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CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Scholarly research is always a leap from the known to the unknown. The literature review and conceptual framework are used to construct a platform of the known from which you jump. Constructed carefully, the literature review and conceptual framework can maximize the chances of your spanning the abyss and reaching something substantive when you land. Constructed carelessly, they can undermine your research. The literature review should carefully examine prior research and thought relevant to key aspects of your anticipated research.

It should be used to inform: a) The problem to be addressed and its significance b) The theoretical foundation or conceptual framework c) The research questions, hypotheses, foreshadowed problems, or conjectures d) The research paradigm and the methodology the subsections indicated below are of the process and components of a literature review and not necessarily subheadings of

Chapter 2. 2-A. Introduction: Topic(s), Purposes, and Methods of the Literature Review: A literature review usually begins with an indication of the topic(s) to be covered and the purposes of the review. The methods of the review should be briefly described. Indicate the indices and other methods used to search for applicable literature, the terms searched with each, and the years searched (usually the last ten or twenty years, plus key literature from earlier years).

A review should address each topic highly applicable to the problem. For problems that are not well researched, the literature review may also address other topics that are tangentially related and might help inform the study.

If the literature on a topic is voluminous—it is not uncommon to find more than 100 studies—you should be selective, covering the literature most applicable to the focus of your proposed research, as indicated by the research questions, hypotheses, foreshadowed problems, or conjectures. Consult with your advisor before beginning the literature search to make sure you

2-B. Description and Critique of Scholarly Literature: Each major theoretical discourse, conceptual discussion, and empirical study should be described and critiqued briefly. Both the strengths and weaknesses should be identified. For theoretical discourses, indicate the source of the theory, overlaps and disparities with other applicable theories, and whether and how well the theory has been empirically verified. For conceptual discussions, indicate the sources of the concepts, overlaps and disparities with other applicable concepts, and whether and how well the concepts have been empirically verified. For empirical studies (including qualitative ones) indicate the research questions, methodological strengths and weaknesses, results (both their magnitude as well as their statistical significance or extent of cross-verification), conclusions, and implications. It is important to note that a scholarly review of the literature should focus on primary sources such as refereed journal articles rather than secondary sources such as course textbooks. Organizing the written review can be a challenge because the review has several simultaneous

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