LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK PDF

Preview

Summary

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. The Social Science, University of Ibadan Perspective. BAKARE, MICHAEL O. (2013), ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN, OYO STATE. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: The Social Science, University of Ibadan Perspective. Literature R...

Description

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. The Social Science, University of Ibadan Perspective.

BAKARE, MICHAEL O. (2013), ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN, OYO STATE.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: The Social Science, University of Ibadan Perspective.

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework is a chapter found in practically all projects or term papers written in tertiary institutions all around the globe. It surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, and or theory, and by so doing, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works (Fink 2005). Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits into the larger field of study. For students in the University of Ibadan, this is usually the chapter two (2) of most projects in the University but due to the difference of lecturers in patterns of writing projects, some compel their supervisees to make it chapter three. Chapter one (1), for all lecturers, is the introduction. This consists usually of the contents in the proposal, once approved. The contents of the proposal are; Background to the Study, Statement of the Problem, Scope of the Study, Objectives of the Study, Significance of the Study, Research questions, Hypothesis of the Study, Methodology of the Study, Data Sources, and Plan of the Study or Organization of Chapters. And just as stated earlier, this content varies depending on the lecturer who is supervising the project.

1|Page

Chapter two (2), according to most write ups available and the standard format available, is Literature review and theoretical framework. However, certain lecturers prefer it to be background of the study, hence; the background part isn’t included in the proposal/chapter one. This is probably done due to the fact that the lecturer(s) feel more work needs to be done or said about the background of the study that can be sufficiently covered in the limited space of chapter one before the review of literature is done. Chapter three (3), for those who made chapter two their literature review is Research Methodology or Analysis, followed by Estimation and Results in chapter four (4) and all crowned up by the Summary and Conclusion in chapter 5. For those who made chapter 2 their background to the study on the other hand, chapter 3 is their Literature review while chapter 4 their Empirical analysis, combining both 3 and 4 of the other format of project writing. Chapter 5 for every one is Summary and Conclusion. Some lecturers, however, do not combine 3 and 4, even though they use the second format of project writing. Hence, they end up having six (6) chapters. This is quite rare actually and not advised for any up and coming lecturer, nor even student, if given the chance or opportunity to choose. Under the Literature review (which is the main concern here), no matter what chapter it’s on, there are certain sub-divisions considered under it. These are; Theoretical literature review, Methodological literature review, Empirical/Systemic literature review and the Theoretical framework. Only three (3) out of this would be considered however.

2|Page

THEORETICAL LITERATURE REVIEW The purpose of this form is to concretely examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, or phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps establish what theories already exist, the relationship between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often, this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework (Fink 2005).

METHODOLOGICAL LITERATURE REVIEW This focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed (2005).

EMPIRICAL LITERATURE REVIEW This form consists of an overview of existing evidence, pertinent to a clearly formulated research question which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to the identity and critically appraise relevant research and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. Typically, it focuses that on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a ‘cause-and-effect form such as; “To what extent does A contribute to B”.

3|Page...