Practical Research II

Literature Review and Topic Selection

 What is Literature Review
Literature Review
- A comprehensive classification and evaluation
of what other researchers have written about
your topic.
- Usually, an exciting literature review presents
conflicting or contradictory results of previous
studies, which could then be a research gap
that will be filled by your study.
 How to Pick a Topic
Research topics can come from a myriad of
sources:
- An interest in a particular field
- Discussions with peers and academics
- Existing literature
How do you select a topic worth researching?

Basic types of sources:

1. General (articles, monographs, books, and
other documents.
2. Primary (Journals)
3. Textbooks
Pointers to help you choose a particular topic:

1. Think about past discussions in class and list which of

these you found to be interesting.

2. Do a library search about your topic by visiting academic

journals the school has a subscription of. (or check free or
open access online journals in the web.). Search and
research.

3. Give all topics that considered preliminary title and

provide a brief description of the content and the plan of
how the topic could be developed.

4. Consider the implications of your choice in selecting and

finalizing a topic.
How to Select Relevant Literature
A literature review is your critical analysis of
available resources and not just a summary of
what is available so far about your chosen
topic.

Careful selection and review of these

materials are therefore significant in
establishing what has been pointed out as a
research gaps.
Similar to the topic selection phase,

- Do an non-online/online literature search

about your final approved topic.
- Identify the best publication in a specific
research area (Relevant and Recent).
- Undergraduate thesis (20-50 materials) ,
Master’s thesis (>50 materials), Doctoral
dissertation (> 75 materials)
 Relevant literatures
Ask the following about materials you are to
include in your review:

1. What issue or problem has the author

formulated? Is it clearly defined? Is it
significant enough? How was the problem
approached? What are the variables of the
study?
2. What do you think is the orientation of the
researcher? How about the theoretical
framework used? How are the research
perspective and the theoretical perspective
related as seen on paper?

3. Does the author provide contrasting results from

previous researches in the literature section of
the paper? What is the author’s stand on this?
Does the author present that there is a lack of
research in the topic considered?
4. What research design did the author use in
the paper? How accurate the sampling, the
intervention or the outcome? Are the
measurements used valid and reliable? Is the
the data analysis accurate? How relevant is
this to the problems asked? How valid or
logical are the conclusion?
5. How does the author structure the arguments in
the paper? And how related are these arguments
and the corresponding results to your research
topic? In what ways does this contribute to your
understanding of your own problem? Are there
limitations? Strengths?

Keep this in mind also;

What do other researches or literatures say about
this material you are reviewing? Do you find
them contrasting as to the arguments and
results? Or do they support or affirm each other’s
results and conclusion, and to what extent?
 Defining the Variables and Terms
Why is it important to define your variables?
- It would help you in narrowing down your
topic, which would eventually aid you in
selecting literatures to review.

- Defining your variables coincides with

identifying the measurement of your variables
and must be considered as well.
There are two types of definitions:
1. Lexical (or conceptual) – are according to
authoritative sources.
2. Operational – are based on how the term is or will be
used in your study.

Example:
Weight
Lexical: a measurement of gravitational force acting on an
object.

Operational: a result of measurement of an object on

a newton spring scale.
 Illustrating and Explaining the
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
Theory
- is a statement of how facts are related. It is a
system of ideas intended to explain a specific
phenomenon.
- Primary guide in the whole research process.
- The relationship between and among your
variables is presented in the
theoretical/conceptual framework.
How do you write this section of you paper?
• Start by stating the theory and it’s
proponents.
• Discuss the basic premises of the theory
(What are its fundamental arguments?).
• Contextualized the theory by relating it with
the current problems of your own research.
(How will the theory guide your study? How is
it related to the objectives of your paper?)
 Writing the Research Hypothesis
You are writing your hypothesis….
- When you begin to state the relationship
between your variables and the effect they
could possibly have on each other.

Hypothesis is derived from the literature

reviews.
Hypothesis is a proposed explanation about a
phenomenon made on the basis of limited
evidence and a starting point of your
investigation.
- Temporary answer to your problem, argument
or issue which you intend to test and explore
throughout your study.
- To be tested empirically ( statistically or
quantitatively)
Guide in writing your hypothesis.
1. Your hypothesis must be clearly written. It
must address one problem or issue at a time.
- You may start with the independent first, and
then conclude with the dependent variables.

2. If you are doing a test of relationship

(correlational study), the type of relationship
(positive or negative) must be provided in the
hypothesis.
3. Choose a form of hypothesis based on your
study.

There are two types: (Null and Alternative)

1. Null Hypothesis
- traditional approach
- No relationship or significant difference
between groups on a variable in the general
population.

Ex. There is no difference (relationship) between

the groups on (the variable/s).
2. Alternative Hypothesis
- Popular on journal articles.

2 Types of Alternative Hypothesis

1. Directional Hypothesis
2. Non directional Hypothesis
1. Directional Hypothesis
- The researcher makes a prediction about the
expected outcome based on prior literature
review.
Ex.
1. Group 1 will have a higher or lower (variable)
than Group 2.
In experimental studies
2. Group 1 will have a higher or lower (variable)
than Group 2 after (name the intervention).
For a test of relationship
Negative
3. As (independent variable) increases,
(dependent variable) decreases.
Positive
4. As (independent variable)
increases/decreases, (dependent variable)
also increases/decreases.
2. Non directional Hypothesis
- The researcher makes a prediction , but the
exact change (higher, lower, increase,
decrease, strong, weak, more, less) as in
directional hypotheses, is unknown.

- The researcher does not know what can be

predicted based on previous literature.

Example:
(Variable) is related to (variable)
Submit at least 3 topics with preliminary title
and provide a brief description of the content
and the plan of how the topic could be
developed.

Deadline Thursday 2:00 PM (24 November

2016)
 Writing a Research Title
Reminders in writing your research title:
1. Set a 10-12 word limit for titles.
2. Summarize the main idea or issue, if not the
argument of the paper.
3. Identify the population(s) used.
4. Do not use words such as “study of” or “an
experimental research in”, as these words are
redundant.
5. Only include words that provide important and
sufficient information about the research.