Literature review

Review of the Related Literature

Organizing & Writing a Literature Review

KIN 515 Gap Analysis

Dr. Andy Van Neutegem

What is a Good Literature Review?

• A good literature review:

• Includes a clear research question or purpose• Makes an argument for the necessity of your research

and/or service, program, etc.• Explains methods and theories if review is to be used

for a larger study or program• Describes search methodology

- databases, search terms, etc.• Is thorough (include classic studies and a range of

literature, not just studies that make your point) • Is well-organized, clear and concise

What is a Literature Review?

A Literature Review is a way to:

Compare studies and know “what’s out there” on a specific topic

Analytically examine existing body of research Identify an article that documents a particular

fact Bring order to an abundance of information

spread across too many places

The Literature Review is…

• A discussion of your knowledge about the topic under study

• A discussion of your knowledge that is supported by the research literature

• A foundation for the study

Why do a Literature Review ?

• Give your work credibility

• Put your work in context and know what work others have done

• Discover ‘best practices’ & ‘worst nightmares’

• Fulfill intellectual and personal curiosities

The Literature Review is not…

• A study-by-study, or article-by-article, description of studies previously done

• A re-statement of the studies previously done

• A brief overview of articles

Steps in a Literature Review

1. Establish research focus2. Identify where to search 3. Select appropriate search terms4. Use ‘operators’ and ‘wildcards’5. Organize research history6. Determine relevant literature7. Analyze, Synthesize and Summarize evidence into a report

Reviewing the Literature

Literature Review

Reviewing the Literature vs. ‘The Literature Review’


1. Begin with a search of the available literature

2. Critically analyze each article (study) you select

3. Organize the review with an outline

4. Summarize the review5. Write the review6. Using the literature,

present a rationale for your study

Data Evaluation: Selecting literature

• Read widely• When you read for your literature review, you are actually

doing two things at the same time:1. Trying to define your research problem: finding a gap, asking a

question, continuing previous research, counter-claiming

2. Trying to read every source relevant to your research problem

• It is usually impossible to do the latter− you will need to identify the most relevant and

significant works and focus on them.

Organizing the Literature Search:the Tree Diagram

subtopic

Topic

subtopic

subtopic

subtopic

subtopic

subtopic

subtopic

Tree Diagram Example

Decision-makingIn sport

Visual Cortex

ExerciseOrganize your subtopics in a sequence that would support the most general topic to the most specific sub-topic related to research focus and/or question. List them below.

General Sub-topic

Research Focus

Foundational Sub-topic

Exercise #1Organize your subtopics in a sequence that would support the most general topic to the most specific sub-topic related to research focus and/or question. Be sure to state your research question.List them below.

Intersecting Areas of Literature

BODY PIERCING

▪

TEENAGERS

▪

RITES OF PASSAGE

▪

FOUCAULT

▪

▪ background literature

moderate relevance

high relevance

highest relevance

Critically Analyzing the Literature

Abstractthe author’s description of

the studyrelated to your area of

interest?conclusions relevant?

Statement of the Problemrestate the topicproblem stated clearly?purpose?significance?

Hypothesis or Research Question(s)Clearly stated?Relevant?Related to your

area of interest?

AssumptionsExplicit

assumptions?Implicit

assumptionsSimilar to yours?


Methodresearch design?population &

sample?measurement?procedures?

Findingsmake sense?what do they say

about your area of interest?

DiscussionPresented clearly?Meaningful interpretations?Implications discussed?Suggestions or

recommendations?Limits to practical

application?

ConclusionWhat did you learn?Re-state your new knowledge


DelimitationsHow was the study

narrowed?Which considerations

are relevant to your study?

DefinitionsKey concepts &

terms?

