Week 3 – The Literature Review

Table of Contents

I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 2

II. Learning Outcomes .................................................................................................................... 2

III. Importance of the Literature Review ........................................................................................ 2

IV. Types of the Literature Review ................................................................................................ 4

V. The Literature Review process .................................................................................................. 6

VI. Search strategies and sources.................................................................................................... 8

VI.1 Scholarly Databases to conduct your Literature Review .................................................... 9

VI.2 Finding Keywords for your Literature Review ................................................................. 10

VII. Critical Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 12

VII.1 What is meant by being 'critical' about the Literature Review ........................................ 13

VIII. Structure of the Literature Review ....................................................................................... 16

VIII.1 Sample sentences and words that introduce quotes or phrases from other research
studies ........................................................................................................................................ 17

IX. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 18

References ..................................................................................................................................... 19

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 1|Page

I. Introduction
A critical assessment and analysis of previous literature on a specific topic or research question is
referred to as a literature review. This involves scrutinising and condensing the primary outcomes,
methods, and theoretical frameworks employed in past studies to recognise gaps in the literature
and draw attention to areas that need further investigation. A literature review aims to expansively
comprehend the current state of knowledge on a particular topic and recognise prospects for new
research and contributions to the field. Conducting a well-executed literature review is crucial to
any research project, as it establishes a firm foundation for developing research queries,
hypotheses, and methodologies.
During this week, the emphasis will be on performing a thorough analysis of the literature. Initially,
the significance of the literature review will be explained, with a detailed explanation of the various
methods and procedures employed in conducting a literature review. Subsequently, the critical
literature review approach will be introduced, followed by an outline of the literature review's
structure.

II. Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of this week of study, you will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of methodologies and theoretical approaches.
2. Critically evaluate and identify appropriate resources in order to undertake research.
3. Critically plan and implement research tasks and communicate an understanding of the
research process.

III. Importance of the Literature Review

As part of your module, assessment, and Dissertation and Impact Report (the final module of this
Programme), you will have to develop a literature review. Ridley (2012) explained that a literature
review is a concept that has two components. First is the finished work, which is an actual literature
review on your selected topic and usually serves as the first or second chapter of your research
work or dissertation. The second component is the process of literature review, which are the steps
to be taken to conduct a critical literature review.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 2|Page

One of the most commonly used definitions of the literature review is provided by Hart (1998),
who states that a literature review is "the selection of available documents (both published and
unpublished) on the topic, which contains information, ideas, data and evidence written from a
particular standpoint to fulfil certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and
how it is to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents concerning the
research being proposed". A literature review is a significant part of any research project, as it
helps to understand theoretical concepts and ideas and link them together in themes.

Bolderston (2008) indicates what a good literature review should be:

• Comprehensive: evidence should be gathered from all relevant sources.

• Fully referenced: allowing others to follow the path of the author to the paper's conclusion.
• Selective: using appropriate search strategies to find the key evidence.
• Relevant: focusing on pertinent data.
• A synthesis of key themes and ideas.
• Balanced: between different ideas and opinions.
• Critical: in its appraisal of the literature.
• Analytical: developing new ideas and understandings from the evidence.

Callahan (2014) proposes five characteristics of the literature reviews, which the author calls the
"5Cs of the literature review":

1. Concise- literature review should briefly summarise the outcomes of a large amount of
selected information,
2. Clear- indicating clearly how the review was conducted and what sources were used,
3. Critical- providing authors' reflections,
4. Convincing- strongly supporting the arguments,
5. Contributive- contributing to the body of knowledge.

The literature review fulfils several critical tasks and aims to show understating of terms, concepts,
theories, and general ideas, as well as interlinkage of the concepts, and critical issues. According
to Ridley (2012), the importance of the literature review is that:

• It provides the historical background of research and the topic,

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 3|Page

 • It gives an overview of the current context in which research is situated by referring to
contemporary debates, issues, critical questions raised by researchers and experts in the
field,
• It includes a discussion of relevant theories and concepts that is the foundation of the
research,
• It introduces relevant terminology and provides definitions to clary and terms that will be
used in the work,
• It describes related research in the field and shows how a research project extends or
challenges it, addressing a research gap in the field,
• It provides supporting evidence for a practical problem or issue the research addresses,
showing its significance.

It can be concluded that a literature review is a tool that shows the ability to select, synthesise, and
analyse relevant information sources critically.

