3 I’s A literature review is an integral part of any research

paper and serves several functions. First, it establishes

 Accuracy - The reliability and correctness of
the relevance of the study. Second, it further helps in
information.
establishing the research gap that the study intends to
 Currency - The state of being commonly
fill. Third, a literature review provides important
known or accepted.
information about your topic and the concepts related
 Authority - The qualifications of the author to
to it. Fourth, it presents the contradictions between
write on the topic.
and among previous literature. Fifth, it justifies your
 Relevance - The degree to which the
research methodology, as its effectiveness may be
information is useful or related to another.
determined by a survey of previous studies relevant to
 Synthesis - Putting together materials from
your research. Finally, it presents and discusses your
different sources into an integrated whole.
theoretical and conceptual frameworks which are the
 Credibility - The extent to which a research
backbone of your study.
account is believable and appropriate.
 Linkage - Forming of connections between the USEFUL WEBSITES AND ONLINE TOOLS
prior and the existing body of knowledge.
-Zolero
 Gap - A topic or area for which missing or
insufficient information limits the ability to Writing the Literature Review
reach a conclusion for a question.
 Objectivity - The fact of being based on facts Writing the literature review involves three stages:
and not influenced by personal beliefs or  Aearching for works relevant to the study
feelings.  Analyzing these scholarly works
 Coverage - The extent to which literature  And drafting the literature review.
meets the needs and depth of the research
topic. Literature Search

Literature search is the stage in which the researcher

systematically looks for and selects reference
Significant difference is used when testing whether materials relevant to the study. It is necessary to
there is difference between the means of two or more survey all possible sources of references, especially
populations or variables while significant relationship those that were written by the leading scholars in
is used in situations where one is examining the your field of study. Remember that the quality of your
association between any two sets of variables paper is influenced by the quality of references you
(King'oriah, 2004). use. The following are some of the points to
Null hypothesis is the hypothesis the researcher will remember in conducting your literature search:
try to disprove or discredit. 1. Identify the topics and concepts that you need to
Alternative hypothesis, on the other hand, is one that incorporate into your paper. Your research title and
states that there is a significant difference or specific research questions and objectives can be a
relationship between specified populations or good source of this topic or concept.
variables. 2. Specify the type of sources that you will use. Will
they mainly be articles or a combination of
What Is a Literature Review? articles,books, and other periodicals?

A literature review is an academic text that provides 3. Search for scholarly work by visiting your school
an overview of a particular topic. It helps identify library or popular online databases. These include the
what is known and not known about a certain subject following:
of study. It involves the use of higher-order thinking  Proquest
skills, such as the review, evaluation, and synthesis of  Science Direct
several scholarly works. These scholarly works include  JSTOR
journal articles, professional books, online sources,  EBSCO
and specialized references.  Google Scholar
As much as possible, include only the references use include books, journals, newspapers, magazines,
published in repuic. Include as and publisher and archival records, and maps.Note that non-print
those written by experts who specialize in your materials such as videos, CDs, and cassettes may also
selected topic. Include also the landmark,Studies, be available in libraries.
articles, reports, or books related to your topic.
4. Use call numbers to locate your library materials,
4. Use relevant key words to find your desired particularly those in print. Call numbers are unique
sources. identifiers of library materials.

