questions only in a quantitative research. 7\. Formulation of research question will be based on the **SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound).** **Research Question** is an explicit query about a problem or issue that can be challenged, examined, and analyzed and will yield useful new information. **These are the guidelines in formulating research questions**. 1\. Establish a clear relation between the research questions and the problem or topic. 2\. Base the research questions on the Related Review of Literature. 3\. Formulate research questions that can arouse the curiosity and surprise the discoveries and findings 4\. State the research question with the independent and dependent variables referred to by the theories, principles or concepts underlying the research work. 5\. Let the set of research questions or sub-problems be preceded by one question expressing the main problem of the research. 6\. Avoid asking questions that are answerable with 'yes" or 'no" and use the "how" questions only in quantitative research. A **good research question is essential to guide the research paper, project or thesis.** It pin points exactly what the researcher wants to find out and gives the work a clear focus and purpose. All research questions should be: 1\. Focused on a single problem or issue 2\. Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources 3\. Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints 4\. Specific enough to answer thoroughly 5\. Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis 6\. Relevant to the field of study and/or society more broadly In a research paper or essay, the researcher usually write a single research question to guide the reading and thinking. The answer that is developed is the **thesis statement** --- the central assertion or position that the paper will argue for. **The most common types of research questions** 1\. It addresses a problem relevant to your field or discipline (track and strand) 2\. It contributes to a topical social or academic debate 3\. It has not already been answered When starting a research question, always consider the initial reading about the chosen topic. The focus should be attacking the problem or the missing link of the existing knowledge. The query should contribute to the existing missing link to bridge the gap that would produce new knowledge for future research. The question should be original/authentic for a particular location or taking a new focus. **Scope and delimitations** are two elements of a research paper or thesis. The **scope** of a study explains the extent to which the research area will be explored in the work and specifies the parameters within which the study will be operating. It would have to be narrowed down to a certain section of the target population. Example: the **scope** might be narrowed down to a group of 50 students in grades 11 of one specific school. Their behavior patterns in school may have been observed for a duration of 6 months. These would form the delimitations of the study. **Delimitations** are the characteristics that limit the scope and describe the boundaries of the study, such as the **sample size, geographical location or setting** in which the study takes place, **population traits**, etc. Additionally, the researcher might also choose to use some research tools and methodologies to collect data but not others. These delimitations might be imposed for practical rea sons, such as lack of time or financial resources to carry out a more thorough investigation. The delimitation section of the study should explain why specific choices were made while others were excluded and how this might affect the outcome of the research. **Limitations** are influences that the researcher cannot control. They are the shortcomings, conditions or influences that cannot be controlled by the researcher that place restrictions on your methodology and conclusions. Any limitations that might influence the results should be mentioned. Delimitations are choices made by the researcher which should be mentioned. They describe the boundaries that you have set for the study. **Beneficiaries** are those who are likely to be interested in or to benefit from the proposed research. List any beneficiaries from the research and give details of how the results of the proposed research would be disseminated. Researchers are encouraged to consider who will benefit from their research, especially when the research may involve or affect multiple individuals or groups (e.g. beneficiaries, non-academic users, participants and their associates, researchers or research organisations) - particularly where benefit to one individual or group may lead to increased risk to another. Researchers should aim to achieve a positive risk-benefit ratio, but should also ensure they safeguard the independence and excellence of the research. **Benefit** can be defined as the positive impact from the research to the parties directly involved (e.g. research participants and those associated with them, researchers and research organizations), as well as the demonstrable contribution of research to knowledge, our economy, individuals and society. During the development of the research the maximisation of research benefits should hold central position when considering ethics issues. A study may be considered ethical when there is a positive risk-benefit ratio - that is, the risks and intrusions for people taking part in research are minimized and justified by the expected benefits for the participants, or for science and society. **Purposes of Related Review of Literature.** 1\. To relate the study to the current condition or situation of the world. 2\. To obtain background knowledge of the research. 3\. To show the capacity of the research work to introduce new knowledge. 4\. To increase understanding of the underlying theories, principles or concepts of the research. 5\. To expand, prove or disprove the findings of previous research studies. 6\. To explain technical terms involved in the research study. 7\. To highlight the significance of work with the kind of evidence it gathered to support the conclusion of the research. 8\. To avoid repetition of previous studies 9\. To recommend the necessity of further study on a certain topic. **Styles and approaches of review of related literature**. 