IV. Types of the Literature Review

Academic literature identifies several types of literature reviews. Cronin et al. (2008) explain that
the traditional approach to the literature review is a narrative literature review. The narrative
literature review aims to summarise the relevant literature body to draw conclusions about the
topic of interest. It provides comprehensive background information, definitions, and a summary
of the key terms and concepts in the field of study. The literature review undertaken for an
assignment, research project, or dissertation is a narrative literature review. A systematic
literature review is a more rigorous, well-organised, and defined way to describe the subject area.
When conducting a systematic literature review, a researcher carefully selects the papers,
formulates a research question, sets the criteria based on which an article will be included or
excluded from the research, select and access the literature, assess its quality and finally analyse
the findings. The narrative and systematic literature review process is compared in Figure 1.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 4|Page

 Figure 1. Comparison of narrative and systematic approaches to literature review
Source: Jesson et al. (2011)
It can be concluded that a systematic literature review is a more rigorous method of conducting a
literature review.
Jaidika et al. (2013), in a research paper that analysed the linguistic expressions of selected
literature reviews, concluded that there are two types of literature reviews. Each type has a
distinctive way of expression and the way the researcher expresses himself or herself. The types
are:
• Descriptive literature reviews- summarise individual papers/studies and provide details
of the research methods and results of cited studies,
• Integrative literature reviews- summarise the ideas and results from the cited studies at
a higher level, which is presented as a critical summary in the author's voice.

Hart (2018) suggests that the type of literature review used will largely depend on the research
orientation and purpose, as explained further in Figure 2.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 5|Page

 Figure 2. The research orientation and type of the literature review
Source: Hart (2018)
The author proposes that the role and the type of the literature review will largely depend on the
purpose and orientation of the research.

V. The Literature Review process

The literature review process is a systematic process that starts in the early stages of the research
process when you are just looking up on search engine for your initial research idea. It will continue
when you have already developed specific keywords and searched for relevant information in
scholarly (library) databases. You might conclude at some point that the keywords need to be
modified to reflect your research objectives better, starting a new round of the literature review
process. The process is ongoing throughout all the stages of the research project and will also help
to evaluate research findings and outcomes, contrasting them to those of other researchers. The
research process is illustrated in Figure 3.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 6|Page

 Figure 3. Literature review process
Source: Saunders et al., 2009

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 7|Page

As shown in the Figure, the literature review is not a simple collection of relevant articles,
textbooks, and other sources without critically evaluating, discussing, and providing alternative
views and discussion. In each step of the literature review, several important questions are to
consider, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Questions to consider in each step of the literature review

Source: Snyder, 2019
To sum up, a literature review should follow a series of steps to analyse the selected information
critically, and provide critique and argumentation.

VI. Search strategies and sources

Multiple sources of data can be used when conducting a literature review. But it is also important
to remember that the quality of the literature review largely depends on the quality of the sources.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 8|Page

According to Sekeran and Bougie (2016), in the field of business and management, some of the
common data sources are:
• Textbooks- books or eBooks that are written by experienced University professors on the
topic of your interest,
• Professional journals- those written mainly by industry practitioners and professionals for
the audience of business professionals,
• Academic journals- should be the central focus of your literature review. They provide an
overview and critical discussion of the key issues in the chosen area of interest,
• Thesis- good quality Master and PhD thesis will include extensive literature studies and
empirical research, that can be used for a literature review,
• Conference proceedings- can be a useful source of the latest research ideas presented in
the conference by academics, and could provide new ideas,
• Unpublished manuscripts- academic research papers that are accepted for publication,
but not yet released by the individual or publishing house. When searching in search
engines, most commonly the manuscript would be marked "in press" to indicate that it is
not yet published,
• Reports- prepared by agencies, governments, associations, NGOs, and other valid
information sources, can provide significant information, data, and statistics, that cannot
be found elsewhere,
• Newspapers- will provide the latest business information, and can be used to describe the
latest developments in the industry, market, company,
• The Internet- provides an enormous amount of information, and can provide also access
to all of the above-mentioned literature sources, e.g. textbooks, journal articles, academic
articles, and others.
VI.1 Scholarly Databases to conduct your Literature Review
Scholarly databases are online collections of academic materials such as research articles,
conference proceedings, book chapters, and dissertations. These databases provide a wealth of
information for conducting a comprehensive literature review. Scholarly databases are often