Example topic: Effects of Online Games on the Digital 5. Check the table of contents of the materials to see
Literacy of Teenagers Key words: Online games, whether they are useful for your research. If needed,
Digital literacy you may briefly read the actual content of the
materials.
5. When conducting literature search online, use links
that are considered reliable. These are the sites that 6. After verifying the relevance of the materials, go to
end in gov, mil, and edu, for example. Sites that end in the library counter to borrow the materials. If they
.com and org are also acceptable as long as they are cannot be borrowed, however, you may take notes
associated with recognized companies and from the material while in the library. Note-taking
organizations. Some of these sites are www.un.org guidelines will be discussed later in the lesson.
(United Nations), www.unesco.org (UNESCO),
www.edition.cnn. com (Cable News Network), and
www.rd.com (Reader's Digest). Evaluation and Analysis of the Selected Works
6. You may also utilize Boolean searching strategies in This stage is performed once you have selected all
conducting your literature search online. your potential references. In this stage, you further
screen the selected references for reliability and
Boolean searching strategies use certain keywords to
usefulness. This stage also further ensures that the
limit and focus one's online search ofa certain topic.
materials you will use in your paper are only those
The following are some of the Boolean searching
that are closely related to your research topic. The
strategies that you can use:
following are strategies you can use in evaluating and
a. Use AND if you want to search for profiles or texts analyzing your selected references.
that contain the terms connected by AND (e.g,
1. Obtain an overview of the reference you selected.
university AND colleges).
This will help you determine the relevance of its
b. Use OR if you want to search for profiles or texts content to your research. For example, for research
that contain either of the terms connected by OR (eg., articles, you may perform a brief survey by reading
university OR colleges). the abstract of each article; for books, you may look
into the preface to see their summary and find out the
c. Use NOT if you want to exclude a particular term in
author's intention in writing it.
your search (e.g,, university NOT colleges).
2. When evaluating research articles, find out if they
d. Use quotation marks if you want to search for a
are published by a reputable publisher/ journal and
specific phrase (e.g., universities)
written by legitimate scholars in your field of study.
If you intend to use your school library to get available You may refer to the Thomson Reuters Master Journal
materials for your research, you may follow these list (http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/mjl) or
steps: Scopus Source List
(htts://www.e/sevier.com/solutions/scopus/content)
1. Visit the online public access catalog (OPAC) for the list of reputable research journals.
database of your school library.
3. As much as possible, refrain from using references
2. Key in the important details about the materials published by predatory journals or publishers as they
you want to find. These include the type, title, author, do not guarantee quality. Predatory publishers and
and publication year of the materials. journals are those that publish research papers for
3. You can utilize print and non-print sources from the financial gain and do not follow the ethics in
library. Some examples of print materials that you can producing an academic work.
Refrain from using materials that do not directly material other periodicals, theses and dissertations,
explain the concepts related to your study. online sources, and other unpublished materials.
These materials provided the researcher with an
5. As much as possible, use references that have been
exhaustive review of the topic and the essential
published within the last five years, unless you are
background knowledge to pursue this study.
writing a historical paper, which may entail the use of
sources from earlier periods oftime. 3. Divide the literature review into two subsections:
(a) the conceptual literature section which explains
6. Group the references according to the categories
concepts relevant to your study, and (b) the related
you used during your literature search. You may use
studies section which presents studies similar to your
online tools (e.g., Zotero) in tagging (or labeling) and
own.
classifying these references.
When writing the conceptual literature, you may use
7. If a material appears to be relevant to your topic,
concepts from the title of the reference or the specific
current (i.e., published in the last five years), and
questions and objectives of your research. For the
reliable, continue reading its content. However, if the
related studies, you may arrange them in three ways:
material does not meet these standards, exclude it
by theme (i.e., similar studies are grouped together),
from your literature review.
by chronology (i.e., from the earliest to the latest), or
8. Carefully read each of the materials you will by type (foreign or local studies). These three ways of
incorporate into your literature review. Note down writing the related studies section depend on the
the key information in these materials. Determine objectives and features of your review.
which information you can include in your literature
a. Thematic arrangement — if your intention is to
review.
make the readers focus on how your study is similar
9. Use a concept map if you want to see the to or different from the previous ones
relationship, similarities, and differences among the
b. Chronological arrangement — if you want to
materials you have read.
emphasize the development and progress in a specific
field of study

