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EDG 501 Literature Review: Components of a Literature Review

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Components of a Literature Review

The works that make up the literature review fall into three categories: 

 

  • Literature on related topic areas

    • These sources identify general themes that run throughout the literature.   For example,  a search on the topic of high stakes testing will find articles on high stakes testing and gender, socioeconomic status, inclusive education, cheating, and academic achievement.  

Resources for this literature (see below)

  • Literature specific to your research focus

    • This literature is highly relevant.  The sources isolate the issues and highlight the findings you expected when you articulated your research question or formulated your hypothesis.    

Resources for this literature (see below)

Next Step: See Writing the Literature Review

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Qualitative research methods are tools for gathering information that does not take a numerical form that can be counted and otherwise manipulated mathematically. If I live with a group of women and men and observe that males tend to dominate conversations, for example, my results consist of an interpretation based on a set of observations that I summarize in an overall impression. As such, it is a qualitative assessment of what is going on. By contrast, if I systematically count how often men and women interact and then compare the totals, my method is quantitative, because it produces numerical results.

Qualitative methods are most closely associated with participant observationhistorical sociologyethnomethodologyethnography and ethnology. Quantitative methods are most closely associated with surveysexperiments, and other forms of numerical data gathering. Although quantitative methods are often considered superior to socalled "soft" qualitative methods, most sociologists appreciate that each provides unique and valuable insights into the workings of social life that are beyond the reach of the other.

Qualitative and quantitative research methods. (2000). In A. G. Johnson, 

The Blackwell dictionary of sociology (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell

Publishers. Retrieved from Credo Reference.