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 9|Page

discipline-specific, meaning they cover topics within a specific field of study. One major
advantage of using scholarly databases is that they provide access to peer-reviewed articles (are
the articles that have been reviewed and evaluated by experts in the relevant field before they are
published. The process of peer-review involves the submission of an article to a journal, where it
is evaluated by a panel of experts in the same field as the article's topic. The goal of the peer-
review process is to ensure that the published articles are accurate, reliable, and contribute to the
knowledge base of the field).
Search can be conducted on Google, which is the largest search engine in the World. For academic
and scholarly information searches, Google Scholar is used, which is specifically selecting
academic information sources on the given topic. Other scholarly databases are:
• ProQuest- ProQuest is offered for free at Unicaf through the Online Library.
• EBSCO- EBSCO is offered for free at Unicaf through the Online Library.
• ScienceDirect
• Sage Journals
• Scopus
• Web of Science, etc.
VI.2 Finding Keywords for your Literature Review
When conducting a literature review, finding the right keywords is crucial to identify relevant
articles and research papers through scholarly databases. Suppose we want to conduct a literature
review on the topic of environmental impact of international trade and global transport systems.
The steps we could follow to identify relevant keywords are:
1. Brainstorm: Start by brainstorming all the words and phrases related to the topic that come
to mind. For example, "carbon footprint," "sustainable transport," "green trade," "employee
engagement," "environmental impact of trade and transport," and "trade footprint".
2. Use an online thesaurus: Use an online thesaurus to find synonyms for the keywords you've
brainstormed.
3. Check relevant articles from the scholarly databases: Search for articles, journals, and
research papers related to the topic and examine the title, abstract, and keywords they used.
This can help identify additional relevant keywords that are specific to the topic. For

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 10 | P a g e

 example, some articles might include keywords such as "zero emissions" "electric
vehicles" "slow steam shipping" or "green supply chain."
4. Use a scholarly database: Use a database such as Google Scholar, or ProQuest to search
for articles on the topic. This can help identify additional relevant keywords used in the
articles' abstract, title, or text. For example, when searching for "carbon footprint," related
keywords that could be identified from the database might include "transport footprint"
"greenhouse gases and transport" or "trade pollution."
5. When searching for keywords, you can use the operators "AND" and "OR" to refine your
search and find more relevant results.
• "AND": Use "AND" to search for articles or research papers that include all of the
keywords in your search query. For example, if you are searching for articles on "transport
emissions AND pollution," your search results will only include articles that mention both
"transport footprint" and "pollutionproductivity" in the same article.
• "OR": Use "OR" to search for articles or research papers that include any of the keywords
in your search query. For example, if you are searching for articles on "transport emissions
OR carbon footprint," your search results will include articles that mention either "transport
emissions " or "carbon footprint," or both.
6. Use parentheses to group keywords: If you want to search for articles that include multiple
combinations of keywords, use parentheses to group related keywords together. For
example, "transport footprint AND (pollution OR emissions)" will search for articles that
include " transport footprint " and either " pollution " or " pollution."
7. Use quotation marks: If you are searching for a phrase, use quotation marks around the
phrase. This will search for articles that include the exact phrase, rather than individual
words.
8. Refine your search: Once you have a list of search results, refine your search by filtering
by publication date, author, or other relevant criteria. This will help you focus on the most
recent and high-quality research papers.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 11 | P a g e

VII. Critical Literature Review

The critical literature review aims to show the ability to select and understand information and
analyse and approach it with creativity and argumentation, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. The hierarchy of questions when conducting a literature review from basic to advanced
Source: Hart, 2018
It can be summarised that a critical literature review involves finding the connections, analysing
arguments, and seeking alternatives.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 12 | P a g e

Jesson and Lacey (2006), summarise that a critical literature review should demonstrate the
following:
• awareness of the current state of knowledge in the subject area (description skills);
• a synthesis of resources showing the strengths and limitations, omissions and bias (critical
skills)
• how the research fits into this wider context (analytical skills).
A critical approach to literature review will also demonstrate the ability to develop the key themes
from the selected works. The researcher would have to apply critical and analytical thinking to
combine multiple ideas and topics into a theme, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Critical development of the research themes

Saunders et al., 2009
VII.1 What is meant by being 'critical' about the Literature Review

It is worth considering what we mean by being critical within the context of your literature review.
Mingers (2000) argues that there are four aspects of an integral approach that should be fostered:
• critique of rhetoric;
• critique of tradition;
• critique of authority;

