Why Reviewing Literature for a Research Project Is Important

¶ … advance greater understanding of the research subject/topic is evident upon completion of the review. Literature consists of all the information that researches have contributed to a field of study in the past and can go back many years to give the student a deeper knowledge of how research has developed and evolved over the years.

By looking at it in this way, the student can put together a picture in his mind of how a subject has come to be better understood because of all the work and studies that other researchers have contributed to the pool of knowledge that is the body of literature on that subject (Adams, 2007). The best sources of information for conducting a literature review are those found in academic or scholarly journal databases either online or in university libraries.

These can be found using keyword searches in online databases such as Questia or JSTOR or PsychInfo or PubMed or various other databases that store particular studies related to subjects. These studies can then generate additional leads to other authors: they can be found by looking in the article's reference list or bibliography. Or sometimes the database online will suggest other articles that pertain to a similar theme.

Keywords can also generate a list of similar articles on a certain field and the studies themselves can offer new ideas to use as keyword searches (Ernst et al., 2007). The importance of a review as a research component to investigate a problem is that it helps the researcher know what has been done in the past and what remains to be studied in the present. The researcher should attempt to fill gaps left by previous research or else should attempt to verify the findings of a previous study.

A literature review can be useful in helping a research student see in which direction he should go. Discussion Topic 2: (1page) The Statement of the Problem can be recapped this way: leadership is vital to organizational success; therefore, understanding the best management style for an organization and its workplace culture is an essential step in establishing a company's success. Because there are many different styles of leadership, it can be difficult to assess which one would be most effective.

Sanders (2006) shows that likeability in management is a major factor in determining how effective an organization will be. It is Sanders' contention that the best organizational principle is one in which management engages and identifies the needs and wants of workers and helps to motivate and boost morale through positive energy that is understood and perceived as being likeable by the workers.

Likewise, Schyns and Schilling (2013) show that bad management can have a very negative impact on organizational success because it produces resentment, bitterness and a lack of productivity in the organization. These two authors show that in management, it is important to show a positive leadership style that puts workers first and seeks to make everyone feel welcome and valued as well as on task for contributing to the attainment of the company's goals.

For this reason, a study that focuses on how positive energy can be produced by managers in a workplace organization would facilitate understanding of how managers.