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p 13), Sekaran and Bougie (2013) define a literature review as,the selection of available documents (both published and unpublished) on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the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. (p. 49)
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A literature review is a step-by-step process that involves the identification of published and unpublished work from secondary data sources on the topic of interest, the evaluation of this work in relation to the problem, and the documentation of the work. (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013, p. 50)
In Module 1, you completed 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.
This assignment builds on your annotated bibliography assignment. For the topic you chose for your Module 1 Annotated Bibliography 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. (p. 55)
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.
• Theoretical Framework
This section applies to deductive research. It should be one of the longer sections in your report. According to Sekaran and Bougie:
The relationship between the literature review and the theoretical framework is that the former provides a solid foundation for developing the latter. That is, the literature review identifies the variables that might be important, as determined by previous research findings. ....
The theoretical framework represents and elaborates the relationships among the variables, explains the theory underlying these relations, and describes the nature and direction of the relationships. (p. 77)
• Hypotheses
This brief section should contain a clear and concise statement of your hypothesis or hypotheses. The hypotheses should be a logical outgrowth of the theoretical framework. "Hypotheses can be defined as logically conjectured relationships between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statements" (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013, p. 83).
• References
Your report must contain a reference section that includes all sources in your paper. References must be in APA format.
As you work on this assignment, read Chapters 4 and 5 of the Sekaran and Bougie text. Also read through the examples of a literature review on pages 37-38 and pages 88-89. Report 3 on page 374 of the text gives an example of a full report of this style.
You may find it helpful to outline your paper before you begin to write it. An outline helps you see the logical connections (or lack thereof) among the parts of the paper. Following is a suggested outline with a simple example:
• Introduction (setting up the discussion)
o The problem is ... [people are carrying onto airplanes more and more luggage, resulting in delays in boarding and continued problems for flight attendants and gate agents]
o It's important because ... [the airline industry is vital to the economy; no one likes delays; customers must not abandon airline travel for other options]
o Solving it would result in ... [improved customer experience, resulting in better economic stability for the airlines]
• Literature Review (what has already been ‘said' in this ‘conversation')
o Previous research in this area has shown ...
Ideas that keep coming up in articles and other sources are ... [the desire to carry on is driven by several factors: security of personal valuables, convenience, baggage charges, fear of lost luggage and wait time at arrival airport]
• Pros and cons [how these sources support and/or contradict each other]
Solutions explored so far include ... [size and number limits, baggage fees, improved tracking of luggage]
o Summary of lit review findings (where we are now with this problem)
Researchers seem to keep trying to ... [find solutions focused on limits to plane's carry-on capacity and reducing fear of lost luggage]
• Research Question (what new question/solution will be investigated)
o What would happen if ... [customer time were the focus of improvement, specifically, if promptness of delivery to carousel at arrival were improved? How important is it to customers that their baggage arrive quickly at the pickup point?]
• Theoretical Framework (how the question arises logically from the literature review)
o The dependent variable(s) is/are ... [delays in boarding, problems for flight attendants and gate agents, others....]
o The independent variable(s) is/are ... [amount of carry-on baggage]
• Hypotheses (what testable speculations arise from the identified independent variables)
o Customers who are confident that their bags will arrive at the carousel for pickup within 10 minutes of exiting the plane will be more likely to check baggage rather than carry it on.
o Customers who value quick pickup of luggage upon arrival will be more likely to check baggage rather than carry it on.
A draft of this assignment is due in Module 3. Your instructor will provide you with feedback on your work and you will be able to revise it and turn in the final version in Module 5.
Take advantage of this opportunity! The purpose of the draft is to give you an opportunity to get feedback from your instructor prior to writing your final version - the draft isn't expected to be perfect. It will be graded, and will count 2% of your final course grade.
A good grade on the draft means that you submitted it on time; your instructor feels that you put good effort into it, and that it addresses the required topics. The final version that is due in Module 5 will be subject to much more stringent grading criteria.
That means it is possible that you could receive a higher grade on a draft than on the corresponding portion of the final complete proposal.