RES01 | PRACTICAL RESEARCH

TOPIC The Review of Literature: Overview, Essentials, and Structure

Module
Jennifer Zozobrado, LPT
Designed by
Andrew Dy, MA
Cristobal, A. & De La Cruz-Cristobal, M. (2017). Practical Research for
Source
Senior High School. C&E Publishing, Inc.

Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to recognize the elements of literature review; identify the
different styles of research writing; and apply the essential elements and format in writing literature
review.

Overview

The review of literature is the process of compiling, classifying, and evaluating what other researchers
have written on a certain topic. It can be a partial component of a research undertaking, but it can also
stand alone as a self-contained review of writing on a subject. The review of literature is a crucial aspect
of research, and serves the following purposes:
1. It helps in placing the work being reviewed in its context.
2. It describes the relationship of each work to the research being undertaken.
3. It identifies new ways to interpret and shed light to various gaps based from previous researches.
4. It helps in solving conflicts among seemingly contradictory previous studies.
5. It identifies the areas that are subject to a prior study to prevent duplication of efforts.
6. It points to another research undertaking.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review serves as in-depth summary of the related literatures to the study. It does not
only restate the facts but rather critique and highlight their relevance to the research. In doing so, several
elements should be observed in writing this section:

1. Overview of the subject or topic, issues, or theories to be considered.

2. Division of works such as those that support a particular position, those against, and those that offer
ideas.
3. Explanation of the comparison of the gathered literature.
4. Conclusion and the best arguments.

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FORMAT OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

In writing the literature review, the researcher can be flexible in utilizing different related literature.
However, as stated earlier, the literature review is not merely a restatement of facts. Thus, the organization
of thought should be duly considered when writing the review. The general format of a literature review is
as follows:

1. The Introduction
a. The general problem and the variables should be defined.
b. Every important data should be highlighted to effectively discuss the problem or the
variables such as the theory, methodology, evidence, conclusions, or even gaps.
c. The criteria in selecting the literature should be considered to assess which resources are
pertinent and should be included, and which are irrelevant and should be removed.
2. The Body
a. Chosen of approaches, conclusion of authors, specific objective, and the like should be
included.
b. Studies and literature should be summarized. For the studies, primary consideration must
be given to the result of the studies that include the variables.
In choosing the literature, the following should be considered:
i. Provenance. This refers to the author’s credentials and the empirical basis of the
article or literature.
ii. Objectivity. This refers to the nationality of every data or facts cited.

iii. Persuasiveness. This refers to the degree of credibility of the data.

iv. Value. This refers to the degree of the contributions of the literature to clarify
variables.
3. The Conclusion
a. Major contributions of the studies or articles should be summarized.
b. Current developments and new information should be evaluated.
c. The review should be concluded by relating the gathered data to the central theme of the
problem.

ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES

The most common concern a student researcher like you think about is how to organize those myriads
of studies and articles into a systematic, interconnected whole. Below are some common techniques that
will help you build a logical flow of ideas.

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1. Thematic
The most commonly used approach to outline organization is based on dividing it into themes. The distinct
themes around which the entries are organized may surface from the literature or may be predetermined. Each
theme may integrate both theoretical writings and empirical studies that are related to the research topic.

2. Chronological
This organizational approach allows the writer to discern changing trends over time as topics are arranged
around time periods. This technique is uniquely suitable for subjects that have changed over time. A review
based on such organization may explore chronologically the progress of theories, emergence of policies,
development of research methods, or changes in practices.

3. Separation of the Theoretical from the Empirical

If you have identified multiple sources, both theoretical and empirical, you may want to divide the review into two
distinct sections. In the first part, your review can focus on theoretical and conceptual studies, while in the second
part your attention will center on empirical studies (quantitative and/or qualitative), their methodologies, and their
findings.

4. Theoretical to Methodological
When the sources you have found in the literature on your topic are mostly theoretical and you have located very
few or no empirical references, you may consider this type of organization, which is divided into two parts. The
first part is a theoretical discussion on conceptual frameworks and the schools of thought underpinning your
subject and the differences and commonalities among them. The second part consists of an exploration of a
research approach that complements the identified theories discussed in the first part and may lead to your
research question.

5. Systematic Review
This type of review enhances the researcher’s ability to systematically compare studies on the basis of variables,
such as sample characteristics, research design, or results.

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ESSENTIAL SKILLS NECESSARY TO WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW

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DIFFERENT STYLES OF RESEARCH WRITING

In research writing, there are many different style guides that are followed by researchers. However,
the three most common styles followed at present are the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style,
American Psychological Association (APA) Style, and Chicago Style.

