The Literature Review

Overview

This lecture aims to provide-

• Insight and guidance into how to conduct a literature

review

• Insight and guidance on how to write a literature review

• To remind students of the Harvard referencing system

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Research Proposal Structure

1. Research Title

2. Background – Outline and justification of practical issue

3. Research Aim & Objectives

4. *Literature Review*

5. Research/Design Methodology including any ethical issues

6. Project Plan / Resources

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Dissertation / Report Structure

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1. Abstract

2. Background – Outline and justification of practical issue

3. Research Aim and Objectives

4. *Literature Review*

5. Research/Design Methodology

6. Results / Findings

7. Discussion/Conclusion

Definition

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“an explanation of the knowledge (current and past) on a topic, or related to a topic, found within academic

books and journals”

Knowledge = Research Findings

Theories

Frameworks

Purpose of a literature review

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• Provides understanding and background to the topic

• Ensures you don’t duplicate research

• Can provide clues to how you can structure/conduct your own research

• Highlights keys findings / theories related to your topic

• Allows you to understand the research methods others have used in the area

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A good literature review will be a ‘critical review’

Need to consider:

• Disadvantages with research/theories

• Inconsistences between research/theories

• Gaps within the body of knowledge

• Contradictions between research/theories

Should be a Critical Review…

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Two major points:

1. Don’t reinvent the wheel

– can you reference other researcher criticisms?

2. Always back up your own critical points with reference to evidence to support your claim

Being Critical…

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“ Strategists, such as Teece et al. (1997), Eisenhardtand Martin (2000) and Winter (2003) draw on research generated from gigantic multinational corporations such as Toyota, IBM, Texas Instruments, McDonalds and Starbucks. However, SMES account for ninety-nine per cent of all firms in Britain (Small Business Service, 2001), making them more important than large organisations in their overall contribution to jobs and the health of the UK’s economy (Curren, 1999, Fielden et al., 2003).”

Being Critical: Example

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Think about the keyword linked to your issue/problem/opportunity

E.g. email marketing, conversion rates, click through rates

Search databases•EBSCO Business Source Complete•Emerald•JSTOR•Wiley Online

Read, read and read some more!!!!

Searching for Literature

Pause

Spend five to ten minutes now to brainstorming keywords you can use to search for literature for your research topic.

Pause the recording while you do this.

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Studying Articles…

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• Read and summarize each relevant article

• Note the aims/objectives

• Note the research design

• Note the authors findings or concluding theories

• Always think about the problems/disadvantages

you see with the research or authors conclusions

Organising the articles

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Several different ways. Depends on writing style:

i. In chronological order

ii. Important themes / categories

iii. The arguments you want to purpose

iv. Must be ‘story-like’, must flow

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1. IntroductionOutline the link between your background/practical issue and the academic theory

2. Main Body Divided into SectionsUse heading and subheadings. Need to think about the flow from section to section.Plan structure before you writeProvide depth, don’t be too brief.

3 ConclusionsHighlight inconsistences, gaps, criticismDiscuss how some literature helps to resolve or provide insight to your practical issueArgue that the current research doesn’t answer your research question

Writing a Literature Review

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When writing:

Summarize other researchers’ work in your area

Avoid direct quotes, put into your own words

Support your critical points by referencing other

research, theory, data.

If limited research/theory linked directly to your

area of study think about the ‘related theories’

Writing a Literature Review

Referencing

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Major elements:

1. Reference other individual’s work within the main body of your report / assignments

2. Have a ‘references’ list at the back of your assignments

Remember to:

Review the S101 Study Skills module and brush up on your referencing and citation skills, there is also a useful section on academic writing

Referencing

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In text reference example:

In reply to the importance of being responsive to market dynamics, the concept of dynamic capabilities was introduced. Dynamic capabilities represent a firm’s ability to ‘integrate, build and reconfigure’ (Teece et al., 1997, p514) its resources (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000) and capabilities (Helfat and Peteraf, 2003) to maintain or enhance firm performance in a changing environment. In contrast to original organisational capabilities, dynamic capabilities are described as ‘higher order’ (Collis, 1994, p12) as they have the supremacy to modify an organisation’s assets and capabilities to ensure it has the appropriate resources to respond to or even drive (Eisenhardtand Martin, 2000) shifts within a firm’s industrial setting.

Referencing

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In reference list example:

Andrews, K.R. (1971) “The Concept of Corporate Strategy” Dow Jones Irwin, Homewood, U.S.

Augier, M. and Teece, D. (2009) “Dynamic Capabilities and the Role of Managers in Business Strategy and Economic Performance” Organisation Science, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 410 – 421.

Busenitz, L. and Barney, J. (1997) “Differences Between Entrepreneurs and Managers in Large Organizations: Biases and Heuristics in Strategic Decision-Making” Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 12, pp. 9 – 30.

Chaffey, D. Ellis-Chadwick, F. Johnston, K. and Mayer, R. (2008) “Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice” 4th Ed, Prentice Hall, Harlow, England

Collis, D.J. (1994) “How Valuable are Organizational Capabilities” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 15, Special Issue: Competitive Organisational Behaviour, pp. 143-152.

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Within text referencing for a book:

(Surname, date of publication)

(Surname, date of publication, page number)

Corresponding Reference List:

Surname, Initial (year of publication) “Title of document/webpage/book’ Publisher, place published

Surname, Initial (year of publication) “Title of document/webpage/book’ Publisher, place published, page numbers

Referencing Books

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Referencing Books

Within text referencing for a journal paper:

(Surname, date of publication)

(Atkinson, 2011)

(Surname, date of publication, page number)

(Atkinson, 2011, p.12)

Corresponding Reference List:

Surname, Initial (year of publication) “Title of Journal Paper” Title of Journal Published in, Volume number, issue number, page numbers

ATKINSON, D. (2011) “Dynamic Capabilities: Implications for Marketing Strategy Formulation” Journal of Marketing Management, Vol, 3, Issue 1, pages 2- 21

Referencing

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Within Text Referencing for web information:

There are a number of definitions for web analytics (Peterson, 2004)

Corresponding Reference List

Peterson, E. (2004) “Web Analytics Demystified” Found at http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/content/books.asp accessed on 2nd May, 2012 at 11.03am

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Referencing

Within Text Referencing: Direct Quote

“Web analytics can have a variety of definitions” (Peterson, 2004, p.5)

Corresponding Reference List

Peterson, E. (2004) “Web Analytics Demystified” Found at http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/content/books.asp accessed on 2nd May, 2012 at 11.03am, p. 2 to 20.

Within Text Referencing: for a web page

(BBC, 2012)

Corresponding Reference List

BBC (2007) “Global banking scandals: Who is under scrutiny?” Found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19323954, accessed on 30th October at 14.21

Referencing

Referencing

et al.,

Within text:Teece et al. (1997)

List all authors the first time within the text then use ‘et al.’ afterwards

For reference list all authors surnames:

Teece, D. J., Pisano, G. and Shuen, A. (1997) “Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management.” Strategic Management Journal. Vol. 18, pp. 509-533.

Essential work for next week

• Please consult the OLE for details of:– Essential readings*

– Seminar/workshop preparation work*

– Recommended further readings

– Any additional learning

* Essential readings and preparation work must always be completed in time for the next session

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End of presentation

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