Research Methods for Business Students

Critically reviewing
the literature
Why we need to review literature?

• It is the preliminary search that helps generate

and refine research ideas and draft research
proposal.
• provides the context and theoretical framework
for the research.
• place your research findings within the wider body
of knowledge and forms part of your discussion
chapter.
Figure 3.1
The literature review process
Purposes of a critical review
• the historical background to your research;
• an overview of your research’s context by locating it in the
associated contemporary debates, issues and questions
provided by existing literature;
• resolution to conflicts amongst apparently contradictory
previous research;
• a discussion of the relevant theories and concepts that
underpin your research;
• definitions and clarifications regarding how relevant terms are
being used in your research;
• insights into related research that your own work is designed to
extend or challenge;
• supporting evidence that your research questions and aims are
worth researching.
Forms of critical review
• Integrative review;
• Theoretical review;
• Historical review;
• Methodological review;
• Systematic review.
 Forms of critical review
• Integrative review
– critiques and synthesizes representative
literature on a topic in an integrative way.
• Theoretical review:
– examines the body of theory that has
accumulated in regard to an issue, concept,
theory or phenomenon.
– reveal a lack of appropriate theories.
– used as the basis for developing new theory to
be tested, or revealing an area where it is
unclear
• Historical review examines the evolution of
research on a particular topic over a period of time
to place it in an historical context.
 Forms of critical review
• Methodological review
– focuses on research approaches, strategies,
data collection techniques or analysis
procedures.
– provide a framework for understanding a
method or methodology and to enable
researchers to draw on a wide body of
methodological knowledge.
• Systematic Review
– which uses a comprehensive pre-planned
strategy for locating, critically appraising,
analysing and synthesising existing research
that is pertinent to a clearly formulated research
question to allow conclusions to be reached
about what is known.
Content of a critical review
• A critical review is for:
– Evaluate the research that has already been
undertaken in the area of your research project.
– Show and explain the relationships between
published research findings and reference the
literature in which they were reported.

• What to do?
– Include the key academic theories within your
chosen area of research that are pertinent to the
research question;
– Demonstrate that your knowledge of your
chosen area is up to date;
– Enable those reading your project report to find
the original publications which you cite through
Content of a critical review
• A possible structure of a critical review
(not compulsory) :
– Start at a more general level before narrowing down to
specific research question(s) and objectives;
– Provide a brief overview of key ideas and themes;
– Summarise, compare and contrast the research of the key
authors;
– Narrow down to highlight previous research work most
relevant to your own research;
– Provide a detailed account of the findings of this research
and show how they are related;
– Highlight those aspects where your own research will
provide fresh insights;
– Lead the reader into subsequent sections of your project
report, which explore these issues.
Figure 3.2
Literature review structure
Literature sources

Main literature sources

Source Content
Referenced (peer- Detailed reports of research. Written by experts and
reviewed) academic evaluated by other experts to assess quality and
journal suitability for publication. Rigorous attention paid to
detail and verification.
Non-referenced May contain detailed reports of research. Selected
academic journal by editor or editorial board with subject knowledge.
Professional Journals Mix of news items and practical detailed accounts.
Sometimes include summaries of research.
Trade Mix of news items and practical detailed accounts.
journals/magazines
Source: © Mark Saunders, Phillip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2018
 Main literature sources
Source Content
Books and e- Written for specific audiences. Usually in an ordered and
books relatively accessible format. Often draw on wide range of
sources
Newspapers Written for a particular market segment. Filtered dependant
on events. May be written from particular viewpoint.
Conference Selected papers presented at a conference.
proceedings
Reports Topic specific. Written by academics and organisations.
Those from established organisations often of high quality.
Theses Often most up-to-date research but very specific.
Source: © Mark Saunders, Phillip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2018
Planning your literature search
• The parameters of your search:
– Language of publication (e.g. English);
– Subject area (e.g. accounting);
– Business sector (e.g. manufacturing);
– Geographical area (e.g. Europe);
– Publication period (e.g. the last 10 years);
– Literature type (e.g. refereed journals and books).
• The search terms and phrases you intend to use:
– Search term are the basic terms that describe your research
question(s) and objectives
– Using some techniques to generate: Discussion, brainstorming,
relevance tree
• The online databases and search engines you intend to use;
• The criteria you intend to use to select the relevant and useful studies
from all the items you find.
Conducting your literature search
• Searching using online databases:
– Google, bing
– Must care about source (academic?)
• Obtaining relevant literature referenced in books and
journal articles you have already read;
• Browsing and scanning secondary literature in your library;
Five questions to employ in critical reading
1. Why am I reading this?
2. What is the author trying to do in writing this?
3. What is the writer saying that is relevant to what I want to
find out?
4. How convincing is what the author is saying?
5. What use can I make of the reading?
Note taking and referencing
Drafting your critical review
• Juxtapose different authors’ ideas and form your
own opinions and conclusions
• Comparing, contrasting these to form an evidence-
based evaluation of the literature
Plagiarism
• Quoting someone else’s work, word for word, without
acknowledgement.
• Cutting and pasting text, diagrams or any other material
from the Internet without acknowledgement.
• Paraphrasing someone else’s work by altering a few words
or changing their order or closely following the structure of
their argument without acknowledgement.
• Collaborating with others (unless expressly asked to do so
such as in group work) and not attributing the assistance
received.
Plagiarism
• Inaccurately referencing, within the text and list of references, the
source of a quoted passage. This often occurs when students
pretend to have read an original source, when their knowledge is
derived from a secondary source.
• Failing to acknowledge assistance that leads to substantive
changes in the content or approach.
• Using materials written by others such as professional essay
writing services, or friends, even with the consent of those who
have written it.
• Auto or self-plagiarising, that is submitting work that you have
already submitted (either in part or fully) for another assessment.
However, it is usually acceptable to cite earlier work you have had
published.