Step 3b: Conducting a Literature Review

Tips for Conducting a Review of the Literature

Luke Duesbery and Todd Twyman (2020) offer some advice for doing an efficient literature review.

Reading a Research Article

Steps:

1. Keyword search
2. Skim articles
3. Read abstracts
4. Read articles
5. Check reference lists
6. Obtain references (as needed)

After conducting a keyword search and finding literature,

• Start by skimming the articles to identify those most relevant to your research topic or question. Skimming involves quickly reading to assess the potential usefulness of each article.
• Pay special attention to the abstracts, as they summarize the study’s main questions and findings.
• If an abstract suggests the article is highly relevant to your research, read the article in detail to decide if it should be included in your research sources.
• Also, check the reference lists of these articles for additional relevant titles.
• If you find promising sources in these lists, obtain and read them to evaluate their relevance and usefulness for your research.

Structure of a Research Article

Most research articles have a similar structure. Being familiar with the structure of research articles will help you know where to look for what in the article.

1. Abstract:
   Summary of the aims/method/results
2. Introduction:
   General introduction into the topic
3. Literature Review:
   Summary of previous relevant research and identification of research gaps
4. Method:
   Description of how the research was conducted (participants/procedure/data analysis)
5. Results:
   Summary of the significant findings (often includes tables/figures/statistics etc.)
6. Discussion:
   Interpretation of main findings concerning data and the literature
7. Conclusion:
   Summary of main findings/implications/limitations
   References: Research cited

For each study you review, encapsulate it into a brief summary that reflects any aspect of the study that has relevance to your topic.

This may include

• the variable studied,
• the methodology employed,
• the participants studied, and
• the conclusions obtained.

Evaluating the Literature

Once sources are chosen they must be further evaluated to determine how the reviewed information can be used to guide your action research project (Hendricks, 2013).

Questions to ask in evaluating the literature include the following:

Synthesizing the Relevant Literature

Once sources have been chosen based on their relevance, credibility, and similarity to the action research study the next step is to synthesize information. Synthesizing involves connecting information into a coherent, integrated whole. This is done when all the relevant sources have been thoroughly read.

Reflective Activity