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 13 | P a g e

 • critique of objectivity.
The first of these, the 'critique of rhetoric,' means appraising or evaluating a problem with effective
use of language. In the context of your critical literature review, this emphasises the need for you,
as the reviewer, to use your skills to make reasoned judgments and to argue effectively in writing.
The other three aspects Mingers (2000) identifies also have implications for being critical when
reading and writing about the work of others. This includes using other literature sources to
question, where justification exists to do so, the conventional wisdom, the 'critique of tradition'
and the dominant view portrayed in the literature you are reading, the 'critique of authority.'
Finally, it is likely also to include recognising in your review that the knowledge and information
you are discussing are not value-free, the 'critique of objectivity.'
Being critical in reviewing the literature is, therefore, a combination of your skills and the attitude
with which you read. In critically reviewing the literature, you need to read the literature about
your research topic with scepticism and be willing to question what you read. This means you need
to constantly consider and justify your critical stance with clear arguments and references to the
literature rather than just giving your own opinion. You will have to read widely on your research
topic and understand the literature well. Critically reviewing the literature for your research project
requires you to have gained topic-based background knowledge, understanding, and the ability to
reflect upon and analyse the literature and, based on this, to make reasoned judgments that are
argued effectively.
When you use these skills to review the literature, the term 'critical' refers to your judgment. It,
therefore, describes the process of providing a detailed and justified analysis of, and commentary
on, the merits and faults of the critical literature within your chosen area. This means that, for your
review to be critical, you will need to have shown critical judgment.
Part of this judgment will inevitably mean being able to identify the most relevant and significant
theories and recognised experts. There will be a pre-existing, clearly developed theoretical base
for some research topics. For others, you will need to integrate several different theoretical strands
to build your understanding. Dees (2003) suggests that this means you should:
✓ refer to and assess research by recognised experts in your chosen area accurately;
✓ consider and discuss research that supports and research that opposes your ideas;

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 14 | P a g e

 ✓ make reasoned judgments regarding the value of others' research, showing clearly
how it relates to your research and acknowledging key work;
✓ justify your arguments with valid evidence in a logical manner;
✓ distinguish clearly between fact and opinion;
✓ ensure your references are completely accurate.
These points are developed below to evaluate the extent to which your literature review is critical.
Once you will conduct your literature, the more questions you can answer 'yes' the more likely
your review will be critical:
✓ Have you contextualised your own research showing how your research question relates
to previous research reviewed, acknowledging seminal work?
o Seminal work refers to a piece of research, writing, or creative endeavor that is
considered to be highly influential and groundbreaking in a particular field or
discipline. Such works often serve as a foundation or starting point for subsequent
research or creative works in the field. Seminal works are usually characterised by
their originality, impact, and enduring relevance, and they can shape the direction
and development of a field for years or even decades to come.
o One example of a seminal work in HR is Douglas McGregor's book "The Human
Side of Enterprise" published in 1960. In this book, McGregor presented the two
contrasting theories of management, Theory X and Theory Y, which became widely
influential in the field of Human Resources.
✓ Have you assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the previous research reviewed?
✓ Have you been objective in discussing and assessing other people's research?
✓ Have you included references to research countering and supporting your own
opinions?
✓ Have you distinguished clearly between facts and opinions?
✓ Have you made reasoned judgements about the value and relevance of others'
research to your own?
✓ Have you justified clearly your own ideas?
✓ Have you highlighted those areas where new research (yours) is needed to provide fresh
insights and taken these into account in your arguments? In particular:

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 15 | P a g e

 o where are there inconsistencies in current knowledge and understanding?
o where are there omissions or biases in published research?
o where do research findings need to be tested further?
o where evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory or limited?
✓ Have you justified your arguments by accurately referencing published research?

VIII. Structure of the Literature Review

The structure of the literature review will on the topic and the type of literature review that is
conducted. Saunders et al. (2009) is proposing a "funnel" approach to organising and structuring
the literature review, suggesting:
1. start at a more general level before narrowing down to your specific research question(s)
and objectives;
2. provide a brief overview of key ideas and themes;
3. summarise, compare and contrast the research of key authors;
4. narrow down to highlight previous research work most relevant to your own research;
5. provide a detailed account of the findings of this research and show how they are related;
6. highlight those aspects where your own research will provide fresh insights;
7. lead the reader into subsequent sections of your project report, which explore these
issues.
Therefore, the structure of a literature review should include the following sections:
• Introduction: provides background information on the topic, establishes the relevance of
the review, and outlines the scope and objectives of the review.
• Literature search: describes the search methods used to identify relevant literature, such as
databases searched, keywords used, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and any other relevant
information.
• Review of literature: provides a critical analysis of the literature, organised thematically or
chronologically. It includes synthesising the major findings, methodologies, and theoretical
perspectives of the studies reviewed.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 16 | P a g e