Drafting the Literature Review c. Typological arrangement - if there are sufficient

studies conducted locally about the topic of your
It is in this stage where you actually write your research
literature review. In drafting your review, you need to
consider how you are going to arrange the works you 5. At the end of the related studies section, write a
will cite. You also need to consider how these works synthesis that shows the research gap.
will be linked to one another, to better provide an
6. Define important terms in your study. Aside from
overview of the topic you are studying in your
the informal and formal ways, definitions can be made
research.
operationally or conceptually. An operational
1. One strategy that you may use in writing your definition is a type of definition specifically made for
literature review is to get a model paper that deals your study, while a conceptual definition is the
with a topic similar to yours. You may pattern the definition of a term which is generally used in a
sequence of your ideas on your model paper. specific discipline. This definition is oftentimes used by
scholars. Citations are often required when using
2. In the introductory portion, provide an overview of conceptual definitions.
what can be found in your literature review.
7. If you cannot explain some concepts in detail due to
Refer to the following example: space constraints, you may direct the readers to a
This section contains literature and studies on particular scholarly work that discusses the said topic
acquisition learning integration, the biological basis more extensively. This is done by using the following
behind the separation of learning and acquisition, citation format: (see author, year).
comprehensible input, grammar, affective factor, and 8. Use cohesive devices throughout the literature
communicative competence. These materials were review to link one idea to another. Examples of
gathered from books on language teaching, cohesive devices are transitional devices,
psychology and curriculum development. These
conjunctions, pronouns, and repetition of terms for Synthesizing can be done at the micro and macro
referencing ideas. levels. Microlevel synthesis involves the consolidation
of ideas to explain a concept. To effectively perform
9. Use headings and subheadings. This will help you
microlevel synthesis, you may follow these strategies:
organize the studies and references you have
gathered. This will also aid the reader in making sense 1. Look into and take note of related ideas in the
of the ideas and related studies to your research. materials you are examining

10. Be sure to apply the principle of cohesiveness 2. Cluster the ideas shared among the materials,
when writing your literature review. This means that determine those that are distinct, and put them in a
each paragraph should focus only on one main idea, separate list.
and these ideas should be linked to one another.
3. Decide on how you will arrange the ideas. Discuss
11. Use direct quotation sparingly. Direct quotation is first the common ideas to give a general overview of
typically used when stating laws and principles and the topic. Then, present the distinct ideas and relate
when explicitly showing an author's intention. You can them to your study.
also use direct quotation if you think that it is best to
4. Use multiple citations if one idea can be found in
present the ideas of certain historical figures and
several sources.
experts in your field.
5. Insert the corresponding citations while writing the
12. Write a brief synthesis at the end of the literature
synthesis.
review to show how these scholarly works shape your
paper, and to further reinforce the research gap that Macrolevel synthesis, on the other hand, is
these studies have yet to fill. performed when several studies are consolidated to
establish a research gap and not just to explain a
13. Survey all possible sources before claiming that no
concept. It also involves drawing conclusions based on
studies have been conducted on a particular o topic or
the similarities and differences of the reviewed
saying that your topic is underexplored.
references and studies. This type of synthesis does not
14. Cite your sources. Use the appropriate only involve the description of certain aspects in these
documentation and citation style in your literature materials such as the methods and conclusions
review. generated. It also relates the various issues and topics
in these materials to one another, and highlights how
Three of the most popularly used documentation
these can be used in your paper: Here are some
styles are from the:
strategies that you can use in synthesizing your
 American Psychological Association (APA) references:
style
1. Note any similarities and differences across your
 Modern Language Association (MLA) style
references that are relevant to your paper.
 Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS).
2. Take note of issues that were not addressed by
The documentation and citation style you will use
your references.
depends on the subject matter of your research. Be
consistent in using it when documenting sources and 3. Arrange the related studies and references logically;
writing your literature review. Documentation style this can be done either thematically or
will be discussed in detail later in the lesson. chronologically.

