What is Literature?
Literature refers to a collection of
printed materials provided in the form of books, journals, magazines,
newspaper, abstracts, extracts etc. dealing with specific subject. It also
refers to all the writings of a country at a period of time as in the case of
the French literature, English literature, the Nigerian literature. All printed
materials describing or advertising something could also be referred to as
literature. All the writings or contents will be addressing a particular area
of knowledge.
What is
Literature Review?
As far as research is concerned,
literature review is an exhaustive survey or search of what has been done or
known on a given problem. When a researcher identifies problem and raises topic
from such problem, he is obliged to review what has been written already.
Literature review shows other studies
done on the area of your research choice and the extent of work done. This will
enable you to decide whether to continue the study or not; or whether to change
your approach or not.
Literature Review should contain a list
of relevant works in the field in chronological order, with a brief description
of each. Also, an overview of significant research related to your research
topic which you should evaluate to show the contribution of each and to point
out any shortcoming.
Why do we Review
Literature?
The following are some of the reasons
for reviewing literature;
1.
Literature review helps the researcher to discover the
extent of work done already in the problem area and related.
2.
It helps to discover other possible problems arising as a
result of the problem to be studied.
3.
It helps to formulate some hypotheses or straighten out the
research questions.
4.
It helps to discover whether the answer to the problem under
study has already been given and documented to prevent unnecessary duplication
and waste of efforts.
5.
To discover research techniques, arguments, analysis and conclusions
of previous studies of similar nature.
6.
It gives insights into methods to be used in the study as
well as new approach.
7.
It sharpens the general picture of the problem under focus
so that the researcher obtains more, precise knowledge of the problem.
8.
To define the control goals in a research study.
Note that in writing a literature review, the general structure largely depends
on your research topic. Your structure should be dictated instead by topic
areas, controversial issues or by questions to which there are varying
approaches and theories. A good literature review needs a clear line of
argument. You will need to group together and compare and contrast different
authors’ views on a topic. Within each of these sections, you would then
discuss what the different literature argues, remembering to link this to your
own purpose.
It is very
important to link words. If you are grouping authors with similar opinions
together, You would
use words or phrases such as: in addition, again, similarly,
also,
As reported by Jain (2010),
gamma rays are used for the development of biotic stresses, abiotic stresses
and plant features in plants that reproduced from seeds.
Similarly, the report of Jane
(2012) also showed that gamma rays could be used for many features of fruits.
Also, in
the case of disagreement about a topic, you will have to use links such as;
Conversely, nevertheless, however,
on the other hand
According to Udensi et
al. (2013), days to seedling emergence of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L).Mill
sp) increased as concentration of Colchicine and duration of soaking increased
while germination rate decreased proportionately with the increase in
Colchicine concentration.
On the other hand, Mark
et al. (2014), reported that increase in the concentration of Colchicine and duration
of soaking decreased days to seedling emergence of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L).Mill
sp)….
There is
need for you to conclude what the literature says. This aspect of your review links
the review to your hypothesis and the main question of your research.
Important Note:
It
is very important to note that in writing literature review, you must keep your
writing clear and concise and avoid the use of personal language. Your writing
must be formal and academic style.
You
should always aim to be objective and respectful of others opinions.
If
by any means you think something was not making sense, you can use words such
as; "based on false assumptions" "inconsistent" or
"lacking in certain areas"
You
use words such as; states, claims, argue, found, reported…. when introducing
someone’s opinion.
Use
the present tense for general opinions and theories, or the past when referring
to specific research or experiments;
Although
Bello (2003) argues that mango is the most expensive fruit in Mokwa, Niger
State, Nigeria, Jiya (2006) claims that…
In
a study to determine the effects of gamma radiation on Brassica campestris L.,
Adamu (2011) find that ……
In
introducing the authors you cite in your review, you can use both the active
and passive forms.
In
Active form, the author’s name comes first (at the beginning of the sentence)
as in the example below;
Sutarto
et al. (2009) with their 20 Gy and 40 Gy gamma application determined two
mandarin and one pumelo species to have …….
Javed
et al. (2003) obtained a genotype at the end of their several dose applications
in Brassica campestris L., …..
In
passive form, the author’s comes later;
Two
mandarin and one pumelo species was determined by Sutarto et al. (2009) with
their 20 Gy and 40 Gy gamma applications…..
A
genotype was obtained by Javed et al. (2003) at the end of their several dose
application in Brassica campestris L., …..
Active
form is useful when you wish to emphasize the author more than or as well as
his discovery. But passive form is useful if you wish to give more emphasis to
the discovery.
Labels: Educative Article