Canadian National Sport Organizations’ Use of the Web for Relationship Marketing in Promoting Sport

Participation ( Girginov et al. 2009)

International Journal of Sport Communication

Sport-participation development requires a systematic process involving knowledge creation and dissemination and interactions between national sport organizations (NSOs), participants, clubs, and associations, as well as other agencies. Using a rela tionship-marketing approach (Grönroos, 1997, Gummesson, 2002, Olkkonen, 1999), this article addresses the question, How do Canadian NSOs use the Web, in terms of functionality and services offered, to create and maintain relationships with sport participants and their sport-delivery partners? Ten Canadian NSOs’ Web sites were examined. Functionality was analyzed using Burgess and Cooper’s (2000) eMICA model, and NSOs’ use of the Internet to establish and maintain relationships with sport participants was analyzed using Wang, Head, and Archer’s (2000) relationship-building process model for the Web. It was found that Canadian NSOs were receptive to the use of the Web, but their information-gathering and -dissemination activities, which make up the relationship-building process, appear sparse and in some cases are lagging behind the voluntary sector in the country.

Exercise #2Review of Abstract

•Using the sample abstract

Review the abstract and answer the questions below:

1. What were the issues discussed by the researchers?

2. What methods did they use?

3. What were the results?

4. Are there any missing or inadequate topics?

Step 3: Organizing Your Review of the Literature / Summarize the Review

Document your search process:

• Keep record of all materials examined • Keep a record of all Web searches • Set a bookmark of the Universal Resource Locator(URL) for

commonly used web sites• Record key words used for electronic searches • Print home pages of the web sites • Photocopy journal articles, book chapters and other materials• Organize information using a “Review Matrix”

Example of a Review Matrix

Author, Title, Journal

Year of Publication

Purpose

Type of Study Design

? ?

Journal article

2004 Drug counselling for youth

Experimental study

Journal article

2006 Long-term care for the elderly

Cross-sectional survey

What other categories could be included in a Review Matrix?

Reviewing the Literature1. Begin with a search of the

available literature2. Critically analyze each

article (study) you select3. Organize the review with

an outline4. Summarize the review5. Write the review6. Analyze/Synthesize &

Summarize- Using the literature, present a rationale for your study

Analyze, Synthesize & Summarize Evidence

into a Report

• Briefly summarize findings• Synthesize literature by identifying common

themes• Differentiate b/w what is “known” and “not

known”• Identify topics of debate• Evaluate and analyze findings• Identify relevance of data to your research

project

• Remember: Reference all citations & create a bibliography

Writing the Literature Review

Always begin with an introduction to the review & end with a summary

Make the connection for the reader between the subtopics & the topic

Use direct quotations infrequently

Always cite your sources

Present your knowledge on the topics & subtopics

Summarize each subtopic

Include a transition paragraph/sentence from one subtopic to the next

Introduction to the lit review General information to ‘hook’ the reader Content - what is covered Structure - how it is organized Boundaries - what is outside of its scope

Body of the Lit ReviewSECTION 1The most important topic or a key concept discussed and evaluated summarized and related to your research

project

ConclusionFrom each of the section summaries, highlight the most relevant points relate these back to the need for research reiterate what these mean for the research

design

Organization of the Literature Review

SECTION 2The next most important topic or a key concept discussed and evaluated summarized and related to

your research project

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS Follow the same pattern

(Golden-Biddle & Locke, 1997)

· Reiterate the research problem· Introduce the subtopics

Introduction

Example paragraph 1

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of organizational beliefs influencing homophobia in sport. Specifically, this research addresses the question as to whether sport organizations engender such beliefs through policy inadequacies.

· Organizational Beliefs

Example paragraph 2

Organizing the Literature Review

Structuring Your Literature ReviewMain Body

Broad topic-based articles supporting the focus of research and foundation to why this is a relevant topic.

Focus on 2-3 dominant research articles that lead this area. Either quite new or very established research.

1-2 main research articles that underpin or drive your research question(s). You could be posing a question as an extension of these articles or addressing a gap.

