How to Conduct a Literature Review in Educational Research

Purpose of the Literature Review

The literature review is an important part of any study. Without it, there is no background to the issue, and it becomes more difficult to understand what has come before and what other researchers have found regarding the topic. In order to avoid this problem, the literature review must be comprehensive and address all of the relevant issues that will serve as the focus and background of the paper (Reed, 1998). What others have said on the same subject becomes very important when the current study is examined, as it allows the information collected and analyzed by the researcher to be compared with what has already been done. This comparison helps determine whether the current study yields similar findings or whether something new or different has been discovered (Reed, 1998).

New discoveries can lead to a re-examination of literature that has already been written on the topic, and having background knowledge of what others have found regarding the same issue can help steer the researcher toward the questions that should be asked and answered, as well as the hypotheses that will need to be addressed. Even if the researcher chooses to explore something new, there will undoubtedly be portions of the literature review that provide some background on at least part of the issue in question, or on similar issues that must be addressed. This furthers the understanding of both the researcher and those who examine the subject in the future (Reed, 1998). It is with this in mind that the review of the literature focuses on key areas important to the current study, allowing the researcher to be aware of the direction the study needs to take.

There is a specific process that is usually followed to conduct a literature review, though some individuals modify that process to suit their own needs and abilities, which is generally acceptable within certain parameters. In order to conduct a high-quality literature review, the researcher must be very clear on what the research question actually is. Without knowing what is being studied, the researcher may flounder when searching for literature. Once this has been addressed, the researcher will begin the often time-consuming process of locating sources. Having access to the Internet and academic databases makes a significant difference in how much literature can be found and how quickly, but library research is frequently still necessary.

Process for Conducting a Literature Review

When the researcher has gathered all of the sources — both online and from the library — that he or she wishes to use, the next step is to read these sources carefully and determine what portions of each will be useful (Reed, 1998). Some researchers mark pages with bookmarks, some take notes and compile bibliographies as they read, and some use note cards; there are many different approaches to this stage of the research process. After this has been completed, the researcher moves on to the actual writing of the literature review, which should be relatively straightforward if the prior steps have been carried out thoroughly.

Identifying high-quality and appropriate sources can be very difficult for the inexperienced researcher, but there are ways to help individuals determine whether a source is reliable. Generally, standard .com websites have questionable reliability unless they belong to a specific and widely recognized outlet such as CNN or Time magazine. Websites ending in .gov or .org are better choices for legitimate information. There are also academic database services where books, magazines, journal articles, and newspapers can be read online. Library sources are usually legitimate, but researchers must be careful to verify that books and journals are not fictionalized accounts of historical periods or other topics. Paying close attention to where sources come from is the key to ensuring that the sources used are appropriate (Cooper, 1984).

Ensuring that sources are reliable can also be a challenging task, but reliability can be more easily assessed by answering some straightforward questions. Many studies do not encounter significant difficulty with either reliability or validity. The reason for this is that the data often comes from sources that are closely connected to the issue and is largely based on the opinions and beliefs of those who feel there is a need for the service or product being examined. As a result, these studies tend to be largely qualitative rather than quantitative, with the quantitative component usually limited to issues such as costs.