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Literature Review Assignment

The primary purpose of this assignment is to help you underst and that the literature review is an integral part of any research project

and how it lays the groundwork for the investigation you will do. Quoting from Hart (1998, p 13), Sekaran and Bougie (2013) define a

literature review as, …the selection of available documents (both published and unpublished) on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and

evidence written from a particular st andpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is

to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed. (p. 49)

They go on to say, A literature re view is a step -by -step process that involves the identification of published and unpublished work from secondary

data sources on the topic of interest, the evaluation of this work in relation to the problem, and the documentation of the work.

(Sekaran & Bougie, 2013, p. 50)

In Module 1, you completed an annotated bibliography on a topic that you selected. That assignment required you to find at least 10

sources of various types, write a short summary of the information found in each source, and write an ev aluation of the source’s

credibility, reliability, currency, possible bias, and usefulness with respect to your topic.

This assignment builds on your annotated bibliography assignment. For the topic you chose for your Module 1 Annotated Bibliography

Assi gnment, complete the following.

• Go through your annotated bibliography again.

• Based on information presented in your annotated bibliography sources (and others if needed), d efine a problem statement

that, in your opinion, would be useful for you to invest igate.

• Organize your sources by sorting and classifying their findings in a meaningful way, always considering your ori ginal topic

and problem statement .

• Write a literature review that would seem to offer the greatest potential for developing a good theore tical framework, using

seven to ten references. All of these can be from your annotated bibliography, or you can use others in addition to those in

your annotated bibliography.

• Develop the theoretical framework incorporating its three basic functions as di scussed in the text.

• Generate a set of testable hypotheses based on the theoretical framework.

Your report must contain the section s outlined below . APA formatting standards must be followed throughout. The paper does not have

to be lengthy; perhaps 750 to 1500 words. The introduction, research question, and hypothesis statement sections s hould be short and

succinct. Most of the word count in your report will be in the literature review and theoretical framework sections. For an example of the

content of a report , see Report 3 on page 374 of the Sekaran and Bougie text.

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• Introduction

In this section , give a clear and concise state ment of the problem. Briefly indicate why it is a problem, why you selected it, and

why it is important to solve t he problem. Use references as necessary to support your arguments.

• Literature Review

This should be one of the longer section s in your report. It should summarize other work related to the problem you identified. It

should identify important variables and document significant findings from earlier research. According to Sekaran and Bougie

(2013), it should:

…convince the reader that (1) the researcher is knowledgeable about the problem area and has done the preliminary

homework that is necessary to conduct the research, and (2) a theoretical framework (in deductive research) will be

structured on work already done and will add to the solid foundation of existing knowledge. (p. 55)

Unlike the annotated bibliography, the literature review is not a listing of s ources with a summary of the findings of each and a

critique of the findings. The literature review, “should bring together all relevant information in a cogent and logical man ner”

(Sekaran & Bougie, p. 55). Read through the examples on pages 37 -38, 88- 89, and 374- 375 to see how a literature review

should be structured.

• Research Question

This should be a brief section with a clear and concise statement of your question. It should be clear to the reader that your

question is a logical outgrowth of previous research as summarized in your literature review .

• Theoretical Framework

This section applies to deductive research. It should be one of the longer sections in your report. According to Sekaran and

Bougie:

The relationship between the literature review and the theoretical framework is that the former provides a solid foundation for

developing the latter. That is, the literature review identifies the variables that might be important, as determined by prev ious

re search findings. …. The theoretical framework represents and elaborates the relationships among the variables, explains

the theory underlying these relations, and describes the nature and direction of the relationships. (p. 77)

• Hypotheses

This brief sectio n should contain a clear and concise statement of your hypothesis or hypotheses. The hypotheses should be a

logical outgrowth of the theoretical framework. “Hypotheses can be defined as logically conjectured relationships between two or

more variables expr essed in the form of testable statements” (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013, p. 83).

• References

Your report must contain a reference section that includes all sources in your paper. References must be in APA format.

As you work on this assignment, read Chapter s 4 a nd 5 of the Sekaran and Bougie text. Also read through the examples of a literature

review on pages 37 -38 and pages 88- 89. Report 3 on page 374 of the text gives an example of a full report of this style.

You may find it helpful to outline your paper before you begin to write it. An outline helps you see the logical connections (or lack

thereof) among the parts of the paper. Following is a suggested outline with a simple example: Page 3 of 3

• Introduction (setting up the discussion)

o The problem is … [people are carrying onto airplanes more and more luggage, resulting in delays in boarding and

continued problems for flight attendants and gate agents ]

o It’s important because … [the airline industry is vital to the economy ; no one likes delays; customers must not aba ndon

airline travel for other options ]

o Solving it would result in … [ improved customer experience, resulting in better economic stability for the airlines ]

• Literature Review (what has already been ‘said’ in this ‘conversation’)

o Previous research in this ar ea has shown …

 Ideas that keep coming up in articles and other sources are … [ the desire to carry on is driven by several factors:

security of personal valuables, convenience, baggage charges, fear of lost luggage and wait time at arrival airport]

• Pros and cons [how these sources support and/or contradict each other]

 Solutions explored so far include … [ size and number limits, baggage fees, improved tracking of luggage]

o Summary of lit review findings (where we are now with this problem)

 Researchers seem to keep trying to … [find solutions focused on limits to plane’s carry -on capacity and reducing

fear of lost luggage]

• Research Question (what new question/solution will be investigated)

o What would happen if … [ customer time were the focus of improvement, specifically, if promptness of delivery to carousel

at arrival were improved? H ow important is it to customers that their baggage arrive quickly at the pickup point?]

• Theoretical Framework (how the question arises logically from the literature review)

o The de pendent variable(s) is/are … [delays in boarding, problems for flight attendants and gate agents, others…. ]

o The independent variable( s) is/ are … [ amount of carry -on baggage]

• Hypotheses (what testable speculations arise from the identified independent variables)

o Customers who are confident that their bags will arrive at the carousel for pickup within 10 minutes of exiting the plane wil l

be more likely to check baggage rather than carry it on.

o Customers who value quick pickup of luggage upon arrival will be more likely to check baggage rather than carry it on.

A draft of this assignment is due in Module 3. Your instructor will provide you with feedback on your work and you will be able to revise

it and turn in the final version in Module 5. Take advantag e of this opportunity! The purpose of the draft is to give you an opportunity to

get feedback from your instructor prior to writing your final version – the draft isn’t expected to be perfect. It will be graded, and will

count 2% of your final course grade. A good grade on the draft means that you submitted it on time; your instructor feels that you put

good effort into it, and that it addresses the required topics. The final version that is due in Module 5 will be subject to much more

stringent grading cri teria. That means it is possible that you could receive a higher grade on a draft than on the corresponding portion of

the final complete proposal.