Reviewing the Literature Chapter 4 Reviewing the Literature Power Point Slides by Ronald J. Shope in collaboration with John W. Creswell

Educational Research 2e: Creswell Key Concepts Defining a literature review Distinguishing between a quantitative and qualitative literature review Understanding the 5-step process of conducting a literature review Educational Research 2e: Creswell

What is a Literature Review? Written summary of the literature Describes past and current information and research Organized into topics Reporting the literature based on themes or individual studies Documenting a need for your proposed study Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Literature Review in a Quantitative Study Documents the importance of the research problem at the beginning of the study Supports the theory or explanation used in the study Foreshadows the research questions Provides an explanation for the results in other studies and in the theoretical prediction at the end of the study. Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Literature Review in a Qualitative Study Documents the importance of the research problem at the beginning of the study Does not foreshadow the research questions (which are broad in scope to encourage participants to provide their own views) Is used to compare and contrast with other studies at the end of the study Educational Research 2e: Creswell

What is the Process of Conducting a Literature Review? Identify key terms Locate literature Critically evaluate and select the literature Organize the literature Write a review Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Educational Research 2e: Creswell Identifying key terms Write a preliminary “working title” for the project and select two or three key words that capture the essence of the project Pose a short general research question that you would like to answer in the study Look in a thesaurus of terms to find words that match your topic Scan the contents in your library stacks and the table of contents of educational journals Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Priority/Value of Sources for Searching the Literature Summaries Journals, Indexes, Databases Early stage literature (e.g., Web studies) Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Databases Used in Educational Research ERIC PsyINFO Sociofile Social Science Citation Index Dissertation Abstracts Others: PubMed Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Critically Evaluate and Select the Literature Is it a good, accurate source? National journal? Reviewed source? Research study? Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Critically Evaluate and Select the Literature Is the source worthy of inclusion? Topic relevance: Is the literature on the same topic as your proposed study? Individual and site relevance: Does the literature examine the same individuals and sites you want to study? Problem relevance: Does the literature examine the same research problem as you propose in your study? Accessibility relevance: Is the literature available in your library or can it be downloaded from a web site? Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Organize the Literature: Abstracting Studies Contents of abstract vary for research study and essay Structure essentially same for quantitative and qualitative research studies: Research problem Research questions/hypotheses Data collection procedures Results/Findings Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Sample Hierarchical Literature Map The need for Teaching Programs to be Culturally Responsive Bennett, 1995; Eastman, Smith, 1991; Grant 1994; Noel, 1995 Study Abroad Programs Attitude Toward King, Young,1994 Personal insights of Preservice Teachers Friesen, Kang McDougall, 1995; Mahan, Stachowski, 1991 Possible Improvements Martin, Rohrlich , 1991; Stachowski, 1991 Cockrell, Placier, Cockrell, Middleton 1999; Goodwin, 1997; Kea, Bacon, 1999 Predominately English Speaking Countries Mahan, Stachowski, 1990; Quinn, Barr, McKay, Jarchow, Powell, 1995; Vall, Tennison, 1992 Need for further study: Non-English Speaking Cultures Question: Do short-term study abroad programs in non-English speaking cultures help create cultural responsiveness in preservice teachers? Conventional Colville-Hall Macdonald, Smollen, 1995; Rodriguez, Sjostrom, 1995; Vavrus, 1994 Cross-Cultural Cooper, Beare Thorman, 1990; Larke, Wiseman, Bradley, 1990 U.S. Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Organize the Literature: Constructing a Literature Map Identify key terms for the topic and put them at the top of the map Sort studies into topical areas or “families of studies.” Provide a label for each box which will become a heading for the review Develop the map on as many levels as possible Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Constructing a Literature Map Draw a box toward the bottom of the figure that says “my proposed study” Draw lines connecting the proposed study with other branches of the literature Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Circular Literature Map Need for Further Study Non-English Speaking Cultures Question: “Do short term study abroad programs in non-English speaking cultures help create cultural responsiveness in preservice teachers? Study Abroad Program U.S. Programs Conventional Programs Preservice Teachers (Friesen, Kang, McDougall, 1995) Attitudes Toward Study Abroad (King, Young 1994) Personal insights of Preservice Teachers (Friesen, Kang, McDougall, 1995) Personal Insights of Teachers (Cockrell, Placer, Cockrell, Milleton, 1999 Predominately English Speaking Cultures (Maha, Stachowski, 1990) Cross-Cultural Program (Cooper, Beare, Thorman, 1990) Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Write a Literature Review Use consistent style manual approach End-of-text references Within-text references Headings Tables/Figures Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Write a Literature Review: Types of Reviews Thematic Review Literature documents theme identified by researcher No study discussed in detail Study-by-Study Review Detailed review of each study Studies grouped by themes Summaries linked by transitional sentences and organized under subheadings Educational Research 2e: Creswell