Research Methodology:

Literature review & academic writingThe cornerstones of any research study undertaken.

By Juan-Pierré Bruwer

The literature review.

Literature review sources.

Academic referencing.

Academic English.

The logical thread.

What not to do.

Conclusion.

Table of contents

The literature review

Collis and Hussey (2009:91-92) explain that the

literature review refers to the reviewing of all

secondary data sources that are relevant to a

particular research study. Remenyi, Williams,

Money and Swartz (2009:65) further state that any

literature reviewed can be categorised as either

„new information‟ or „old information‟. „Old

information‟ refers to information that is older than

five years (background) while „new information‟ is

regarded as information which is younger than

five years (current status).

Literature review sources

A range of sources exist where researchers can

obtain literature to review (relating to their

research title and research problem), namely that

of accredited journal articles, journal articles, old

dissertations and/or theses, journal articles,

Government gazettes, conference papers, books,

lectures, professional magazines, professional

websites, newspaper articles, general websites

and general magazines.

Literature review sources

Accredited journal articles (100% integrity)

Literature from these sources are very reliable as these

published articles were published with the motivation of

„financial incentives‟.

Accredited DoHET journal articles allows for an inflow of

approximately R120,000 for a registered tertiary institution.

An example of such a source is evident at

http://www.academicjournals.org/ajbm/PDF/pdf2012/18A

pril/Bruwer.pdf

Literature review sources

Journal articles (100% integrity)

Literature from these sources are also very reliable as the

only difference between such articles and the latter is that

there were no motivation through means of „financial

incentives‟.

Journal articles are very similar to that of accredited journal

articles.

Literature review sources

Old dissertations and/or theses (100% - 95% integrity)

These manuscripts were written by Master- and/or Doctoral

students. Hence the information that is contained inside

these sources are quite relevant and helpful.

Just be weary not to reference from too old dissertations

and/or theses as old literature might become redundant.

Such sources can be obtained from the library of tertiary

institutions.

Literature review sources

Government gazettes (90% - 85% integrity)

These sources are documents that are regarded as current

and/or provisional Legislation (Green papers, White papers,

Acts, etc.). Such literature sources are directly available

from Government (www.gov.za) or Law-orientated

websites (e.g. www.legalish.co.za). All in all this literature

source is very reliable.

Literature review sources

Conference papers (90% - 80% integrity)

Conference papers are research papers (like journal

articles) that were presented by means of a formal

presentation in front of an audience, at a formal research

conference. Such research papers are drawn up by all

types of researchers in order to „bounce‟ their ideas off the

audience and/or to share their relevant findings. All in all,

such conference papers are very reliable.

Conference papers can be obtained from Research

Conference Organisers and or Professional Organisations

that host such Research Conferences.

Literature review sources

Books (75% - 70% integrity)

Books are written or printed work, consisting of a number of

pages. The best example of a book is that of a textbook.

Books entail information on a special area of focus

however they tend to become „out-dated‟ very rapidly

due to newer technology being researched every day.

Hence although knowledge in books can become „out

dated‟, books are still quite reliable.

Books can be viewed at the library, Google books, online,

etc.

Literature review sources

Lectures (70% - 65% integrity)

Lectures can be described as educational talks to students

that form part of an audience with the lecturer (speaker)

as „host‟. Specifically during lectures knowledge is

transferred from the „speaker‟ to the „audience‟, based on

prescribed notes and the insight of the „speaker‟. During

such sessions, students are allowed to take down and/or

record (with permission) what is being discussed for later

usage. Lectures on specific subjects can only be attended

provided that such a student enrolled for that specific

subject.

Literature review sources

Professional magazines (65% - 60% integrity)

These sources are periodicals that contain specialist

information on a niche area, which are published

frequently (normally on a monthly basis). Examples of such

magazines include: The Entrepreneur, Succeed, The

Internal Auditor, etc. Essentially magazines be obtained

from a professional body (e.g. IIA, CIMA, etc.), leading

book stores or at a University library.

Literature review sources

Professional websites (60% - 55% integrity)

A website can be defined as a combination of web-pages

hosted on the World Wide Web. Professional websites are

regarded as websites of professional bodies such as the

Institute of Internal Auditors, The Institute of Certified

Bookkeepers, Institute of Chartered Accountants, etc.

Since these professional bodies continuously strive to

improve the Business realm, the information evident on their

websites is deemed as reliable, however these websites do

not always cater for „academic insight‟.

Literature review sources

Newspaper articles (45% - 40% integrity)

A newspaper article is evident in leading newspapers such

as Cape Argus, Die Burger, Cape Times, IOL, News 24, etc.