1.Traditional Review of Literature It is to summarize present forms of knowledge on a specific subject and to give an expanded or new understanding of an existing work. There are **different types of traditional review**: 1\. Conceptual Review 2\. Critical Review 3\. State --of-- the-Art Review 4\. Expert Review 5\. Scoping Review 2**. Systematic Review of Literature** --is a bias-free style that involves sequential acts of a review or related literature and obtains data from written works. This requires the following review of related literature (RRL) steps: 1\. Have a clear understanding of the research questions. 2. Plan the manner of obtaining the data. 3\. Do the literature search. 4\. Determine which data, studies or sources of knowledge are valuable or not to warrant the reasonableness of the decision to take some data and dispose the rest. 5\. Determine the methodological soundness of the research studies 6\. Summarize what have gathered from various sources of data. **Structure of the Related Review of Literature** A. The structure of summary of **traditional review** resembles that of an essay where series of unit ed sentences presents the related review of literature results. B. The structure of **systematic review** is based on the research questions. The process of review of related Literature is important thing to do in making a study/research. There are **stages** to be considered: 1. **Search for the literature** This is the stage of the review of related literature where a researcher devote much time in looking for sources of knowledge, data or information to answer the research questions or to support the assumptions about the research topic. There are three basic types of literature sources: A. General references B. Primary Sources C. Secondary Sources **Pointers in searching the best sources of information or data.** ⇒ Choose previous research findings that are closely related to the chosen topic of research. ⇒ Give more weight to studies done by people possessing expertise or authority in the field of knowledge to which the research studies belong ⇒ Consider sources of knowledge that refer more to primary data than secondary data ⇒ Prefer getting information from peer-reviewed materials than from general reading materials. 2\. **Reading the source of materials** Reading or making sense of source materials permits a researcher to modify, construct or reconstruct ideas based on a certain principle, theory, pattern, method or theme underlying the research. 3\. **Writing the review** Writing the review would be based on focus, theme or theory underlying the research. Researchers have the freedom to fuse their opinions with the author's ideas. Good literature review writing rejects presenting ideas in serial abstracts, which means every paragraphs merely consists of one circle. It also gives chance to express genuine or opinionated knowledge about the topic; thereby, increasing the enthusiasm of people in reading the work.  **Variable** is defined as anything that has a quantity or quality that varies. The **dependent variable** is the variable a researcher is interested in. An in dependent variable is a variable believed to affect the dependent variable. **Dependent Variable** The variable that depends on other factors that are measured. These variables are expected to change as a result of an experimental manipulation of the independent variable or variables. It is the presumed effect. **Independent Variable** The variable that is stable and unaffected by the other variables you are trying to measure. It refers to the condition of an experiment that is systematically manipulated by the investigator. It is the presumed cause. The variables should be outlined in the introduction of the paper and must be explained I thoroughly in the methods section. There are no rules about the structure and style for writing about independent or dependent variables but, as with any academic writing, clarity and being succinct is most important. Writing a literature review is providing an overview of the current state of knowledge about the chosen topic. There is a need to identify a variety of resources that reveal what is known, and what is not known, about the issue described in your research question. After reading all the references, you\'ll come across a number of ideas presented by different authors. You are expected to critically evaluate this information, identify themes and gaps, then synthesize what you have learned to provide your reader with a better understanding of the literature related to your topic. Since you\'ll be working with a large number of resources, you need to organize the information in a meaningful way and to create a synthesis matrix. You have to record the main points of each information resource and document how they're late to each other. Expressing appreciation for the recognition of people's ownership of borrowed ideas is to be considered in the synthesize of information like: A. Acknowledgment B. References/Bibliography C. Citation or In-Text citation **Purposes of Citation** 1\. To give importance and respect to other people for what they know about the field 2\. To give authority, validity and credibility to other people's claims, conclusions and arguments 3\. To prove one's broad and extensive reading of authentic and relevant materials about the topic. 4\. To help readers find or contact the resources of ideas easily. 5\. To permit readers to check the accuracy of the work 6\. To save oneself from plagiarism **Styles in Citation** 1\. **Integral Citation** - One way of citing or referring to the author whose ideas appear in the work \- Expresses the author's mental position, attitude, stand or opinion in relation to the information referred to -Uses active verbs \- Often used in social sciences or any subjects belonging to soft science (like psychology, sociology, anthropology, or political science, that interpret human behavior, institutions, society, etc., on the basis of scientific investigations for which it may be difficult to establish strictly measurable criteria.) Examples: 1**. American Psychological Association (APA**) A. One study of Manalo(2015) reveals.... B. The latest work by (Lee, 2016) asserts.... C. According to Abad et al.