1. MBA- Research Methodology Dr. Susima Weligamage LITERATURE REVIEW

2. The first role of a literatur e review is often to learn the topic.

3. What is LR? A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period. A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis.

4. A literature review is the presentation, classification and evaluation of what other researchers have written on a particular subject. A literature review may form part of a research thesis, or may stand alone as a separate document. Cont.….

5. A literature review is not simply a shopping list of what others have said. It does not and can not refer to every piece of literature in the field. Rather, a literature review is organized according to your research objective. It is a conceptually organized synthesis which ultimately provides a rationale for further research, whether by you or by others.

6. summary and synthesis A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

7. Format of LR? The format of a review of literature may vary from discipline to discipline and from assignment to assignment. A review may be a self-contained unit -- an end in itself -- or a preface to and rationale for engaging in primary research. A review is a required part of grant and research proposals and often a chapter in theses and dissertations. Generally, the purpose of a review is 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.

8. What is LR?

10. Why write LR? Literature reviews provide you with a handy guide to a particular topic. If you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an overview or act as a stepping stone. Literature reviews also provide a solid background for a research paper's investigation. Comprehensive knowledge of the literature of the field is essential to most research papers.

11. Why write LR? The purpose of a literature review is for you to take a critical look at the literature (facts and views) that already exists in the area you are researching. A literature review is not a shopping list of everything that exists, but a critical analysis that shows an evaluation of the existing literature and a relationship between the different works. It demonstrates the relevance of the research.

12. Why write LR? Literature can include books, journal articles, internet (electronic journals), newspapers, magazines, theses and dissertations, conference proceedings, reports, and documentaries. Literature reviews are written occasionally in the humanities, but mostly in the sciences and social sciences; in experiment and lab reports, they constitute a section of the paper. Sometimes a literature review is written as a paper in itself.

13. Why write LR? In the context of a research paper on a thesis, the literature review provides a background to the study being proposed. The background may consider one or more of the following aspects depending on the research question being posed: Theoretical background – past, present or future practice – previous or contemporary Methodology and/or research methods Previous findings Rationale and/or relevance of the current study

14. Why write LR? In a broader context Hart (1998) lists the following purposes of a review: Distinguishing what has been done from what needs to be done; Discovering important variables relevant to the topic; Synthesizing and gaining a new perspective; Identifying relationships between ideas and practice; Establishing the context of the topic or problem;

15. What should I do before writing the literature review? Clarify If your assignment is not very specific, seek clarification from your supervisor: Roughly how many sources should you include? What types of sources (books, journal articles, websites)? Should you summarize, synthesize, or critique your sources by discussing a common theme or issue? Should you evaluate your sources? Should you provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history?

16. What should I do before writing the literature review? Find models Look for other literature reviews in your area of interest or in the discipline and read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or ways to organize your final review.

17. What should I do before writing the literature review? Narrow your topic There are hundreds or even thousands of articles and books on most areas of study. The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to get a good survey of the material. Your instructor will probably not expect you to read everything that's out there on the topic, but you'll make your job easier if you first limit your scope.

18. Specialist sub-area Relevant Primary research Your research question Add your research topics Broad Topic

19. What should I do before writing the literature review? Consider whether your sources are up-to-date Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. In the sciences, for instance, treatments for medical problems are constantly changing according to the latest studies. Information even two years old could be obsolete.

20. What should you write? Language focus Create a balance between direct quotation (citation) and paraphrasing. Avoid too much direct quoting. The verb tense chosen depends on your emphasis: When you are citing a specific author's findings, use the past tense: (found, demonstrated); When you are writing about an accepted fact, use the present tense: (demonstrates, finds); and When you are citing several authors or making a general statement, use the present perfect tense: (have shown, have found, little research has been done).

