A literature review is an analytical examination of scholarly work of existing studies and related work on a specific topic. It is a mandatory part of an academic journey and helps students develop critical thinking skills. There are many types of literature reviews; the most common are: narrative, systematic, and critical. Within the research context, a literature review plays a crucial role in identifying the state-of-the-art, enriching the broader ongoing scholarly dialogue, highlighting gaps in the existing literature, sharpening the research problem, refining research approaches and methodologies, and overall increasing the credibility of the research study. The main sources of literature review include primary, secondary, and tertiary sources available online or in print copies. While internet offers many advantages there are also disadvantages, the main ones being information overload and fake information. Several databases provide information on agriculture, including both general and specialized platforms. Key databases include CABI, AGORA, and PUBMED. Others include SCOPUS and Web of Science. Each of the database serves specific purposes. Steps to searching, analyzing, and writing literature start with identifying a topic, reading, and analyzing and end with synthesizing and writing. Literature reviews of masters and Ph.D. thesis work are organized thematically and guided by research problems and objectives. The chapter ends with a short section on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks to emphasize the close interdependence between the literature review and the theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Differences between the theoretical and conceptual frameworks are also presented.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Literature Review

  • Jayne Njeri Mugwe,
  • Steven Runo

摘要

A literature review is an analytical examination of scholarly work of existing studies and related work on a specific topic. It is a mandatory part of an academic journey and helps students develop critical thinking skills. There are many types of literature reviews; the most common are: narrative, systematic, and critical. Within the research context, a literature review plays a crucial role in identifying the state-of-the-art, enriching the broader ongoing scholarly dialogue, highlighting gaps in the existing literature, sharpening the research problem, refining research approaches and methodologies, and overall increasing the credibility of the research study. The main sources of literature review include primary, secondary, and tertiary sources available online or in print copies. While internet offers many advantages there are also disadvantages, the main ones being information overload and fake information. Several databases provide information on agriculture, including both general and specialized platforms. Key databases include CABI, AGORA, and PUBMED. Others include SCOPUS and Web of Science. Each of the database serves specific purposes. Steps to searching, analyzing, and writing literature start with identifying a topic, reading, and analyzing and end with synthesizing and writing. Literature reviews of masters and Ph.D. thesis work are organized thematically and guided by research problems and objectives. The chapter ends with a short section on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks to emphasize the close interdependence between the literature review and the theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Differences between the theoretical and conceptual frameworks are also presented.