Literature search and review - an agenda for learning

Based on Collis and Hussey (2003) and Saunders et al. (2009), I develop the following agenda for examining the topic of Literature Review:


Phase 1: The Literature Search

1. Choosing a research topic and research theme
• Relevant techniques: analogy, morphological analysis, mind  maps, and relevance trees
2. Sources of published data
3. Search with defined scope and parameters
• Relevant tools: dictionaries and books
• Key resources, both online and offline: academic articles, research reports, and conference papers, etc.
• Computerized searching skill
• Saving and/ or recording references under the Harvard Referencing Format (vs the Vancouver System [use in-text numbers])

Phase 2: The Literature Review

1. The purpose of literature review
2. The content of literature review
3. The orientation of review: explanatory, exploratory, critical, evaluative, comparative and synthetical, goal-oriented

References

1. Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2003) "Chapter 4: Searching the literature", Business Research, Palgrave.
2. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2009) "Chapter 3: Critically reviewing the literature", Research Methods for Business Students, Prentice Hall.

Also see JKK Ho' article on literature review