LESSON 4

Dr. John M. Ritz

Review of Literature

    * Identify other research studies
          o Know what has been done
    * Identify authoriative writings
          o Become an expert on the area being researched

Review of Literature

    * Purposes Discovering important variables related to the problem.
    * Distinguishing what has been done from what needs to be done.
    * Synthesizing and gaining prospective.
    * Determining and supporting meaning and relationships of variables.
    * Establishing the context from where the problem arose.
    * Establishing the significance of the problem.

Review of Literature

    * Methods of Organization Variables or describers (concepts) cited in the Problem Statement.
    * Variables or describers identified in the Research Goals, e.g.,
          o Hypotheses
          o Objectives or Questions
    * Sometimes methodologies or instruments are also reviewed in this chapter.

What if you find too many literature entries while conducting your literature search?

    * Is the date recent enough?
    * Does the title or subtitle suggest relevance?
    * Does the bibliography suggest critical resources?

What if you find too few literature entries while conducting your literature search?

    * Determine if there are elements that may have been previously researched in another field, i.e., attitudes of soldiers and compare these to policemen.
    * Determine if the scope of the project can be related to another science, i.e., natural, physical, or social sciences, e.g., change of farmers compared to changes in teaching methods.
    * Have scholars in the field project some ideas related to this project?

Review of Literature

    * Steps in the Search Choosing interest areas and describers.
    * Searching for relevant titles and abstracts.
    * Locating important supporting materials.

Reviewing & Abstracting Literature

    * Copy complete reference headings.
    * Identify and summarize the purpose and methodologies used in the article.
    * Prepare note cards on specific referenced materials including author, year, and page numbers.

Major Sources of Information

    * Books
    * Journals (Readers Guide, Education Index, CIJE)
    * ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center)
    * Abstracts
    * Indexes (Education Index, CIJE)
    * Reviews (The Encyclopedia of Education, Encyclopedia of Educational Research)
    * Newspapers
    * Government Documents
    * Web Documents