How to Write the Literature Review in 5 Steps (PPT)

Summary

Dr. Edward Padama guides researchers through the literature review process in five steps, emphasizing its importance in justifying research needs. He advises starting with keyword and synonym identification, using scholarly databases like Google Scholar, and applying boolean operators for precise searches. The video outlines strategies for evaluating and selecting sources, identifying themes and gaps, organizing the review, and writing the literature review, including introduction, main body, and conclusion. Dr. Padama encourages viewers to engage with the channel for further research writing assistance.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research relevant to your study, establishing a theoretical basis and justifying the need for your research.
• 🔑 The literature review is crucial in research as it identifies gaps and problems that your study aims to address, thus proving its necessity.
• 🔍 Step one in writing a literature review is to search for relevant literature using keywords, synonyms, and boolean operators to refine your search in scholarly databases.
• 🔑 Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are essential for combining or excluding keywords in searches to yield more focused results.
• 📚 Step two involves evaluating and selecting sources by reading abstracts, checking citation counts, and identifying the most important publications from your search results.
• 🔍 Step three is about identifying themes, debates, and gaps in the literature, which helps in organizing your review by noting recurring trends and contradictions.
• 📝 Step four suggests organizing your literature review by outlining it chronologically, thematically, or by research methods and theories.
• ✍️ Step five is writing the literature review, which includes an introduction, main body summarizing sources, and a conclusion restating the main argument and its supporting evidence.
• 📈 Citation counts are a good indicator of the reliability of a study or literature, with higher counts suggesting more credibility.
• 📖 Scholarly databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect are key resources for finding relevant literature for your review.

Q & A

What is the significance of a literature review in research?

A literature review is significant in research as it establishes and justifies the need to conduct the research. It surveys scholarly articles, books, journals, and studies relevant to the research, providing a theoretical basis and highlighting existing problems or gaps that the research aims to address.

Why is the literature review not considered an easy part of research?

The literature review is not considered easy because it plays a crucial role in the research process. It is essential for establishing a theoretical foundation and identifying gaps in existing knowledge, which justifies the need for the research.

What are the five steps involved in writing a literature review as discussed in the script?

The five steps involved in writing a literature review are: 1) Search for literature relevant to the study, 2) Evaluate and select sources, 3) Identify themes, debates, and gaps, 4) Organize by outlining, and 5) Start writing the literature review.

How does one develop a list of keywords for literature review search?

To develop a list of keywords for literature review search, one should identify variables from the research title, which are usually the research problem or a strategy to be tested.

What is the role of synonyms in literature review search?

Synonyms play a role in providing alternative search parameters when used with boolean operators. This helps in obtaining more specific and richer search results.

What are some scholarly databases recommended for literature review search?

Some scholarly databases recommended for literature review search include Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct.

What are boolean operators and how are they used in literature review search?

Boolean operators are words like 'AND', 'OR', and 'NOT' used to combine or exclude keywords in a search. They help in producing more focused and productive search results by eliminating inappropriate hits.

Why is it important to evaluate the citation count of a study during literature review?

Evaluating the citation count of a study is important because it indicates the number of times the study has been used in other research, suggesting its reliability and relevance.

What organizational strategies are suggested for literature review?

Suggested organizational strategies for literature review include identifying themes, debates, and gaps, and organizing by outlining chronologically, thematically, or methodologically.

How should one start writing the literature review?

One should start writing the literature review by utilizing three parts: an introduction that presents the study, a main body that summarizes and synthesizes the sources, and a conclusion that restates the main argument and reiterates the most important evidence.

What is the purpose of the conclusion in a literature review?

The purpose of the conclusion in a literature review is to restate the main argument, remind the reader of the strengths of the argument, and reiterate the most important evidence supporting those arguments.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Literature Review

Dr. Edward Padama introduces the concept of literature review (also known as RRl or Review of Related Literature and Studies), emphasizing its importance in establishing the need for research. He explains that literature review involves a comprehensive summary of previous research and surveys scholarly articles, books, journals, and studies relevant to the research topic. The goal is to establish a theoretical basis for the research and justify its necessity. Dr. Padama encourages viewers to subscribe and use the notification bell, and invites questions in the comment section. He then proceeds to discuss the five steps of writing a literature review.

05:03

🔍 Conducting a Literature Search

The second paragraph delves into the first step of the literature review process: searching for relevant literature. Dr. Padama advises developing a list of keywords and synonyms from the research title to facilitate an organized search. He recommends using scholarly databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct. The use of Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) is highlighted to refine search results. The importance of identifying the most important publications from search results is discussed, with a focus on using citation counts as a measure of reliability.

