Define and Explain Literature review and critically discuss its role and importance in

education research

Literature reviews are important in dissertations and journal articles. According to Boote and
Beile (2005), literature reviews play a critical role in education research because science
remains, first and foremost, a cumulative endeavour. This write-up will define and explain
literature review while its role and importance in education research will be critically discussed.
Definition of terms will be provided and thoroughly examined and a conclusion will wound up
as a summary to the essay.

Definition of Terms
Literature review is defined by various proponents and scholars and definitions may be similar
across the disciplines, with new types and definitions continuing to emerge. At a basic level, the
term implies a survey of factual or nonfiction books, articles, and other documents published on
a particular subject. Fink (2004) defines literature review as a critical component of the research
process that provides an in-depth analysis of recently published research findings in specifically
identified areas of interest. Mankoff et al., (2013) explain literature review as an objective,
critical summary of published research literature relevant to a topic under consideration for
research. Hart (1998: 13) presents that literature review is, “the selection of available documents
both (published and unpublished) on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and
evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfil certain aims or express certain views on
the nature of the topic …” According to this write up, literature review is therefore a summary,
analysis and evaluation of the literature on a particular subject and an explanation of what
research has already been performed for a research area.

As a foundation for knowledge advancement in every discipline, literature review is an important

element of any research project. A substantive, thorough, sophisticated literature review is a
precondition for doing a well-articulated research work. “A researcher cannot perform
significant research without first understanding the literature in the field”, (Boote & Beile, 2005:
3). In dissertations candidates are expected to demonstrate a formal understanding of literature
in their field, intellectual independence, information fluency, and ability to continually reappraise
ideas and practices (Boote and Beile, 2006).
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Formulation of Research Problem
A good literature review needs a clear line of argument. Review of related literature plays a
crucial role in formulation of research problem and the whole process of research. It is often
argued those research problems not grounded in current literature are weak (Mudavanhu,
2017:190). The researcher first needs to decide what he/she needs to read. An effective literature
should methodologically analyze and synthesize quality literature, provide a firm foundation to a
research topic and the selection of research methodology.

Structure of Literature Review Report

The important components that make up a literature review are the introduction, main body and
the conclusion (Machi and McEvoy, 2016:265). The introduction to the literature review
provides a profile of the study. Its purpose is to engage the reader by presenting highlights of the
essential parts of the work. The body presents the case and documents it to justify the research
thesis. Finally, the summation gives a summary of the research study’s conclusions.

The structure of a literature review should include an overview of the subject, issue, or theory
under consideration, objectives of the literature review, division of works under review into
themes or categories, for example, [works that support a particular position, those against, and
those offering alternative approaches entirely], an explanation of how each work is similar to and
how it varies from the others, conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their
argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the
understanding and development of their area of research (Boote and Beile, 2006).

Research Process
As is critical thinking, doing literature review is a developmental process in which each step
leads to the next (Machi and McEvoy, 2016:30). The research process involves following these
steps; selecting a topic by recognizing and defining a problem, developing tools of argument for
solving the problem, collecting and compiling information through searching the literature,
surveying the literature in order to discover the evidence and build up an argument, critiquing the
literature to draw up conclusions, and finally communicating and evaluating the conclusions by
writing the thesis (Ibid).

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Types of Literature Reviews
Dudovskiy (2016) acknowledges that there are many types of literature reviews most popular in
education and social sciences namely narrative, systematic, argumentative, integrative, historical,
methodological and theoretical. However, these have may some shared characteristics or
features. In some cases, the research question will drive the type of literature review that is
undertaken.

Sources of Literature Review

It is crucial for students to recognize that not all sources of information are created equal,
especially when consulting them for the purposes of research. When carrying out literature
review, it is important to determine the position and the reliability of every source/author. This
will ensure that your source is both credible and relevant, and that the source will enhance your
paper rather than undermine it. Generally information sources are classified into three types
depending on the information available from the resource and these are primary, secondary and
tertiary. Information sources for a literature review in education generally mean the internet,
reference material and other books, empirical or evidence-based articles in scholarly, peer-
reviewed journals, conference proceedings and papers, dissertations and theses, and grey
literature. Van Den Bergh et al., (2013) assert that journals often carry literature review articles
that review literature on specific topics.

The Role of Literature Review

Typically, the literature review forms an important chapter in the thesis, where its purpose is to
provide the background to and justification for the research undertaken (Hart, 1998). From
definitions and quotes mentioned in paragraphs above, it can be deduced that literature review
serves many different purposes and entails a wide variety of activities. It is therefore not
surprising that it may seem a formidable task - particularly at the beginning.

Topic Researchability
A major benefit of literature review is that it ensures the researchability of the proposed project
before 'proper' research commences. Locating of relevant literature forms the context or
background to provide insights into previous work (Blaxter et al., 2010: 124). Randolph

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(2009:13) corresponds that literature reviews assists in gaining an understanding of the existing
research and debates relevant to a particular topic or area of study.