Important Skills in Drafting the Literature Review 4. Draw conclusions about the materials in order to
highlight their importance.
There are two skills that are particularly important in
drafting the literature review. The first is synthesizing. Note-taking is another skill that you can particularly
This skill involves the review of several references that use in drafting the literature review as well as in the
talk about the same subject and consolidating them other stages of the research undertaking. It involves
into one cohesive text. writing information from a source text and intera sta
is information into your current study. Two of the
most common forms of note taking in writing
academic works are summarizing and paraphrasing.
Summarizing is a form of note-taking that involves 4. Refrain from constantly looking at the original text
condensing a lengthy piece of source material.It can when paraphrasing. Doing so may tempt you to copy
be done in two ways: an outline or a non-outline form. the exact words from the text.
Through effective summarizing, you can improve your
Citing Sources
skills in studying, writing, and reading, as well as
establish your credibility asa researcher. Below are Documenting your sources is a crucial skill in
the strategies you can use for effective summarizing. producing any academic work, including research
writing: Your ability to cite sources shows your
1. Read the text carefully and fully understand its
credibility, intellectual honesty, and skills in reporting
content.
other's works. As a writer you must cite facts and
2. Annotate the text, if desired. Through annotation, figures, original ideas of other researchers, and other
you will be able to jot down the important ideas in people's exact words. If you fail to do this, you can be
your source material. accused of plagiarism and other forms of academic
dishonesty. In addition, citing your sources provides
Take note of the author's name, the title of the text,
evidence for your claims, and a trail which other
and its year of publication. Write these information in
researchers can use to identify their possible sources
the first sentence of the summary.
relevant to the topic you studied.
4. If you are summarizing text that contains multiple
Citing sources has two forms. The first of these is in-
paragraphs, begin by identifying the main idea of each
text citation, which requires the researcher to
paragraph and write them using your own words.
indicate the source of the information within the body
5. Afterwards, combine these sentences into one of the text. The citation usually includes the last name
coherent paragraph using appropriate cohesive of the author and the year the source was published.
devices.
Three of the most popular documentation styles are
6. Avoid adding comments to the summary as it may the:
change the tone and meaning of the original text.
 American Psychological Association (APA)
7. Avoid repeating ideas unnecessarily. Style,
 Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
8. Compare your summary to the original text to  Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS).
ensure accuracy.
Each of these styles is used for specific disciplines.
9. Take note of the bibliographical information you Style Guide
listed earlier as you cite your source material.
АРА - business, economics, education, hotel and
Paraphrasing is a form of note-taking that involves restaurant management, psychology, and other fields
rewording ideas from the original text in a more under social sciences Disciplines:
detailed way. Since paraphrasing focuses on the
details and not only on the main idea, the length of a business, economics, education, hotel and restaurant
paraphrased text is almost the same as that of the management, psychology, and other fields under
original text. Paraphrasing is typically done to simplify social sciences
a complex text. Below are the strategies you can use
MLA- English and some fields in the humanities and
for effective paraphrasing.
the arts
1. Read the passage thoroughly and comprehend it
Chicago- various disciplines, but most popularly used
fully.
in history and music
2. Highlight the relevant words and phrases in the
The following are examples of how the three
passage and retain them in your paraphrased text.
documentation styles can be used in the in-text
However, you need to present these words and
citation of a paper:
phrases in a different manner.

3. You may also annotate the text if needed to help

you make sense of details from the original text in
your own way.
American Psychological Association (APA) Style information. Be sure that both these forms use a
consistent style.
This phenomenon was attributed by some scholars to
high-achieving students' tendency to be realistic.
(Falchikov & Boud, 1989).
Ethical Standards in Writing the Literature Review
NOTE: When incorporating direct quotations in the
Writing your literature review does not only entail
text, the page number of the source where the direct
naming your sources and mentioning the ideas that
statement was found must also be cited, e.g.,
they contain. Writing the literature review requires
(Falchikov & Boud, 1989, p. 415).
honesty, objectivity, and other ethical principles
Modern Language Association (MLA) Style observed in scholarly work. The following are ways to
observe ethical standards in writing your literature
This phenomenon was attributed by some scholars to
review and your research as a whole:
high-achieving students' tendency realistic (Falchikov
and Boud 415) 1. Report the findings in your cited studies objectively.
Refrain from distorting the findings of other research
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)
works.
This phenomenon was attributed by some scholars to
2. Avoid injecting editorial comments or manipulating
high-achieving students' tendency to be realistic
the ideas in a certain study just to make it support
(Falchikov and Boud 1989, 415).
your own claims.
The second form of citation is reference citation,
3. Always cite your sources as a way of acknowledging
which refers to the complete bibliographic
the studies relevant to your own and practicing
information of the reference used. Reference citation
intellectual honesty.
usually appears at the end of the paper. The
compilation of these references is known as the 4. Refrain from fabricating information or making up
reference list. Lesson 6 provides more details on how data and reporting them as actual data from a certain
you can properly list your references. research work.

