Thesis Proposal

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Material-Creswell5Slides-Chapter2ReviewoftheLiterature.ppt

Review of the Literature

Chapter 2

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Introduction

  • Topic – subject or subject matter of a study

e.g., “faculty teaching,” “organizational creativity,” “psychological stress”

  • Conduct literature review about the topic

Worth studying?

Scope?

Can be studied

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

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The Research Topic

  • Gain insight into the topic by

Drafting a working title

  • “My study is about…”

Posing a brief question

  • What needs to be answered?

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

  • First step is to examine research on the topic
  • How does this project contribute to the literature?
  • New topic, new elements, replication with new participants?

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Research Topic

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

  • The topic can be researched if

You have access to participants

You have resources to collect and analyze information

  • The topic should be researched if

The research will add to the literature about the topic

Scholars will be interested in the topic

A study of it will advance your personal goals

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Research Topic

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

  • Shares the results of other studies
  • Relates the study to the larger dialogue in the literature
  • Provides a framework for establishing the importance of the study
  • Provides a benchmark for comparing the results to other findings

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

The use of the literature:

  • Seek opinion of adviser or faculty members
  • Tell the reader you are aware of literature
  • Literature reviews take several forms:

Integrate what others have done and said

Criticize previous scholarly works

Bridge between related topics

Identify the central issues in the field

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

The use of the literature:

  • In quantitative studies, researchers use literature to:

Provide direction to the research questions and hypotheses

Introduce a problem

Introduce and describe the theory that will be used

Examine the usefulness of the theory

Compare results with existing literature or predictions

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

In qualitative research, inquirers use the literature in a manner consistent with the assumptions of learning from the participant, not prescribing the questions that need to be answered from the researcher’s standpoint. One of the chief reasons for conducting a qualitative study is that the study is exploratory. This usually means that not much has been written about the topic or the population being studied, and the researcher seeks to listen to participants and build an understanding based on what is heard.

The use of literature in qualitative research varies considerably. In one example, literature on a cultural concept or a critical theory can be introduced early as an orienting framework for ethnographies.

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The use of the literature:

  • In mixed methods studies, researchers use the literature:

In either a quantitative or qualitative approach

In each phase, consistent with either the quantitative or qualitative approach

Relative to the intended audience

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Steps in conducting a literature review:

  • Identify key words
  • Search databases
  • Identify about 50 research reports in articles or books
  • Collect those that are central to your topic
  • Design a literature map
  • Draft summaries of relevant articles
  • Write a literature review, organizing it by important concepts

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Searching computerized databases:

  • Computerized databases of the literature are available the Internet
  • Databases provide access to journal articles, conference papers and dissertations on a wealth of topics

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Searching computerized databases:

  • Some of these online databases include:

ERIC - ProQuest - EBSCO

Sociological Abstracts - PsycINFO - PubMed

Science Direct - Google scholar - SSCI

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Searching computerized databases:

  • Use both free databases and those available in your academic library
  • Search several databases, even those outside your field
  • Use guides to terms to locate articles
  • Locate articles close to your topic and use their terms in your search
  • Use databases that provide access to full text

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

A priority for selecting literature material:

  • Start with broad syntheses (such as encyclopedias) if you are new to the topic
  • Turn to journal articles in national journals

Best source for research reports

  • Next, consider books
  • Then examine conference papers
  • Scan for dissertations
  • Lastly, consider reports on the web

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

A literature map of the research

  • A literature map is a visual summary of existing research on a topic
  • The structure of the literature map may be:

Hierarchical pattern

Flowchart layout

Series of circles

  • Write a narrative description

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Abstracting studies:

  • Abstracts summarize major elements of the article
  • For research studies:

Mention the problem

State the central purpose

State information about the population and sample

Review key results

Point out methodological flaws (if a critique or methods review)

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Abstracting studies:

  • For nonempirical studies (essays, opinions, etc.)

Mention the problem

Identify the central theme

State the major conclusions

Mention flaws in reasoning or logic (if a methodological review)

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Style manuals:

  • Style manuals provide guidelines for producing scholarly work and include directions on:

Citing references in-text

End-of-text references

Creating headings

Footnotes (not used in all style manuals)

Presenting tables and figures

  • Reminder: Consistently use the chosen style manual

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Definition of terms

  • Identify and define terms that readers need to understand a proposal
  • Define terms introduced in all sections of the research plan:

Title of the study

Problem statement

Purpose statement

Research questions, hypotheses, or objectives

Literature review

Theory base of the study

Methods section

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Definition of terms

  • Qualitative studies

Inductive and evolutionary in nature

The definition of terms may appear later in the written report, perhaps in the data analysis

  • Quantitative studies

Deductive with a fixed set of objectives

All relevant terms are comprehensively defined earlier in the study

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Definition of terms

  • Mixed methods studies

Follows the use of quantitative or qualitative approach

Clarify terms related to mixed methods

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Definition of terms

  • Define terms when they first appear in the manuscript
  • Use specific operational definitions
  • Do not define terms using everyday language, be guided by the literature
  • Define terms so that they accomplish different goals
  • One may use a definition of terms section in the manuscript

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018


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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

A quantitative or mixed methods literature review:

  • Introduce the review with a statement about the organization of the sections
  • Review literature about the independent variables
  • Review literature about the dependent variables
  • Review literature that relates the independent variables to the dependent variables

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

A quantitative or mixed methods literature review:

  • Provide a summary

Highlight important studies

Capture major themes

Suggest why more research is needed

Advance how the proposed study will fill this need

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

The Literature Review

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018

Summary

  • Identify your topic through a brief title or central research question
  • Use the literature to

Present similar studies

Relate the study to the literature

Provide a framework for comparison

  • Different purpose depending on approach
  • Search databases using key terms

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Creswell, Research Design 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018