Kazembe (2012) opines that a survey of relevant literature is necessary prerequisite to any study
to give insight in the subject matter. Such literature help in providing the theoretical framework
within which to work. For example, by the end of the literature review, the reader should have a
solid understanding of what theories are already known about the topic, what is not yet known,
and therefore a good idea of what exactly the current study is going to examine, and why.

Discovering New Knowledge

Conducting a literature review helps build knowledge in the field of interest. In the discussion
section, literature is used to support and criticise the findings of others in light of new findings.
It demonstrates that the proposed research contributes something new to the overall body of
knowledge or advances the research field’s knowledge base, and when relevant propose a
research agenda for the topic under investigation (Bandara et al., 2011).

Avoid re-inventing the wheel

Identifying areas of prior scholarship prevents duplication of previously carried out studies and
gives credit to other researchers. According to Hart (2018), the research student has the
responsibility to find out what already exists in the area in which they propose to do research
before doing the research itself. University of Melbourne (2013) opines that the purpose of a literature
review is to determine what is known on the topic, how well this knowledge is established and where
future research might best be directed. By explaining what has been done and what has not been
done the researcher gives a justification of own contribution.

Existing theories and hypothesis formulation

Literature reviews play an instrumental role in establishing what theories already exist, the
relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to
develop new hypotheses to be tested. Phillips and Pugh (2010:64) assert that a literature review
should demonstrate a fully professional grasp of the background theory to your subject.

Justification for future research

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Researching on a particular topic may justify future research into a previously overlooked or
understudied area. Identifying inconsistencies such as gaps in research, conflicts in previous
studies, open questions left from other researches. Ridley (2012:6) summarises that “Research is
a small piece in a complicated jigsaw puzzle; it does not exist in isolation. It is dependent on
what others have done before and you will contribute to an ongoing story or debate.
Contextualizing your work; describing the bigger picture provides the background and creates
the space or gap for your research.”

Demonstration of understanding of a topic

Literature reviews demonstrate to readers that the author has a firm understanding of the topic.
Reviewing and reporting on all prior literature, weaknesses and shortcomings of prior literature
will become more apparent. This will not only assist in finding or arguing for the need for a
particular research question to explore, but will also help in better forming the argument for why
further research is needed. In this way, the literature review of a research report “predicts the
researcher’s own study” (Berg et al, 2009, p. 388).

Progressive narrowing of the research topic

A literature review must have a clear focus on what the research question is going to be studied,
and the organization of the discussion should lead the reader from the very broad general topic
down to the specific issue about which a manuscript is going to report a new piece of research
(Denney 2013). Hart (2018) also avers that it is the progressive narrowing of the topic, through
the literature review, that makes most research a practical consideration.

Skill development
As viewed by Hart (2009), literature review contributes to the development of one’s intellectual
capacity and practical skills, because it engenders a research attitude and will encourage one to
think rigorously about the topic. Rhoades (2011:353) asserts that, “A great benefit of literature
reviews is that as you read, you’ll get a better understanding of how research findings are
presented and discussed in your particular discipline. If you pay attention to what you read and
try to achieve a similar style, you’ll become more successful at writing for your discipline”.

Selection of research methodologies

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Okoli and Schabram (2010) postulate that the purpose of reviewing the literature is to analyse the
different methodologies and data collection methods used by previous researchers in similar
issues. This would help the researcher to identify the various strengths and lacunas of the used
methods. A thorough review of literature may enable the researcher to answer the several
pertinent questions.

Disadvantages of Literature Review

Although literature review advantages outweigh the disadvantages, sometimes, students may not
have access to certain information due to lack of internet, lack of access to classified information
in public and government information centers. Researchers may spend unnecessary time and
resources on searching for the reviews. It is time consuming for the lecturers to correct and
provide feedback. Literature reviews require good supervision from teachers particularly for
students who are inexperienced and unskilled. To make things harder, indications of how to
build strong theory into a paper can be confusing, especially because authors have to deal with
many trade-offs: comprehensiveness versus deepness, simplicity versus accuracy (Sutton &
Staw, 1995). Another limitation of literature review is over reliance on previously published
research and the availability of these studies. Undergoing peer review can be a negative
experience for some authors due to insensitive and irresponsible behavior of some reviewers who
may not read the manuscript, provide irrelevant comments or feedback, and use the opportunity
to promote their work or make negative and malicious comments (Smith 2015).

Conclusion
By carrying out literature review, a researcher demonstrates familiarity with a body of
knowledge and thereby establishes credibility with a reader. Well-crafted literature reviews are
the cornerstone of good papers, however it is not uncommon to find weak, or even absent,
literature reviews among submissions marking. An advanced-level literature review shows how
prior research is linked to a new project, summarizing and synthesizing what is known while
identifying gaps in the knowledge base, facilitating theory development, closing areas where
enough research already exists, and uncovering areas where more research is needed. Literature
reviews therefore can give an overview or act as a stepping stone. However, carrying out of a
literature review literature requires a lot of internet resources which may not be available to other
researchers in rural setting.

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