The following are examples of how the three 5. Avoid plagiarism.

documentation styles presented above are used in
Plagiarism refers to using ideas and information
making your reference citation.
created by other people but without attribution to
APA Style (6th edition) them. There are different levels of plagiarism which
may vary from one institution to another:
Falchikov, N. & Boud, D. (1989). Student self-
assessment in higher education: A meta-analysis. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Review of Educational Research, 59 (4), 395-430. (IEEE) in New Jersey recognizes five levels of
plagiarism.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Level 1 is the gravest level of plagiarism. It involves
Falchikov, Nancy, and David Boud. "Student Self-
copying a full paper word for word, without
Assessment in Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis."
acknowledging the source.
Review of Educational Research, vol. 59, no. 4, 1989,
pp. 395-430. Level 2 involves lifting a large portion of a research
work (up to 50%) without citing its source.
CMOS (16th edition)
Level 3 involves copying specific portions of another
Falchikov, Nancy and David Boud. "Student Self-
work without citing it. These portions may include
assessment in Higher Education: A Meta-analysis."
sentences or paragraphs.
Review of Educational Research 59, no. 4 (1989): 395-
430. Level 4 involves not only the failure to cite another
work used in a certain study but also the failure to
In-text citation and reference citation always go
correctly paraphrase the portions of this used
together. This means that every time you cite a source
work.source and copying heavily from it.
within the text, the same source should appear in the
reference list with its complete bibliographic
Level 5 is the lowest level of plagiarism according to 2.5. Theoretical and /or Conceptual Framework
IEEE. It involves incorrectly citing a certain the
BRAINSTORMING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
penalties against plagiarism may vary among
countries or institutions. Plagiarism sanctions may 1. Before writing your literature review, set the
range from oral warnings to suspensions. In some context for writing it. Complete the information asked
cases, however, committing plagiarism may result in a for as the basis of your literature review.
student's expulsion from an academic institution.
Research Title
Below are some ways by which plagiarism may be
avoided: General Research Question

1. Keep track of all your print and non-print sources. Specific Research Questions
Always file and label the sources you have gathered. b.
Being unable to keep track of your references might
lead to the failure of citing certain vital information to C.
your research. d.
2. Understand the context in which your sources were 2. Observe these guidelines in brainstorming and
written. Clearly understand what the points of your planning the literature review.
sources actually mean, as this can affect how you
paraphrase them. a. Brainstorm on the concepts and studies that you
will include in your literature review.
3. Jot down the ideas and important details from your
sources. Through this, you are able to make sense of Use a separate sheet of paper for this purpose.
your sources in your own way. Avoid copying them
b. Develop your introduction which includes the
word-for-word. You can take your notes either
preliminary thesis statement and scope of the
manually or electronically. You may keep these notes
literature review.
for future use as well.
c. Consult with your teacher: Discuss your work with
4. Refrain from the practice of copy-and-paste.
your classmates, if needed.
Paraphrase and summarize sources carefully and
acknowledge them. This applies in all stages of writing PLANNING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
your research paper.
1. Conduct a preliminary research for your literature
5. Always cite field-specific knowledge. These are review. Make sure that the sources you will use in
pieces of information that can only be found within a your research are reliable.
particular field of study.
2. Reread the given sample in Exercise 3.7 (page 85).
Structure of a Literature Review Pay further attention to its structural features and
answer the questions that follow. Discuss your
2. Literature Review
observations with your group mates.
2.1. Introduction of Literature Review
a. How does the text begin?
2.2. Conceptual Literature
b. What organization does the text follow? How is it
• Concept 1 structured?