 Subheadings are used in a literature review to organise and present the information clearly
and logically. Subheadings can help break up long text sections, highlight key themes or
issues, and guide the reader through the review. They can also help the writer to structure
and organise their thoughts, making it easier to develop a coherent argument or narrative.
• Gaps and challenges: identifies the gaps in the existing literature, highlighting areas where
further research is needed. It also discusses any challenges or limitations encountered
during the review process.
• Conclusion: summarises the key findings of the review, highlights the implications for
practice and policy, and provides recommendations for future research.
• References: A list of all the sources cited in the review.
VIII.1 Sample sentences and words that introduce quotes or phrases from other research
studies

In academic writing, it is essential to effectively incorporate source material into your writing to
strengthen the credibility of your arguments and avoid plagiarism. You should use clear and
concise sentences to introduce quotes or phrases, citing reputable sources such as academic
researchers or industry experts. Using varied sentence structures and original phrasing can engage
your readers and make your writing more interesting. Also, proper citation is essential to avoiding
plagiarism, a serious academic offence. Using the below sample sentences as a guide can help you
to effectively integrate source material into your writing while giving proper credit to the original
author.
1. As noted by Gomez and Sanchez (2019, pp. xx), "…"
2. According to a report by The International Journal of Logistics Management (IJLM, 2020,
pp. xx), "…".
3. In their book on Research Methods, Saunders et al. (2019) emphasise the importance of …
4. As noted by Brown and Jones (2021), ….
5. According to a recent survey by Mercer (2022), ….
6. He also mentions, "…".
7. Mark (2015) acknowledges that although the …
8. His research shows that … (author's last name, year).
9. Mark (2020) confirmed ...

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 17 | P a g e

Neutral Verbs
The author says. The author notes. The author believes. The author observes. The author comments.
The author relates. The author declares. The author discusses. The author reports.
The author explains. The author reveals. The author expresses. The author states. The author
mentions. The author acknowledges. The author suggests. The author thinks. The author points
out. The author responds. The author shows. The author confirms.
Stronger Verbs
The author agrees. The author rejects. The author argues. The author compares (the two studies).
The author admits. The author disputes. The author emphasises. The author denies. The author
maintains. The author refutes. The author claims. The author endorses.
Inference Verbs
The author implies. The author suggests. The author thinks.

IX. Conclusion

In writing your literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas
have been established on a topic and their strengths and weaknesses. The literature review must
be defined by a guiding concept (e.g. your research objectives, the problem or issue you are
discussing). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available or a set of summaries. The
literature review is the systematic and ongoing process that aims to show an understanding of the
key themes and topics and the ability to analyse, synthesise, and provide argumentation and
alternative views. This week’s material focuses on the literature review process's importance,
process, and steps. Consideration is also given to search strategies and sources and the concept of
critical literature review.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 18 | P a g e

References
Bolderston, A. (2008) Writing an effective literature review. Journal of Medical Imaging and
Radiation Sciences, 39(2), 86-92.

Callahan, J.L. (2014) Writing literature reviews: A reprise and update. Human Resource
Development Review, 13(3), pp.271-275.

Cronin, P., Ryan, F. and Coughlan, M. (2008) Undertaking a literature review: a step-by-step
approach. British journal of nursing, 17(1), pp.38-43.

Hart, C. (1998) Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination.
Sage

Hart, C. (2018) Doing a literature review: Releasing the research [Link]

Jaidka, K., Khoo, C.S. and Na, J.C. (2013) March. Literature review writing: how information is
selected and transformed. In Aslib Proceedings. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Jesson, J., Matheson, L. and Lacey, F.M. (2011) Doing your literature review: Traditional and
systematic techniques.

Jesson, J.K. and Lacey, F.M. (2006) How to do (or not to do) a critical literature review. Pharmacy
education, 6(2), pp.139-148.

Ridley, D. (2012) The literature review: A step-by-step guide for students. Sage Publishing.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2009) Research methods forbusiness students. Essex:
Prentice Hall: Financial Times.

Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R. (2016) Research methods for business: A skill building approach. john
wiley & sons.

Snyder, H. (2019) Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and

guidelines. Journal of business research, 104, pp.333-339.

LJMU – 7509 – BEGP Research Methods 19 | P a g e