Problem

Conceptualization
Writing the Introduction
Reviewing the Literature

CommRes 199
Prepared by Elena E. Pernia

Writing the Introduction

What are the purposes

of the Introduction?
1. To define or identify:
the general topic, issue, or area of concern.
!

In so doing, the introduction provides an

appropriate context for the literature review.

What are the purposes

of the Introduction?
2. To point out:
trends in what has been published about
the topic;
conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence,
and conclusions;
gaps in research, such as a new problem
or perspective of immediate interest.

What are the purposes

of the Introduction?
!

3. To establish the writer's reason (point of

view) for reviewing the literature.
!

4. To explain the criteria to be used in

analyzing and comparing literature and the
organization of the review (sequence).

What are the purposes

of the Introduction?
!

And, when necessary

!

5. To state why certain aspects about the

topic, geographic area, literature, etc. are
or are not included (scope).

Review of Related
Literature

Some Definitions

What is a review of
literature?
a required part of a research proposal and
often a chapter in thesis.
But more seriously now:
a preface to and rationale for engaging in
primary research.
an account of what has been published on
a topic by accredited scholars and
researchers.

What are the objectives

of the literature review?
!

to analyze critically a segment of a

published body of knowledge through
summary, classification, and comparison of
prior research studies, reviews of literature,
and theoretical articles.

What are the objectives

of the literature review?
!

to convey to your reader what knowledge

and ideas have been established on the
topic, and what their strengths and
weaknesses are.

What are the objectives

of the literature review?
The researcher writing the literature review
gets to:
enlarge her/his knowledge about the topic,
gain and demonstrate skills in:
information seeking

Information seeking
!

the ability to scan the literature efficiently,

using manual or computerized methods, to
identify a set of useful articles and books

What are the objectives

of the literature review?
The researcher writing the literature review
gets to:
!

gain and demonstrate skills in:

critical appraisal

Critical appraisal
!
!

the ability to apply principles of analysis to

identify unbiased and valid studies

What are the objectives

of the literature review?
The researcher writing the literature review
gets to:
enlarge her/his knowledge about the topic,
gain and demonstrate skills in:
information seeking
critical appraisal

Searching the literature

How do you search for

related literature?
1. Begin by asking yourself the following questions:

What is the specific research problem or question that your

literature review should help to define?

What type of literature review are you conducting?

theoretical review
methodological review
1. review of policy

Apart from communication, are there other fields or

disciplines that will help clarify the research problem? (e.g.,
fields of advertising, media industry, etc.; disciplines of
psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, etc.)

How do you search for

related literature?
2. When selecting materials to include in the review, ask
yourself questions like these about every book or article:
!

Has the author formulated a problem/issue? Is it clearly

defined? Is its significance (scope, severity, relevance) clearly
established? Could the problem have been approached more
effectively from another perspective?

What are the author's research orientation and theoretical

framework?
What is the relationship between the theoretical and
research perspectives?
Has the author evaluated the literature relevant to the
problem/issue?
Does the author include literature taking positions she or he
does not agree with?

How do you search for

related literature?
2. When selecting materials to include in the review, ask
yourself questions like these about every book or article:
!

In a research study, how good are the basic components of the

study design (e.g., population, intervention, outcome)? How
accurate and valid are the measurements? Is the analysis of the
data accurate and relevant to the research question? Are the
conclusions validly based upon the data and analysis?

In material written for a popular readership, does the author use

appeals to emotion, one-sided examples, or rhetorically-charged
language and tone? Is there an objective basis to the reasoning,
or is the author merely "proving" what he or she already
believes?

How do you search for

related literature?
2. When selecting materials to include in the review, ask
yourself questions like these about every book or article:
!

How does the author structure the argument? Can you

"deconstruct" the flow of the argument to see whether or where
it breaks down logically (e.g., in establishing cause-effect
relationships)?

In what ways does this book or article contribute to your

understanding of the problem under study?
In what way(s) is it useful?
What are the strengths and limitations?
How does this book or article relate to the specific problem
or question you are developing?

Writing the review

How do you write the

literature review?
1. Remember that the literature review is a piece
of discursive prose. It is not a list describing or
summarizing material after another. Hence, do
not begin each paragraph with the name of a
researcher.

When writing the paragraphs that

comprise the literature review

Provide the reader with:

strong "umbrella" sentences at the start of
paragraphs,
"signposts" throughout, and
brief "so what" summary sentences at
intermediate points in the review to aid in
understanding comparisons and analyses.

How do you write the

literature review?
1. Remember that the literature review is a piece
of discursive prose. It is not a list describing or
summarizing material after another. Hence, do
not begin each paragraph with the name of a
researcher.
!

2. Summarize and critically evaluate each material

according to the guiding concept of your thesis
or research question.

When summarizing individual

studies or articles

Summarize individual studies or articles with

as much or as little detail as each merits.
!

The amount of detail to include depends upon

the articles importance.
Remember that the amount of space (length)
given an article denotes significance.

How do you write the

literature review?
3. Identify themes or concepts in the
materials you are citing and then group
these summaries into sections that
present these themes or identify trends.

When grouping the individual

studies and articles

Group research studies and other types of

literature (reviews, theoretical articles, case
studies, etc.) according to common
denominators such as:
specific purpose or objective,
chronology,
qualitative versus quantitative approaches,
conclusions of authors, etc.

How do you write the

literature review?
3. Identify themes or concepts in the
materials you are citing and then group
these summaries into sections that
present these themes or identify trends.
!

4. Write a paragraph to introduce the focus

of each section.

When pointing out the focus

Provide the reader with:

strong umbrella sentences at the start of
paragraphs, and
signposts throughout

How do you write the

literature review?
3. Identify themes or concepts in the materials you
are citing and then group these summaries into
sections that present these themes or identify
trends.
!

4. Write a paragraph to introduce the focus of each

section.
!

5. Use an overall introduction and conclusion.

How do you do the call the

conclusion of the literature
review?
!

End the literature review with a section

entitled Synthesis which serves as the
conclusion.

How do you write the

Synthesis?
!

1. Summarize the major contributions of

significant studies and articles to the body
of knowledge under review, maintaining the
focus established in the Introduction.

How do you write the

Synthesis?
!

2. Evaluate the current "state of the art" for

the body of knowledge reviewed, pointing
out:
major methodological flaws or gaps in
research,
inconsistencies in theory and findings, and
areas or issues pertinent to future study.

How do you write the

Synthesis?
!

3. Conclude by providing some insight into

the relationship between the central topic
of the literature review and the field of
communication/media, etc.

A few words about an

annotated bibliography

If you must do an
annotated bibliography
1. Summarize each material briefly.
2. Following the important themes and concepts of
your research problem, do some critical
assessment of each material.
3. Group summarized items into sections to show
comparisons and relationships of the materials.
4. Write a paragraph to introduce the focus of each
section.
5. Develop an overall introduction and conclusion.

Sources
Leedy, Paul (1998). Practical Research,
Chapter 3
http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/litrev.html
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/
ReviewofLiterature.html