This dynamic guide to doing literature reviews demystifies the process in seven steps to show researchers how to produce a comprehensive literature review. Teaching techniques to bring systematic thoroughness and reflexivity to research, the authors show how to achieve a rich, ethical and reflexive review. What makes this book unique: Focuses on multimodal texts and settings such as observations, documents, social media, experts in the field and secondary data so that your review covers the full research environment Puts mixed methods at the centre of the process Shows you how to synthesize information thematically, rather than merely summarize the existing literature and findings Brings culture into the process to help you address bias and understand the role of knowledge interpretation, guiding you through Teaches the CORE of the literature review - Critical thinking, Organization, Reflections and Evaluation - and provides a guide for reflexivity at the end of each of the seven steps Visualizes the steps with roadmaps so you can track progress and self-evaluate as you learn the steps This book is the essential best practices guide for students and researchers, providing the understanding and tools to approach both the 'how' and 'why' of a rigorous, comprehensive, literature review.
PART ONE: OVERVIEW Chapter 1: Foundations of the Literature Review Chapter 2: The Literature Review Chapter 3: Methodology of the Literature Review PART TWO: EXPLORATION Chapter 4: Step 1: Exploring Beliefs and Topics Chapter 5: Step 2: Initiating the Search Chapter 6: Step 3: Storing and Organizing Information Chapter 7: Step 4: Selecting/Deselecting Information Chapter 8: Step 5: Expanding the Search: Media, Observation(s), Documents, Experts and Secondary Data PART THREE: INTEGRATION Chapter 9: Step 6: Analyzing and Synthesizing Information PART FOUR: COMMUNICATION Chapter 10: Step 7: Presenting the CLR Report: Planning Phase Chapter 11: Step 7: Presenting the CLR Written Report APPENDICES Appendix A: Supplemental Tables of Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Research Designs Appendix B: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Legitimation Frameworks
This is by far the most comprehensive text on how to do comprehensive literature reviews! Onwuegbuzie and Frels skilfully demonstrate that review has a methodology of its own. Both novice and experienced scholars will benefit from detailed examples and step-by-step demonstrations of ways to maximize the effectiveness of literature reviews to build new theories and develop better explanations of behaviours and outcomes. -- Abbas Tashakkori This is the most comprehensive and user-friendly book I've seen on how to conduct a literature review. The authors take the distinction of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research seriously, showing how each adds something important and how being open-minded results in the use of literature based on all three approaches. Overall, the book provides a process theory of literature review, that is done before, during, and after each research study. It is a must read for both PhD students and research faculty. -- Burke Johnson With noteworthy scope of content, this book is a must-have resource for beginning and experienced researchers alike. In addition to its effective pedagogical features such as visuals and end of chapter questions, this resource enables researchers to make informed decisions about the purposes of and procedures for undertaking a literature review. In so doing, the authors innovate and advance our understandings of the processes and products involved in a comprehensive literature review and provide practical guidance for each of the steps. I have been seeking such a book and plan to make this required reading for the graduate students I instruct, mentor, and supervise. -- Cheryl N. Poth Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review is a comprehensive text book written to instruct master's-level students, doctoral-level students, and new and experienced researchers in the process of writing a comprehensive literature review... Hopefully, this book will become an important text used by instructors as they guide college students into the writing of the literature review. -- Jan Kirksey Williams