21. Free online access to all working papers (i.e., before publication in a refereed journal). RePEc: good for economics, econometrics. arXiv: good for mathematical statistics, mathematical finance. SSRN: good for management, law. Online repositories Two essential elements of all literature reviews (though they are not formally identified as such) are: 1) An outline what others have done in your chosen area 2) A progressive narrowing to the gap in the research

22. Academic conventions and copyright law require that you acknowledge when you use the ideas of others. In most cases, this means stating which book or journal article is the source of an idea or quotation. This guide draws from the: American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Citation and Reference

23. List of References At the end of your essay, place a list of the references you have cited in the text. Arrange this in alphabetical order of authors' surnames, and then chronologically for each author where more than one work by that author is cited. The author's surname is placed first, followed by initials or first name, and then the year of publication is given. If the list contains more than one item published by the same author(s) in the same year, add lower case letters immediately after the year to distinguish them (e.g. 1983a).

24.  The reference list includes only the sources you have used in any submission. APA Style requires reference lists, not bibliographies.  The reference list begins a new page with the centered heading - References  Double-space all reference entries.  Reference list entries should be indented half an inch (five to seven spaces) on the second and subsequent lines of the reference list for every entry - a hanging indent is the preferred style. (i.e. entries should begin flush left, and the second and subsequent lines should be indented).  Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author as the letters appear (e.g. M, Mac, MacD, Mc).  If there is no author, the title moves to the author position (filed under the first significant word of the title). If the title in this instance begins with numerals, spell them out.

26. Referencing Citations Creating a reference list Plagiarism Recognising what it is How to avoid it Referencing, NOT Plagiarising!

27. Referencing – why bother? Referencing is important - academic writing requires you to respond to the ideas and writing of other people. The skill lies in how well you can understand and respond to other people's work. Referencing your source material also allows your readers to find your sources and read them for themselves. It stops you plagiarising!

28. When and what do I need to reference? Activity 1– write down as many sources you can think of that require referencing. Statistics Quotations Facts Examples from other people's work Diagrams Images and photographs Models Equations Theories/ideas

29. Activity 2: Referencing true or false 1.Information on the internet is 'free'. Anyone can use it without having to reference it. 2.As long as I use speech marks, I don't have to say where the quotation is from. 3.I can copy pictures/diagrams/photos without referencing them. 4.If I summarise other people's ideas, I still need to reference them. 5.If I paraphrase or rewrite the information, I don't need to reference it.

30. A quick guide to referencing In the body text you need to clearly detail the name of the author and the year their work was published – citation The reader should then be able to cross-reference this to a more detailed list at the end Reference List or ‘Bibliography’ Both should be systematic, uniform and thorough, and really easy to understand Throughout any written report, make sure you use the same system consistently

31. Plagiarism Plagiarism is the use of any source, published or unpublished, without proper acknowledgement or referencing It is easy to commit plagiarism accidentally. Carelessness when it comes to referencing is a key cause, but so are poor note-taking skills and inappropriate use of cut and paste from the internet. Many students who don't intend to cheat but, because of poor academic practice, end up committing plagiarism with serious consequences.

32. Activity 3: Spot the Plagiarism You have been given examples of a student’s work, and the original source. Decide in your groups whether the work is – Plagiarism – Bad Practice – Acceptable

33. Sources There are lots of different types of sources you can use while doing academic work. These can include: - Books- Journals - Web pages- Pictures/graphs - Newspapers/TV- Lecture Notes The key to avoiding plagiarism is to make sure that you acknowledge your sources in the text. To do this properly you will need to do two things: 1. Take good notes, making sure you have sufficient detail to allow you to trace your sources. 2. Follow a standard system of referencing Both these things will help you avoid wasting your time. You will probably need to revisit sources and ideas and well referenced notes are the short cut to doing this without starting again from scratch!

34. The “perfect” notes.. Notes can be useful to help you understand what you have just read, or they can be used to jot down any questions that you have, or ideas that you want to pursue further. Important things to note down: Any facts and figures Direct quotations I might want to use Paraphrase, not just copying chunks Source details!!!

35. Some final hints! If in doubt: reference it. Make sure you record the source when taking notes. When taking notes make it clear if you are copying directly, paraphrasing or summarising. Use different colours when you write down direct quotes ALWAYS make notes in your own words. Don't cut and paste! Be prepared to go and find a reference for something you already know, for instance a scientific claim, in order to back it up

36. In a nutshell.. To avoid plagiarism…...And to show you’ve really extended yourself during your research... Reference your sources!