• Concept 2 c. How will you describe the way the ideas are
presented?
• Concept 3
d. What is the focus or main idea of each paragraph?
2.3. Related Studies
e. How are the supporting details for each of the main
• Study 1 idea presented? Are the explanationssufficient?
• Study 2 1. What cohesive devices are used to improve the
• Study 3 flow and clarity of ideas?

2.4. Synthesis
3. Prepare a preliminary outline for your literature • Description (types, functions, importance, features,
review. You may follow the structure of the given effects and/or causes, advantages and/or
sample in Exercise 3.7. Be sure to observe the disadvantages if applicable)
principles of and guidelines for an effective outline.
2.3. Concept 2
Seek the approval of your outline from your teacher
before proceeding to the actual writing of your • Definition
literature review.
• Description (types, functions, importance, features,
effects and/or causes, advantages and /or
disadvantages if applicable)
WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
2.4. Concept 3
1. Using your approved outline, write the first draft of
your literature review. Accurately paraphrase, • Definition
summarize, or directly quote the information you
have borrowed from your sources and cite them • Description (types, functions, importance, features,
properly. Your teacher may ask you to color-code the effects and/or causes, advantages and /or
text in your first draft based on each reference used. disadvantages if applicable)
For example, use blue for ideas taken from reference 2.5. Related Studies
1 and so on. This way you and your teacher will easily
see how you have integrated the ideas into your own Study 1.
paper: • General and specific objectives of Study 1
2. Define the key terms that you will incorporate into • Research design, participants, and instruments used
your work. State how your research hypothesis and
your paper in general relate to the literature review. • Major findings related to your paper

3. Search for additional reference materials that you » Conclusions related to your paper
may need for writing your paper. Make sure that
• Weaknesses of Study 1 that were addressed by
these references are reliable.
Study 2
4. Integrate your output in Exercise 3.5 (page 79) into
Study 2.
your literature review section.
• General and specific objectives of Study 2
5. Add a reference list at the end of the document
using the required documentation style. • Research design, participants, and instruments used

6. Use the following format in typing your review: » Major findings related to your paper
double-spaced, Times New Roman 12, one-inch
• Conclusions related to your paper
margin on all sides. Print your work on a short bond
paper. * Weaknesses of Study 2 that were addressed by
Study 3
Here is the format for the heading, subheadings, and
content of your literature review. Study 3.
2. Literature Review • General and specific objectives of Study 3
2.1. Introduction for Literature Review * Research design, participants, and instruments used
Major findings related to your paper
• State the purpose of writing the literature review.
• Conclusions related to your paper
• Indicate the scope or coverage of the review.
Weaknesses of Study 3 that were addressed by your
• Present the organization of the review's content.
study
2.2. Concept 1

• Definition
2.6 Synthesis
• Reinforcement of research gap after reviewing the
available

literature

• Statement that your study attempts to address the

identified research gap

• Relationship of literature review with specific

objectives or research questions of your study

2.7. Conceptual and/or Theoretical Framework

• Presentation of a diagram or any appropriate

graphical aid

• Explanation of the conceptual and theoretical

framework

7. After completing your first draft, revisit it to clarify

the major points and supporting details. Then, subject
it to plagiarism checking online.

8. After you have reviewed your first draft, exchange

your work with that of another classmate for peer
critiquing. When evaluating your classmate's work,
use a blue or green-inked pen and focus on content,
organization, style, and structure of the paper: Use
the rubric on pages 97 to 98 during peer critiquing.
Start revising your own paper once the other group
has finished evaluating it.

9. After revising your paper, submit it to your teacher

for feedback. Your teacher will evaluate the content,
style, organization, and structure of your paper using
the rubric. Revise your paper again based on your
teacher's feedback. Focus on the content,
organization, style, and structure of your paper.
Reserve the editing of grammar and mechanics for the
latter stage of your writing.

10. After completing your final draft, edit it for

grammatical and typographical errors. You may use an
online grammar checker (eg. grammarly.com) or ask
for assistance from others.

11. After the finishing touches, compile

your work in a portfolio. You will use this
completed paper in the writing of the
other parts of your research paper.