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Writing your Literature Review

Writing a good review requires you to:– read a few good reviews – write critical annotations– develop a structure – write purposefully – use the literature to back up your arguments – review and write throughout the research process – get feedback – and be prepared to redraft

ExampleAthlete Identity: Career Planning and Life Skills

Although career retirement as a transition is one of the few certainties in an athletic career, athletes often fail to plan for retirement. Crook and Robertson (1991) suggest that there is a reluctance by elite athletes to discuss retirement while athletes are actively competing and coaches are particularly resistant to retirement preparation, fearing that it will detract from their concentration on sport. This reluctance may also be related to fear. According to Orlick (1980) the thought of entering an employment environment other than sport, where their talents may be of little use, frightens athletes. The thought of starting at the bottom of a field, years behind their peers, leaves athletes frustrated and with a loss of self-esteem. Orlick (1980) suggests that the athlete needs to prepare for retirement through positive actions such as education, career training and alternative leisure pursuits. However, Blinde and Stratta (1992) suggest that normal career planning can be ineffective and possibly counterproductive to the athlete’s unexpected exit from sport. In their study of 20 intercollegiate athletes deselected from teams, they found that premature termination minimised the effect of anticipatory socialisation developed through the traditional three or four year cycle of college sport participation.

The ability to plan and prepare for retirement is also closely linked with athletic identity. Murphy et al. (1996) found an inverse relationship between athletic identity and career maturity, with a tendency for student-athletes high in athletic identity to have minimal career decision skills. This was further corroborated by Grove et al. (1997) in a study that tested 48 Australian national/international athletes in terms of their identity profile and questioned their adjustment to retirement from top level sport. It was found that athletic identity at the time of retirement was positively correlated with anxiety about career exploration and negatively correlated with pre-retirement training for elite athletes. Thus, the athlete with the greater affiliation to their athletic identity is more likely to suffer maladaptive behaviour in the career decision making process. The often single-minded pursuit of excellence that accompanies elite sports has potential psychological and social dangers. The narrow focus and high investment in a single goal may lead to restricted development and an ability to cope with transition issues.

Dacyshyn (1997) suggested that career planning may not be the central issue for all athletes making the transition out of sport. Dacyshyn (1997) through interviewing several elite gymnasts from a Canadian university reconstructed their experience of transition within and from elite sport. She suggested that the single mindedness of athletes with a narrow identity may counteract the development of personal management skills with regards to setting one’s own goals in other areas of life, determining and planning activities of interest, as well as choosing and managing personal relations. Athletes are often encouraged to remain dependent on sport administrators and coaches for decision-making. The decision when to train, how to train, where to live, and even how to live are typical decisions taken away from the athlete, all in the name of elite sport. According to Dacyshyn, transition problems will always exist if a sport system maintains this ‘win at all costs’ attitude to athlete development. Koukouris (1991) found similar concerns within the Greek sport system. He reported that one of the biggest problems in Greek sport is the mal-administration which leads to conflict between athlete and coach. He suggested that that the exclusion of athletes from decision-making, blatant discrimination between favored and non-favored athletes, and interference by administrators in selection of teams, has led to elite athletes becoming disengaged from sport and adapting poorly to a life after sport.

Exercise #3

1. How many research articles were cited?

2. How many different researchers?

3. Identify two different perspectives in this section?

4. Identify where two researchers agreed?

5. How did the lit review link to the research focus/question?

Activity #11. Select/research one journal article that you have found

related to one of your sub-topic

2. Use the Review Matric found in the powerpoint to organize the information in the journal article.

3. Write on the sub-topic using the journal article that you have and focus on sentences that complete the following sentences:

i. The article from xxxxxx (1234) is linked to the research topic because….

ii. The study involved……

iii. The key findings from xxxxx (1234) are…..

iv. These findings are similar/different to aaaaa (4567) who found…..

v. From the findings of these two articles it is clear that…..

Literature review

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