Due to the fact that news published by the media can be

on blatant „hear-say‟, the reliability thereof is not as reliable

as other literature sources.

Literature review sources

General websites (35% - 30% integrity)

General websites are almost the same as that of

professional websites, however they are not as reliable as

the latter. Due to the ever increasing popularity and user-

friendly access to the internet, almost any entity can

create their own website and for this reason, information

evident on general websites is deemed as less reliable.

Literature review sources

General magazines (10% - 0% integrity)

Almost, as in the case of professional magazines, general

magazines are periodicals, but contain general information

which is published frequently (normally on a weekly basis).

Examples of such magazines include: You, Huis Genoot,

Drum, etc.

Essentially these magazines provide very unreliable

information due to the fact that they normally contain

irrelevant information with limited (if any) facts.

Literature review sources

A researcher should ensure that literature

reviewed does have suitable integrity. This is

measured by means of information (inside) that is:

Factual (Truthful)

Relevant (Relate to the study)

Understandable (Makes sense - language)

Logical (Makes sense - validity)

Reliable (Trustworthy)

Traceable (Can be referenced appropriately)

Academic referencing

Academic referencing refers to the action of

acknowledging authors of original sources of information or

ideas, whether reproduced exactly, paraphrased or

summarised (Collis and Hussey, 2009:96). If a researcher fails

to give such adequate recognition, it is known as

„plagiarism‟ – A criminal offence which is punishable by

Law. In order to avoid plagiarism, it is essential for a

researcher to understand the fundamentals of academic

referencing.

The Harvard Referencing Style is generally used by tertiary

institutions (unless otherwise stated). A free guide to

Harvard referencing is evident on the website of Bruwer

Research Solutions (Research tools).

Academic English

Academic writing entails that a researcher

adopts a certain style of writing that is commonly

used and accepted when conducting research.

Essentially this style of writing requires a

researchers to become „objective‟ from what

was read by only mentioning the facts found as

opposed to showing empathy.

Academic English

Watkins (2008:119) provides the following helpful guideline

to academic English:

Bruwer (2012) is of the opinion that …

Bruwer (2012) stated that …

Bruwer (2012) mentioned that …

Bruwer (2012) found that …

Bruwer (2012) avers that …

Bruwer (2012) expresses the view that …

Bruwer (2012) suggests that …

Bruwer (2012) asserts that …

Academic English

Bruwer (2012) points to the fact that …

Bruwer (2012) noted that …

Bruwer (2012) intonates that …

Bruwer (2012) explains that …

It is of paramount importance that a researcher

comes to grips with academic English as soon as

possible, since any research study is dependent in

the writing quality of the researcher self.

What not to do

Do NOT …

Reference from Wikipedia.

Reference from Yahoo-answers.

Copy and paste words.

Copy and paste words with “inverted commas”.

Reference from conversations with family or friends.

Write powerful sentences with no references.

The logical thread

While writing there should be a „logical thread‟

evident in every section of a research project. This

phenomenon can be explained by basing it on

the art of knitting. The art of knitting involves a

couple of elements, namely a balls of yarn

(different colours), two knitting pins, knitting

pattern and the actual piece being knitted.

Throughout any knitting project, the yarn being

used is interconnected to all areas of the actual

piece being knitted (see Figure 1).

The logical thread

Figure 1: The art of knitting

Throughout any knitting project, the yarn being

used is interconnected to all areas of the actual

piece being knitted (see Figure 1).

The logical thread

The elements of the „logical thread‟ can be

compared to that evident in the art of knitting in

the following way:

Balls of yarn Literature review, analyses, etc.

Two knitting pins Logic and Insight (gained from reading).

Knitting pattern Logic Model, Research Proposal, etc.

Piece being knitted Final report, conference paper, etc.

With every piece of yarn being knitted there is a „thread‟

that is interconnected with all components of the research

project at hand.

Conclusion

The literature review plays an essential role in the

research process as it provides substantial

information to a researcher on a specific topic

that relates to a practical research problem.

By understanding and implementing the

essentials of the literature review, the quality of

the respected research project will enhance

tremendously. Remember: Quality beats quantity.

References

Collis J, Hussey R (2009). Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate & Postgraduate Students. New York: Palgrave MacMillan

Remenyi, D., Williams, B., Money, A. & Swartz, E. 2009. Doing research in business and management. London: Sage.

Watkins, J.A. 2008. Theses / Dissertations / Research Reports: a Practical guide for students to the preparation of written presentations of academic research. Cape Town: Content Solutions