Modern Language Association

The Modern Language Association (MLA) is an American professional organization for scholars of
literature and language based in New York City. It publishes the MLA stylebook titled MLA Style Manual
and Guide to Scholarly Publishing with its first edition printed in 1985 and its third edition in 2008. The MLA
began in 1883 at Purdue University as a discussion group for literature and modern language. Today,
several regional associations compose the MLA.

American Psychological Association

The American Psychological Association or APA developed its own uniform style of formatting written
works. Originally, the resulting style book was provided to their associates as a guide for composing
scientific publications, articles, handbooks, journals, and the like for the organization. It was in 1929 when
the original APA style guidelines were featured in a magazine write-up. It was only in 1959 when an official
APA style manual became publicly available. Because of the practicability it brings, many education
institutions use the APA style as the standard for writing research papers.

Chicago Style
The University of Chicago Press manages the standards and rules for the Chicago style. The principal
handbook entitled The Chicago Manual of Style is sometimes shortened to “CMS” or “CMOS”. The
University of Chicago Press produced the original Chicago Style Manual in 1906. Papers that adhere to
Chicago Style typically are less formal papers and not designed for publication. However, Chicago Style is
versatile enough to deal with any style of paper, including research papers, essays, reports, theses, or
dissertations.

FORMATTING A PAPER USING THE APA STYLE

by Peter Gallagher and Brian Scott
1. Abbreviations. Avoid using abbreviations in your paper. However, if you need to use an abbreviation or
acronym that is recognized in your language and you can find it in the dictionary, then you can use it.
2. Hyphenations. Do not separate and hyphenate words at the end of the line; otherwise, proceed a couple
of characters past the right margin to adjust the complete word on the line.
3. Indentions. Indent paragraphs within the primary text of the paper one-half inch if using a word
processing program or indent five to seven spaces in if typing on a typewriter. However, do not indent in
these unique circumstances: the abstract, block quotations, figure captions, notes, reference list entries,
table titles, and titles or headings.

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4. Margins. Use 1-inch margins on all four sides of the paper: top, bottom, right, and left. Old rules required
1.5-inch margins, but these rules are now obsolete.
5. Page numbering. Number nearly every page in the paper, including the title page. Put the number in
the upper-right corner of the page, and use only Arabic numbers. Put the number “1” on the title page
and the number “2” on the abstract page. Begin the main body of the text on page number “3”. Do not
number pages that consist of only statistics or illustrations.
6. Paper type. Use regular white, 20-pound bond paper that has measurements of 8.5 by 11 inches. If
printing from a computer, use an inkjet or laser printer to print the paper.
7. Parentheses. Aim to restrict parentheses to separate or divide items that are structurally independent,
such as listing a number or illustration that is associated with a sentence. If you are enclosing a full
sentence in parentheses, position the punctuation inside the parentheses. If you are enclosing only a
piece of a sentence inside parentheses, then place the punctuation outside the parentheses.
8. Punctuation. In most cases, use single space after all common punctuation marks, such as periods,
commas, colons, and semicolons. There are three exceptions to this norm: (1) do not use a space after
periods inside an abbreviation, such as when writing U.S. for United States, (2) do not use a space after
a colon in a ratio, such as 4:7; and (3) some professors like the outdated rule of using two spaces after
periods that end sentences. If you are using Courier or another mono-space font, APA Style does permit
two spaces between sentences, although one space is recommended.
9. Slash mark. Do not use slash marks in your paper. For instance, rather than writing “blue and/or purple,”
it is better to write, “blue, purple, or both.”
10. Spacing. Use double spacing throughout the whole paper, unless your professor expressly asks for
single spacing in specific situations, such as with block quotations.
11. Text alignment. Always format the text flush left, unless the institution requires you to format the paper
in “full justify”.
12.Typeface. If using a word processor like MS-Word, opt for a Serif font, such as Times New Roman or
Arial. Use text in a 10- or 12-point size.

You may check this video to learn more about writing the literature review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDhHkKO3urg

Tasks
REINFORCEMENT

1. On your Asynchronous Session, watch the APA video webinar, “Citing Works in Text Using Seventh
Edition APA Style” https://youtu.be/Wfzo80CELqw. This webinar provides an in-depth look at the APA
Style citation system, including how to create and format in-text citations, integrate source material into
a paper, and cite at an appropriate level.

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2. Review the handout of APA 7th Edition In-Text and Reference Style Guide to become more familiar with
the rules.

ACTIVITY 8 Draft of the Second Chapter

Now that you have the basic knowledge of literature review, you shall apply what you have learned to your
own research paper.

DIRECTION: Write an initial draft of Review of Related Literature for your research paper. Make sure you
are able to gather at least 10 valid reference sources and must include a discussion and explanation of at
least one of the variables.

Follow the correct format using APA Style 7th Edition. You may refer to this module again for guidance in
formatting your paper.

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