CHAPTER TWO-LITERATURE REVIEW

THE CONCEPT OF LITERATURE REVIEW

 This is an important aspect of any research work and no meaningful research can be
conducted without a thorough literature review.
 Its purpose is to situate the topic under study within the existing body of literature.
 According to Nkpa (1997), cited in NOUN (2022), literature review is “the systematic
study of all existing works that are relevant to the research work. It is concerned with
locating, reading, evaluating, and citing reports of related research”.
 Ali (2016) described literature review as the careful and systematic identification and or
location, documentation, analysis and reporting of information which are relevant,
related, and useful to the present study.
 In other words, it means making an extensive searching, reading and assessment of all
available materials written and related to the problem under investigation. It could also
involve some consultations with colleagues, lecturers, supervisors, known experts in the
area of study as well as the library and internet sources so as to identify sources from
which review information can be obtained.
 Literature review is a documentation of information, relevant and useful to one’s
proposed area of study. It is an exercise that identifies, locates, and evaluates previous
works, opinions, comments, and observations in the area of one’s work.
 It is also a systematic and critical review of what others have done in related areas to
one’s work.
 It is a careful examination of a body of literature pointing towards the answer to one’s
research questions/sub problems.
 It attempts to establish knowledge gaps and to close them.
 According to Blog (2019), the literature in any field forms the foundation upon which all
future works will be built.
 Literature review is not a mere listing of who is who in the area of study but presenting
the main findings of researchers in the specific aspects of knowledge which relate to the
present work.
 There must be coordination and coherence in the presentation of the findings of earlier
writers in the area of study.
 The opinion of the author about the findings of earlier writers must be summarized here
and also point out the relatedness to the present work.
 The focus of the present work should be highlighted as a continuation of earlier efforts.
Essence and Significance of Literature Review
 i. it is very important during data analysis
 ii. It enables one to keep abreast of the vast and complex developments in one's
specialized field.
 iii. Most Research work involves substantial use of published literature to find out
obscure facts.
  iv. An extensive literature would enable the researcher to accumulate sufficient
knowledge on the past and current status of his work as this will better his understanding
of how to go about his work and the researcher will become more confident in
himself/herself.
 v. Literature review would also enable the researcher to know the missing gaps in one’s
area of study, that is, identifying possible gaps in the research. This would allow the
researcher to know the areas already covered and areas yet to be covered.
 vi. It allows the identification of researchable topics in the process. The idea of
complaining on the topics to work on will be a thing of the past if one can do extensive
review.
 Vii. Review of literature would help to show the relationship between the present work
and past researches. It would also allow the researcher to know the scope of the past
works as this will help the new researcher to choose his own scope.
 viii. Literature review would also allow for the refining of research questions and
hypotheses.
 ix. It provides possible research design and methodology.
 x. It provides a backdrop for discussing the result of the study.
 Xi. Helps the researcher to avoid repetition and duplication of what is already known
Reasons for Carrying Out a Survey of the Literature
- i. As part of the process of topic selection, that is, to identify and limit the research problem. –
ii. To inform the researcher what has been done so far, of the previous works in his/her proposed
field and those allied to it.
- iii. To provide possible research design and methodology.
-iv. To provide suggestion for possible modification in the research which may produce
unanticipated difficulties.
-v. To identify possible gaps in the research.
- vi. To provide a backdrop for interpreting the result of the study.
Organising and writing the Literature Review section
 literature review should be organised logically.
 An introductory paragraph should be given, followed by presentation of the data from the
different sources.
 Start from a global level and narrow down to the local level
 one may use sub questions/sub problems to present literature
 Literature gathered may be voluminous at first and the researcher has to edit and reduce it
to a reasonable length
 compare and contrast 2 or more sources for each research question
  analyse or interrogate the literature and establish A GAP
 lastly consolidate the findings and state the purpose of the current study, which is filling
the gap.
Steps in Literature search
 Select an initial keyword or subject as a basis for searching and then scan books and
journals. This will lead to the discovery of further keywords and to new literatures not
directly related to that dealing with the initial subject. Each of these will in turn suggest
further subject headings under which to search.
 Literature searches typically involve the followings: a) The generation of a number of
alternative subjects/key words. b) Deciding which subjects to pursue. c) Deciding which
subjects to abandon. d) Deciding when sufficient effort has been put in for the purpose at
hand so that the process can be (temporarily) halted.
 In the generation of alternative subjects, the researcher can restrict his/her efforts to
looking at three sources of ideas. You will save a lot of time by first reading through the
abstract and/or summary of any referenced material. This will enable you to quickly
ascertain the relevance of the materials.
 Lastly, organise and write-up all the insights you received while reading. This should be
a critical appraisal of the state of the art in the area of investigation.
Criteria for selecting review materials
 a good researcher must embark on the following:
 Note the relevance to the existing knowledge to the topic under study.
 Consult the most recent references first. (5 years and below). This will help
you to save time, get the most recent materials and avoid redundant and
unnecessary materials.
Sources of Literature Review
 Abstracts
 Authoritative data bases and primary sources
 Audio and video recordings
 Current affairs
 scholarly books
 Seminar papers
 Journals
 Reports/Occasional papers (often more up to date).
 Theses and Dissertations (particularly to avoid unnecessary duplication and therefore to
make particular contribution to knowledge)
 Government publications (a major secondary data source)
 Newspapers and magazines
 Researches in Education (RIE)
  Computer Searches (internet)
*NB The internet should be used scholarly, researchers should avoid the use of Wikipedia,
instead google scholar or library guides should be consulted in search of data bases which will
avail free journals. Google sources should be authentic having the publication or authority.
*avoid using AI as your source because some of the information is not correct.
The 5Cs
 Literature review should strive to do the following:
 Cite (relevant and current sources)
-this is the stage where the researcher presents findings from previous studies.
-Focus should be on who carried out the study, when the studies were carried out, the
methodology used and the findings of the studies.
 Compare the sources
-comparing means finding similarities between the cited sources
 Contrast the sources
-this involves finding differences between the cited sources
 Critic the sources
-this is the stage where the researcher brings out the limitations of previous studies which then
becomes the gap to be filled by the current study.
 Conclude the review
-the researcher must tie all the loose ends by stating the way forward
Chapter summary
-summarizes what was covered in the chapter