In this assignment the writer is going to discuss the importance of literature review in research as this will help us better understand it as management students when we are now doing research for our fourth year dissertation and also for research in the field of business manage managemen mentt and Inform Informati ation on techno technology logy.. But before before going going in deep deep in discus discussin sing g the importance of literature review, the writer will define what research is and why do research so that we have an idea of what we are talking about. Researc Research h is an investi investigati gative ve study of a topic topic or area. area. Below are some definitions from different sources.
Oxford Concise ictionary defines research as !the systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, etc., in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. b. an endeavour to discover new or collate old facts etc. by the scientific scientific study of a sub"ect sub"ect or by a course of critical investigation.# C.R $othari defines research as !a search for knowledge. One can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation.# %dvanced &earner's ictionary of Current (nglish lays down the meaning of research as !a careful investigation or in)uiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.# Redman and *ory define research as a !systemati+ed effort to gain new knowledge. ome people consider research as a movement, a movement from the known to the unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery.# -rom the different definitions from different writers we can say Research is what we do when we have an in)uiry or a problem we want to resolve, we may already think we know the answer to our )uestion already, we may think the answer is evident or even common sense, but until we have sub"ected our problem to laborious systematic analysis, our knowledge remains little more than speculation or at best, perception. Research is done mostly because of intellectual ambition/ the yearning to know and fathom the word, to appreciate the best that has been said and thought on the topics that grasp our thoughts. ome do research for academic purposes when they have been given assignments at different academic levels, in our case in 0imbabwe it can be in primary, secondary or tertiary institutions.
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1here are 22 types of research which are applied, fundamental, futuristic, descriptive, explanatory, predictive, analytical, )uantitative, )ualitative, conceptual and empirical but the writer will "ust look at 3 types of research. 2. %pplied research 4 it also known as decisional research which is where known or existing knowledge is used to solve a particular problem. 5. -undamental research 6 is technical research aimed to improve scientific theories for improved understanding or prediction of natural or other occurrences. 3. -uturistic research 4 this is a study of possible future conditions. -or example, those in the field of information technologies maybe researching on other ways of storing data in computers or how to increase the speed of data transportation from one point to another. Literature Review
ena 1aylor defines a literature review as !% literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers.# 7ikipedia.org defines literature review as !a text of a scholarly paper, which includes the current knowledge including substantive findings, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. &iterature reviews are secondary sources, and do not report new or original experimental work. *ost often associated with academic6oriented literature, such reviews are found in academic "ournals, and are not to be confused with book reviews that may also appear in the same publication. &iterature reviews are a basis for research in nearly every academic field.# 1he 8niversity of 9orth Carolina say !% literature review discusses published information in a particular sub"ect area, and sometimes information in a particular sub"ect area within a certain time period.# &iterature review shows published information by different scholars on a particular topic being researched and is very helpful in giving highlight to the current research being done by a researcher. In a way we can say it is a guideline to the research being conducted. 7ithout a literature review in research, the research being conducted is not credible because there is no place were the researcher is referring from or we can say there is no foundation and support of the new insight in that particular topic.
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Importance of Literature review in research
&iterature reviews can give you a synopsis or act as a stepping stone. 1hey are useful accounts that keep them up to date with what is up6to6date in the field. -or researchers, the depth and scope of the literature review stresses the integrity of the writer in his or her field. &iterature reviews also provide a firm background for a research paper's investigation. $rathwohl, 2:;; says !Review of literature in any study is not a cup of tea< it re)uires scholarly maturity. =ood review of literature is a sign of professional maturity< it shows one's grasp of the field, one's methodological sophistication in criti)uing others' research, and the breadth and depth of one's reading# &iterature reviews help the researcher to avoid replication, recogni+e the gaps in other studies with the aim of filling them, borrow from the research design and methodology used to examine that particular problem and to interpret his or her own findings. 1he review plays a dire role in analysing the existing literature and giving reason as to how one's research fits into the current body of knowledge. 1his suggests that the literature review provides the general understanding which gives meaning to the discussion of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. 1his allows the writer to show how his > her research is related to previous efforts and how it extends to build on better understanding. 1he &iterature review is more than "ust a summary of publications. It provides evidence that your research will be a uni)ue and relevant influence to statistics. In simple terms, the literature review helps to provide a framework for the research, validate the research, ensure the research hasn't been done, show where the research fits into the existing body of knowledge, enable the researcher to learn from previous theory on the topic, demonstrate how the sub"ect has previously been studied, highlight errors in previous research, outline cracks in previous research, show that the work is adding to the understanding and knowledge of the field, refocus or even change the topic. 1he enticement of being shallow, and even to copy and paste in review of literature is great. 1herefore, scholars of research, practitioners and academics too are encouraged to avoid from being drawn into scholarly mediocrity.
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References 1. Jankowicz, D. (2006). Business research Methods for Business Management. Great Britain. 2. Kothari, C. (2004). e!earch "etho#o$og% "etho#! an# &echni'e!. n C. Kothari, Research Methodology (*. 14). +ew ge nternationa$ *-$i!her!. . Literature_review. (2016, 0/ 0). etriee# fro wiki*e#ia.org htt*!33en.wiki*e#ia.org3wiki3iteratre5reiew 4. research - denition of research in English from the Oxford dictionary . (2016, 0/ 0). etriee# fro 7for##ictionarie!.co htt*33www.o7for##ictionarie!.co3#e8nition3eng$i!h3re!earch /. research noun - enition! "ictures! "ronunciation and usage notes # Oxford $dvanced Learner%s ictionary at OxfordLearnersictionaries.com. (2016, 0/ 0). etriee# fro o7for#$earner!#ictionarie!.co htt*33www.o7for#$earner!#ictionarie!.co3#e8nition3eng$i!h3re!earch519 ':re!earch 6. the-argonaut-features-ict-futuristic-research-and-technologies. (2016, 0/ 0). etriee# fro *ro;ect!.ict.!c.e# htt*33*ro;ect!.ict.!c.e#37r3-$og3the
an;ohi, . ". (2016, 0/ 0). etriee# fro www.ken*ro.org htt*33www.ken*ro.org3i*ortance
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