Chapter

4

Reviewing the Literature
Power Point Slides by Ronald J. Shope in collaboration with John W. 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
study
proposed
Educational Research 2e: Creswell
Literature Review in

Quantitative Study

Documents the importance
problem at the beginning of
a

of the research
the study

Supports the theory or explanation used in
the study
Foreshadows the research questions

Provides an explanation for the results
other studies and in the theoretical
prediction at the end of the study.
in
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
views)
own

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
Organize the literature
Write a review
select the literature
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
studies)
literature (e.g., Web
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
Research
source?
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
qualitative research studies:
and




Research problem
Research questions/hypotheses
Data collection procedures
Results/Findings
Educational Research 2e: Creswell

Educational Research 2e: Creswell
Sample Hierarchical Literature

Map

The need for Teaching Programs
to be Culturally Responsive
Study Abroad
Programs
U.S.
Programs
Bennett, 1995; Eastm an,
Sm ith, 1991; Grant 1994; Noel, 1995
Personal insights
of Preservice Teachers
Personal insights
of Preservice Teachers
Possible
Improvements
Attitude Toward
Study Abroad
Friesen, Kang
McDougall, 1995;
Mahan, Stachow ski, 1991
Cockrell, Placier,
Cockrell, Middleton
1999; Goodw in, 1997;
Kea, Bacon, 1999
Martin, Rohrlich ,
1991; Stachow ski,
1991
King, Y oung,1994
Conventional
Programs
Need for further study:
Non-English Speaking Cultures
Cross-Cultural
Programs Predominately English
Speaking Countries
Colville-Hall
Macdonald, Sm
ollen, 1995;
Rodriguez,
Sjostrom , 1995;
Vavrus, 1994
Question: Do short-term study
abroad program s in non-English
speaking cultures help create
cultural responsiveness in
preservice teachers?
Cooper, Beare
Thorm an, 1990;
Larke, Wisem an,
Bradley, 1990
Mahan, Stachow ski, 1990;
Quinn, Barr, McKay,
J archow , Pow ell, 1995;
Vall, Tennison, 1992
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
heading for the review


a

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
other
lines connecting the proposed study with
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)
Personal Insights of
Teachers (Cockrell,
Placer, Cockrell,
Milleton, 1999
Personal insights of
Preservice Teachers
(Friesen, Kang,
McDougall, 1995)
Attitudes Toward
Study Abroad
(King, Young 1994)
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
researcher
No study discussed in detail
identified by


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