Literature Search

That’s a good question! Literature review vs. systematic review – Let’s unravel the differences.  LITERATURE REVIEW  A literature review serves mostly as a broad overview of existing studies on a particular topic, often commenced without a stringent, well-defined methodology. This type of review, also known as a traditional (narrative) review, aims to provide a contextual or theoretical understanding of the subject matter. Consider it a stepping stone, laying the groundwork for subsequent research endeavors.  A literature review can be either a section of a larger research paper or an entire paper in its own right. Almost all papers and theses based on observational or experimental research begin with a literature review, however brief or detailed, to set context for the study performed. When a literature review is published as a stand-alone article, it’s not part of an original research paper; its sole objective is to provide a comprehensive overview existing literature on a topic.  SYSTEMATIC REVIEW  A systematic review, on the other hand, is a highly focused, rigorously defined, inquiry into existing research, characterized by its strict adherence to transparency and reproducibility standards. There are usually five stages to this:  1. Formulating the Question: This is the foundational stage where...

That’s a good question! Literature review vs. systematic review – Let’s unravel the differences.  LITERATURE REVIEW  A literature review serves mostly as a broad overview of existing studies on a particular topic, often commenced without a stringent, well-defined methodology. This type of review, also known as a traditional (narrative) review, aims to provide a contextual or theoretical understanding of the subject matter. Consider it a stepping stone, laying the groundwork for subsequent research endeavors.  A literature review can be either a section of a larger research paper or an entire paper in its own right. Almost all papers and theses based on observational or experimental research begin with a literature review, however brief or detailed, to set context for the study performed. When a literature review is published as a stand-alone article, it’s not part of an original research paper; its sole objective is to provide a comprehensive overview existing literature on a topic.  SYSTEMATIC REVIEW  A systematic review, on the other hand, is a highly focused, rigorously defined, inquiry into existing research, characterized by its strict adherence to transparency and reproducibility standards. There are usually five stages to this:  1. Formulating the Question: This is the foundational stage where...

Dear author, thank you for your question. As your review focused on the current progress of the field, which is why you chose articles from 2017 and later, you can state this as the rationale. Please let them know that there have been significant advances in the field and you wanted your review to reflect the most recent progress, which is why you focused only on papers published after 2017.

Thank you for the interesting question!While this depends on the scope of your study, the following process is an outline that may facilitate your choice of subtopics and literature review.You may have a few questions in mind regarding this topic, such as the following:What are some of the coping mechanisms and resilience strategies of college students when they’re faced with stress? Are those predisposed to stress more greatly influenced by the crisis, for instance?While COVID-19 may have direct effects, it has also affected other factors such as social relationships (including those among college students) – Should we disaggregate the direct and indirect effects?Has a certain group been affected more than others? For example, have international students faced stronger effects? Are those pursuing part time jobs to finance their college education more affected?How significant are these effects? Are there parameters to gauge this, such as college attrition rates?How long are these effects expected to last in the aftermath of COVID-19?These are, of course, just a few examples.As a next step, you can associate each of these questions with a subject area or field; for instance, the following fields pertain to the questions listed above:PsychologySociology (and other pertinent areas depending on the...

A review of the related literature (RRL) is an excellent way to provide an overview of current knowledge on the specific topic of your work. It brings to the fore the gaps in the knowledge of the topic you are addressing, allowing you to highlight how your study sets out to fill them. Your question is an interesting one. The opening paragraphs should ideally provide an informative background. It could begin with an opinion or even a historical perspective. The important thing to remember, however, is to start with a broad background or context, narrowing down the focus to the specific objectives as you approach the end of the section.Note that the type of opening statement would be determined by the topic, research question, field of study, and type of study, among various other factors. In other words, there are no defined rules for this. We recommend that you go with what flows naturally when you begin writing. As prompts, consider the answers to the following questions:Why is the study needed and/or why is it needed now?What is the most important theme or argument in the study?What is the major knowledge gap/long-standing question that has failed to be answered in...

