The primary purpose of this assignment is to help you understand that the literature review is an integral part of any research project and how it lays the groundwork for the investigation you will do. Quoting from Hart (1998, p 13), Sekaran and Bougie (2013) define a literature review as, the selection of available documents (both published and unpublished) on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed.
They go on to say, A literature review is a step-by-step process that involves the identification of published and unpublished work from secondary data sources on the topic of interest, the evaluation of this work in relation to the problem, and the documentation of the work.
An annotated bibliography on a topic that you selected. That assignment required you to find at least 10 sources of various types, write a short summary of the information found in each source, and write an evaluation of the source's credibility, reliability, currency, possible bias, and usefulness with respect to your topic.
Assignment, complete the following.
• Go through your annotated bibliography again.
• Based on information presented in your annotated bibliography sources (and others if needed), define a problem statement that, in your opinion, would be useful for you to investigate.
• Organize your sources by sorting and classifying their findings in a meaningful way, always considering your original topic and problem statement.
• Write a literature review that would seem to offer the greatest potential for developing a good theoretical framework, using seven to ten references. All of these can be from your annotated bibliography, or you can use others in addition to those in your annotated bibliography.
• Develop the theoretical framework incorporating its three basic functions as discussed in the text.
• Generate a set of testable hypotheses based on the theoretical framework.
Your report must contain the sections outlined below. APA formatting standards must be followed throughout. The paper does not have to be lengthy; perhaps 750 to 1500 words. The introduction, research question, and hypothesis statement sections should be short and succinct. Most of the word count in your report will be in the literature review and theoretical framework sections. For an example of the content of a report, see Report 3 on page 374 of the Sekaran and Bougie text.
• Introduction
In this section, give a clear and concise statement of the problem. Briefly indicate why it is a problem, why you selected it, and why it is important to solve the problem. Use references as necessary to support your arguments.
• Literature Review
This should be one of the longer sections in your report. It should summarize other work related to the problem you identified. It should identify important variables and document significant findings from earlier research. According to Sekaran and Bougie (2013), it should:
...convince the reader that (1) the researcher is knowledgeable about the problem area and has done the preliminary homework that is necessary to conduct the research, and (2) a theoretical framework (in deductive research) will be structured on work already done and will add to the solid foundation of existing knowledge.
Unlike the annotated bibliography, the literature review is not a listing of sources with a summary of the findings of each and a critique of the findings. The literature review, "should bring together all relevant information in a cogent and logical manner" (Sekaran & Bougie, p. 55). Read through the examples on pages 37-38, 88-89, and 374-375 to see how a literature review should be structured.
• Research Question
This should be a brief section with a clear and concise statement of your question. It should be clear to the reader that your question is a logical outgrowth of previous research as summarized in your literature review.