10:04

📝 Steps for Evaluating, Organizing, and Writing the Literature Review

In the final paragraph, Dr. Padama outlines steps two through five for writing a literature review. Step two involves evaluating and selecting sources, with an emphasis on reading abstracts and considering citation counts. Steps three and four discuss organizational strategies, such as identifying themes, debates, gaps, and organizing the literature review chronologically or thematically. The final step is writing the literature review, which includes an introduction, main body summarizing sources, and a conclusion that restates the main argument and its supporting evidence. Dr. Padama concludes by thanking viewers for joining the discussion and encourages them to subscribe and ask questions for further guidance.

Keywords

💡Literature Review

A literature review, also known as a review of related literature and studies, is a comprehensive summary of previous research conducted in a particular field. It is crucial for establishing and justifying the need for new research. In the video, the literature review is emphasized as a foundational step in research that surveys scholarly articles, books, journals, and studies to provide a theoretical basis for the research being conducted.

💡Research Outline

A research outline is a plan that organizes the structure of a research paper, including the literature review. It helps in systematically presenting the research and ensuring that all necessary components are included. The video mentions that the literature review is a significant part of the research outline as it justifies the need for the research.

💡Keywords

Keywords are specific terms that are central to the research topic and are used to facilitate the search for relevant literature. In the video, it is advised to develop a list of keywords from the research title, which are typically the research problem or a strategy to be tested, to aid in the literature search process.

💡Synonyms

Synonyms are alternative words that have similar meanings to the keywords and are used to broaden the search parameters. The video suggests developing a list of synonyms from the keywords to enhance the literature search by providing alternative search terms that can be used with boolean operators.

💡Boolean Operators

Boolean operators are logical connectors such as 'AND', 'OR', and 'NOT' that are used to combine or exclude keywords in a search query. The video explains that using boolean operators with keywords can result in more specific and richer search results, which is essential for identifying relevant literature.

💡Scholarly Databases

Scholarly databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect are online resources used for searching and browsing academic literature, journals, and studies. The video instructs viewers to open such databases to search for literature relevant to their research.

💡Abstract

An abstract is a brief summary of a research paper that presents the key points of the study. The video advises researchers not to read the full research initially but to look at the abstract to quickly assess the relevance of a study to their research.

💡Citation Count

Citation count refers to the number of times a particular study or literature has been referenced by other research. The video highlights the importance of checking citation counts as an indicator of the reliability and influence of a study in the field.

💡Organizational Strategies

Organizational strategies are methods used to systematically arrange and relate research resources to the main research topic. The video discusses two such strategies: identifying themes, debates, and gaps in the literature, and organizing the literature review by outlining it chronologically, thematically, or by research methods and theories.

💡Writing the Literature Review

The final step in the literature review process is writing the review itself, which involves synthesizing the sources and presenting them in a coherent manner. The video outlines three parts to include in the writing: an introduction that presents the study, a main body that summarizes and synthesizes the sources, and a conclusion that restates the main argument and highlights the supporting evidence.

Highlights

Introduction to the importance of literature review in research

Literature review is crucial for establishing the need for research

Literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, journals, and studies

The purpose of literature review is to establish a theoretical basis for the research

Literature review justifies the existence of a research gap

Step one: Search for literature relevant to your study

Develop a list of keywords for an organized search process

Use synonyms with boolean operators for a more specific search

Utilize scholarly databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect

Boolean operators help to combine or exclude keywords for focused search results

Identify the most important publications from search results

Step two: Evaluate and select sources based on abstracts and citation counts

Observe high citation counts as an indicator of study reliability

Step three: Identify themes, debates, and gaps in the literature

Take note of connections between different sources for organization

Step four: Organize by outlining chronologically or thematically

Step five: Start writing the literature review with an introduction, main body, and conclusion