(2017) context is... 2\. **Modern Language Association (MLA**) A. One study by Manalo 70 B.T he latest work by (Lee 123 ) C. According to (Abad et al, :54) 2. **Non-Integral Citation ---** downplays any strength of the writer's personal characteristics. The stress is given to the piece of information rather than to the owner of the ideas. Examples: A. **The Code of Ethics** for Intercultural Competence give four ways by which peo ple from different cultural background can harmoniously relate themselves with one another. (De la Cruz, 2016) B. **Knowledge** is one component of not only Systematic Functional Grammar but Intercultural competence as well. It is the driving force beyond any successful collaborative activities to develop interpersonal relationships and communicative competence. (Smith 2016) C. **The other components of Intercultural Competence** which are also present in SFG are: context (Harold, 2016) appropriateness (Villar, Marcos, Atienza, 2017; Santos, and ( Darez, 2017), and emotions (Flores, 2016). **Patterns of Citation**: A. Short Direct quotation B. Paraphrase C. Summary D. Tense of Verbs reporting E. Long Direct Quotation or Block Quotation or Extract There are **reasons to justify the act of quoting or repeating in writing other people's words**: 1\. The idea is very essential. 2\. The idea is refutable or arguable. 3\. The sentence is ambiguous or has multiple meaning 4\. There's a strong possibility that questions may be raised about the citation. 5\. It is excellent idea that to make it a part of the paper will bring prestige and credibility to the entire work The ***difference between American Psychological Association (APA) and Modern Language Association(MLA)*** Ex. **APA** (Limos, 2020) or Limos (2020) (Manzano, 2019) or Manzano (2019) **MLA** (Nano 198), Reyes et al. 200-206 (Remos, Tizon, Rama 255-- 276) (Resus, 6:235-366) for periodicals **Citation** is important to avoid plagiarism. **Plagiarism** is an act of quoting or copying the exacts of the writer and passing the quoted words off as a personal words. Before searching for literature, there is a need to clearly define a topic. There will be a search for literature related to the research problem and questions. In writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. This question has to be answerable without collecting original data. It should be answerable based only on a review of existing publications. There are **steps to consider in review of related literature**: **Step 1: Search for relevant literature** Read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources. To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out. **Step 2: Evaluate and select sources** These are the questions that need to be answered in evaluating and selecting sources. -What question or problem is the author addressing? -What are the key concepts and how are they defined? -What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach? -What are the results and conclusions of the study? \- How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? \- Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge? \- How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? \- What are its key insights and arguments? \- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research? Take notes and cite sources. It should begin the writing process. Take notes that can later incorporate into the text of the literature review. It is important to keep track of the sources with citations to avoid plagiarism. It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where compilation of full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps for remember ing what have read and saves time later in the process. This can be used as free citation generator to quickly create correct and consistent APA citations or MLA format citation **Step 3: Identify themes, debates, and gaps** To start organizing the literature review's argument and structure, there is a need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources. Based on the reading and notes, there is a need to look for: **\* Trends and patterns** (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time? **\*Themes**: what questions or concepts recur across the literature? **\*Debates, conflicts and contradictions**: where do sources disagree? **\* Pivotal publications**: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field? **\* Gaps**: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed? This step will help to work out the structure of the literature review and (if applicable) show how ones own research will contribute to existing knowledge. **Step 4: Outline your literature review's structure** ***There are various approaches in organizing the body of a literature review. There should have a rough idea of strategy before to start writing.*** **These are the strategies**: 1. **\*Chronological** The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. This is a simple listing and summarizing sources in order. It is trying to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred. 2. **Thematic** This is recurring central themes, organizing literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. **For example,** if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access. 3. **Methodological** This is drawing sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods. It is comparing the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. Example: Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research 4. **Theoretical** A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework. It is used to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. It might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for the research. **Step 5: Write your literature review** The literature review should have an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. What would be included, depends on the objective of the literature review. The **different parts of writing a literature review** A. **Introduction** The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review. B. **Body** It depends on the length of the literature review. The body might be divided into subsections. There should be subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach. **Writing a literature review can follow these tips**: ⇒ Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole ⇒ Analyze and interpret: don't just paraphrase other researchers---add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole ⇒ Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts. Example of a paragraph in a lite C. **Conclusion** This is to summarize the key findings that have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance. **There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project**: To familiarize with the current state of knowledge on the topic To ensure that it is not just repeating what others have already done To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that the research can address To develop the theoretical framework and methodology To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic