Literature Review and Finding Published Works

Literature Review and Finding Published Works

When advising a novice researcher, I would indicate to them conducting a literature review on their topic serves several purposes, including the following: first, it helps the researcher understand their topic and develop their perspective. It also serves to show the one to whom the research is presented what you know about your topic of research (libncsu, 2009). Since a literature review entails going through what other scholars have written on a given topic, a researcher is presented with vast information on their area of interest in research and builds on that or conducts further research on the identified gaps from the previous studies. It is a literature review that helps a researcher understand the background of their field to know what has already transpired and the existing gaps that need to be filled. Such a background is also critical for a researcher to demonstrate their professionalism and the breadth of their understanding of their research topic (Greener & Martelli, 2018, p. 26)

When suggesting to someone how to find useful published works, I would tell them to do a primary search on a search engine using the topic’s keywords. This will give some hints on the relevant materials that can be used. Any peer-reviewed work, published books or primary sources such as conference proceedings and reports on the topic can be the most important sources of literature (Greener & Martelli, 2018, p. 28). One can then use databases or portals such as ABI or Business Source Premier to query further sources of literature. Databases may be the richest source of published works on a given topic owing to the continuous updating of professionals in the given discipline.

References

Greener, S., & Martelli, J. (2018). An introduction to business research methods (Third ed.). Bookboon. Retrieved from https://bookboon.com/en/an-introduction-to-business-research-methods-ebook

libncsu. (July 30, 2009). Literature reviews: An overview for graduate students [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU&nohtml5=False

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A literature review for an academic research paper will be a bit different from background research for a business plan. However, the search process for relevant writings, publications, and databases that would inform your work is very similar.

Literature Review and Finding Published Works

Chapter 2 of your Greener & Martinelli text gives an overview of the important points to consider in the literature review process for a more academic paper. (Note also that they refer to the Harvard Style for citations and references. Different disciplines use different style guides, and as you know by now, CCU requires the American Psychological Association (APA) style for our written assignments.)

The research process for relevant publications and data for a business plan would be similar. You would need to identify key concepts, find relevant publications and databases, and investigate whether secondary data is available to support your business ideas and market analysis needs.

The following two YouTube videos on the subject provide additional information:

Writing the Literature Review (Part One): Step-by-step tutorial for graduate students (5:21)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IUZWZX4OGI

Literature Reviews: An overview for graduate students (9:38)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU&nohtml5=Fals

For Business Plans, there are multiple resources available; here are two:

• The Best Ways to Do Market Research for Your Business Plan– from Entrepreneur.com
• Building Your Business Plan– from the Small Business Administration website

Please read Chapter 2 of your Greener and Martinelli (2018) text, watch the two videos above associated with your chosen final project (paper or plan), and answer the following questions:

If you were advising novice researchers, what would you tell them if they asked, “What is the purpose of the literature review?” How would you suggest they find useful published work? (Greener & Martinella, 2018).

For the reading assignment, Greener, S., & Martelli, J. (2018). An introduction to business research methods (3rd ed.). (eBook available at https://bookboon.com/en/an-introduction-to-business-research-methods-ebook