The conclusion restates the main argument and reiterates the evidence

Encouragement to subscribe and ask questions for further assistance

Transcripts

hello and welcome back

for another discussion on research

writing

this time we are going to discuss

literature review

in five steps literature review is also

known as rrl

or review of related literature and

studies

in your research outline if you observe

the word

easy was not used in five steps

because this part of your research is

crucial

in establishing and justifying that

there is a need to conduct the research

this discussion will hopefully help you

the research writers

in giving a clear direction on how to

proceed with your rrl

and inform you of the available database

or

online references especially

in the time of this covid19 pandemic

this is dr edward padama and before we

start please support the channel by

clicking the subscribe button

and the notification bell to alert you

when a new video

is uploaded if you have questions

regarding research writing place them

at the comment box of this video and i

will immediately get back to you

let's start

let's start by establishing the

definition of

literature review and its objective

so literature review is a comprehensive

summary of a previous research that has

been conducted

but this does not stop here the

literature review

surveys scholarly articles books

journals and studies relevant or related

to the research that you are

conducting selected literatures

should give and establish a basis

theoretical basis

for the research that is being conducted

this justifies the need

to conduct the research so in a nutshell

literature review is the selection

of studies articles journals

that have been published or defended or

proven

that will serve as a basis or foundation

of your research that justifies that

there is

a need to conduct your research

because according to these literatures

and studies

there is an existing need there is an

existing

problem and there is a gap

that needs to be filled up that's why

you need to go through with this

research now we move on to

our main discussion which is writing the

literature review in five steps

step one is search for a literature

review relevant to your study

and to do this you need to develop a

list of keywords

this is to facilitate a more organized

process of browsing

and searching you need to do this to

identify and isolate

keywords these keywords are the

variables from your research title

these are usually the research problem

or a strategy

to be tested the next one is to develop

a list of synonyms

from these keywords synonyms will

provide

alternative search parameters used

together with boolean operators

which we will discuss later this will

provide you

with a more specific and richer search

result next open a scholarly database

like google scholar pubmed and science

direct

these are search engines readily

available online

and are used specifically in searching

and browsing literatures journals

and studies so the screen that you will

see

when you open google scholar is on the

right side

you do this by typing the words google

scholar

in your google browser

next one is the boolean operators and

or and not

so the operators are used when you

enter your keywords

on the url in this case i use end

effects of covid19 and psychological

effects so boolean operators are simple

words

like and or not and not

use as conjunctions to combine or

exclude keywords

in a search resulting in a more focused

and productive result this should save

time and effort by eliminating

inappropriate hits

that must be scanned before discarding

and last is to identify the most

important publication from the hits that

you were able to get when you use

the boolean operators together with your

search

from the hits found by the google

scholar an

outline of the available studies will be

displayed at your screen

you can now easily distinguish and

identify the most important

and relevant literature

so we move on to step two evaluate and

select source

so number one do not read the full

research because an

abstract is readily available just click

and you will be able to access the

abstract

of the literature or study that you were

able to choose

and then look at the bibliography of the

publication for other relevant resources

these references are usually

active links meaning when you hover

your mouse over the

reference you will be able to access it

once you click

that particular link and then observe

the number of

high citation counts i'm going to show

you

on the next screen shown on the right

side

where you will be able to find the

citation count so every time

this reference was used in a research

the citation count goes up

meaning the higher the citation count

the more reliable

the study or the literature is

so this is an example of the outline

of a literature review wherein you can

already see on the left side of that

screen

abstract and then at the bottom you

will be able to readily access

references

this is from science direct

and then on the last part which is

observe the number of high citation

count

on this screen when you search for

effects of cov19 and psychological

effects

at the bottom of each hit you will see

cited by 313 or 313 so this was cited

to another research 313 times

and then you will also see the same

citation

hits on other references or literatures

okay the next steps three and four

are organizational strategies that you

can use in order to

easily locate and relate your

resources to your research

step 3 is to identify themes debates and

gaps

so take note of the connections of

different sources to easily organize

your literature review you observe the

following

trends and the patterns that are

repeatedly occurring in the references

that you encounter

including the theme debates and

contradictions

from one reference to another reference

influential studies gaps

step 4 organizing by outlining

so you do this chronologically from

older

to recent publication thematic

organized around several key themes

methodological compare the different

research methods

used across studies theoretical

used to discuss opposing theories or

models

and last but not least step five

start writing the literature review

utilizing these three parts

first is the introduction and you do

this by citing and presenting the study

the main body which summarizes and

synthesizes the sources to your study

conclusion the function of your paper's

conclusion is to restate

the main argument remind the reader

of the strengths of your main argument

or arguments and reiterate the most

important

evidence supporting those arguments

and these are the references that you

were able to find

using this process

hello again and thank you for

joining me in this discussion on writing

the literature review

in five steps i do hope that this

was able to help you in one way or

another

in guiding you on the different steps

and processes

of writing your literature review

please support the channel by clicking

the subscribe button and the

notification bell to alert you when a

new video

is uploaded and if you have any

questions regarding research writing

place them at the bottom of this video

at the comment box and i will

immediately get back to you

so again i would like to thank you stay

safe and god bless see you on the next

video