Literature Reviews

Research proposals and reports typically have a section that describes theoretical perspectives and previous research findings related to the problem at hand. This is called

• A literature review

• The hypothesis formation

• An in-depth inquiry

• The philosophical framework

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which of the following is NOT listed by the authors of your text as a good reason to conduct an extensive literature review?

• To gain insight into identical research problems so you may copy the study

• To introduce you to measurement tools that other researchers have developed and used effectively

• To show you how others have handled methodological and design issues in studies similar to your own

• To gain insight into new ideas, perspectives, and approaches that may not have occurred to you

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Why do researchers in some forms of qualitative research postpone a thorough literature review until relatively late in the research process?

• Because they worry about unduly biasing their own data collection

• Because they have a constructivist perspective

• Because they do not adequately understand the research process

• Because they do not believe prior research is relevant to qualitative research

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

Mia is researching her topic on children with autism. She has noticed that several of the references she has found so far refer to one other research project. What is the best course of action for Mia to take?

• Paraphrase the literature she has found

• Copy what another researcher has interpreted

• Rely on what her references had to say about that other research project

• Go to the original source and read it for herself

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

You can be reasonably sure that you are reasonably knowledgeable about your topic, and therefore can slow down or stop your research for the literature review when

• You are no longer encountering new ideas or information

• All of the work done by top researchers in the area has been reviewed

• All published work related to a topic has been reviewed

• Two to four weeks have been devoted to the search

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

One of the most important aspects of a literature review is to synthesize the information gathered. Which of the following statements best describes the process of synthesizing the literature?

• You must pull together the diverse perspectives and research results into a cohesive whole

• You must find a place for each article that makes sense for easy retrieval

• You must use your subproblems to provide a general organizational scheme to use

• You must determine the worthiness of each piece of literature you review

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

The best way to organize a review of the literature is:

• Chronologically, with the earliest research first

• Chronologically, with the most recent research first

• Thematically, with an emphasis on how the literature relates to your question

• Critically, identifying flaws in previous studies that make your question relevant

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Typically, the literature review should

• include few or no works more than five years old to avoid having the work become prematurely obsolete

• be limited to work coming out of the very best labs and universities in the country

• give a broad overview of the area, without getting bogged down in the details of particular studies or theoretical perspectives

• emphasize how the studies being reviewed are related to the research problem under consideration

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9