According to Horowitz, Rosenberg, & Bartholomew (as cited in Locke, 2005), interpersonal problems are recurring difficulties in relating to subjects. Some students work at part-time jobs or are engaged in time consuming extra-curricular activities at the university. The demands of academic assignments almost require students to have the time management skills of a successful busy business executive. Unfortunately, not many students know adequate time management in order not to stress the minds of students also, the relationship of the subject to the students. Some Reports from the University of Cincinnati (2001) declares some common reasons why college students experience academic problems. It was said that some students do not have a clear vision regarding their reason for being in college. It could be pointed out that students are in college since parents insist while not feeling good on what they are doing. Students have to understand and listen to every lesson and advance study to know what the lesson is all about. Students of Grade-12 ABM who are involved in this study showed that the cooperation of respondents in having difficulties to the research subject of that institution is a very crucial problem for students to have a way on...

A review of related literature (RRL) puts your research in the context of what is currently known about the topic. Accordingly, it is a good way to highlight the knowledge gaps and what your study offers in terms of novelty and significance. Your question on outlining the subtopics is a pertinent one. However, outlining subtopics would heavily rely on the specific topic you are writing on. Without knowing that, we cannot clearly delineate the subtopics and their position in the text. However, we will try to provide hints that will help you choose and organize them optimally.The opening paragraphs should provide an informative background, perhaps with a historical perspective, if applicable. Then, you should streamline the broad topic by narrowing the focus on the basis of various parameters. Depending on the topic, you might want to choose a chronological organization or a thematic one. The former would require you to discuss the developments in the field from old to new. Meanwhile, a methodological review deals with research, data collection, and data analysis techniques. The subtopics in a methodological review would be specific methods/approaches followed in different studies, each with their pros and cons. An RRL organized by theme would have...

A review of related literature (RRL) puts your research in the context of what is currently known about the topic. Accordingly, it is a good way to highlight the knowledge gaps and what your study offers in terms of novelty and significance. Your question on outlining the subtopics is a pertinent one. However, outlining subtopics would heavily rely on the specific topic you are writing on. Without knowing that, we cannot clearly delineate the subtopics and their position in the text. However, we will try to provide hints that will help you choose and organize them optimally.The opening paragraphs should provide an informative background, perhaps with a historical perspective, if applicable. Then, you should streamline the broad topic by narrowing the focus on the basis of various parameters. Depending on the topic, you might want to choose a chronological organization or a thematic one. The former would require you to discuss the developments in the field from old to new. Meanwhile, a methodological review deals with research, data collection, and data analysis techniques. The subtopics in a methodological review would be specific methods/approaches followed in different studies, each with their pros and cons. An RRL organized by theme would have...

Welcome to the Editage Insights Q&A Forum, and thanks for your question.  We have quite a few resources on writing the justification or rationale of a study. We have linked a few of these below. For more, you can search the forum/site and the platform using the relevant keywords.  How can I write about the justification of my research - and what does it entail?  How to write the rationale for research?  How is research justification or justification of a study written?  Hope these help. All the best for your study! 

A research gap refers to unexplored or underexplored areas with scope for further research. When you read papers on topics of interest, you may realize there are some areas that have significant scope for more research but have not been studied by other researchers. We will now explain why it is important to identify gaps in literature: Assume that you have completed your research work and sent your paper for peer review only to find out that another researcher has already published something similar. It is therefore necessary to find out problems in your research field that have not been previously addressed before. Not only would you be investing your funds and resources in the right project but also increasing the chances of your research findings getting published.To summarize, identifying the gap in literature will help you Clearly define the motivations behind your study Clearly define the problem being studied Clearly define why the problem is importantIn fact, to make sure you stay updated about new research in your domain of expertise, it is recommended to make literature reading a habit. This will also prevent you from getting overwhelmed by the amount of articles you need to digest before you...