Just as the name suggests, the Literature Review chapter gives a deep dive into previous works done by other researchers, in your field of study, on the same or related topics.
2.1 Empirical Review: – In this chapter, your will be required to review the most recent works (usually within the last 10 years) by your predecessors, and explain what their study was about, how they conducted the study, and what they found out. This is done under the Empirical Review section. This analysis is to be carried out in a funnel shaped manner beginning with global studies, coming down to regional studies, and finally to studies carried out in your country on the same or related subjects.
2.2 Theoretical Framework: – While looking into previous works, you will come across theories that informed those studies. Theories are statements of positions taken by individuals on a particular subject that are informed by many years of research, study and observation of the behavior of people or things, that create a consistent pattern, that seek to explain the presence of certain behaviors. For example, if employees of a certain organization keep coming late to work, a researcher will choose to study and observe them over time, and come up with a theory that will attempt to explain why the employees consistently come late to work. This theory will also hold true to other organizations, particularly those in the same industry.
The second chapter will also have Theoretical Framework as a sub-topic. In this section, you will be required to document theories that will form the foundation of your study. This section will answer the question, Why do people or things behave in the way that you have described in your study? The theories you select will be informed by the characteristics of the theories in relation to the behavioral pattern you are studying, and also theories brought forth by previous related studies in your field of study. The theories you document in your study will usually be between one and three, and you should have the main or anchor theory, which is supported by other theories – that is if you have more than one theory for your study. You will also be required to give justification as to why you needed more than one theory for your study, if you do not need more than one theory, just have one theory that has a relation with all your variables in the study. As you document your Theoretical Framework, you will highlight which of the studies you explained in your Empirical Review section had the said theories as its foundation, and how the theories affected the study.
Our Services
2.3 Research Gaps: – The next section of the Literature review chapter is the Research Gaps section. Here, you will document the research gaps identified from the studies in the Empirical Review section. After identifying the gaps, you will explain how your study will address those gaps, therefore adding to the body of knowledge in your field of study.
2.4 Conceptual Framework: – The final section of the Literature Review chapter is the Conceptual Framework. The Conceptual Framework will bring together the variables in your study, both the dependent and independent variables, and will demonstrate how the variables relate to each other. This section will contain an explanation of the variables in paragraph form, and a diagrammatic representation of your conceptual framework. The diagram will comprise of the Independent Variables on the left, the Dependent Variable on the right, and sometimes an Intervening Variable between them. The intervening variable is an external factor that determines how the dependent variable relates with the independent variables.
While explaining your Conceptual Framework, you will be required to explain the variables in relation to your empirical review, and your theoretical framework – how did your variables play a role in previous related studies? And how do the theories you identified for your study affect your variables?
An important point to note is that the Conceptual Framework is not mandatory for all research studies. For qualitative studies, where there is no quantitative data, there may be no need for a Conceptual Framework. A conceptual framework compares and demonstrates how the variables in your study affect each other – an increase in one variable, may cause a decrease in another variable and so forth. If your study is a qualitative study that does not compare the relationship between variables, then you do not need a conceptual framework.
From the Literature Review chapter, your supervisor will want to see that you have done thorough research on the study subject, you have adequately identified the gaps, and that you have mastered your dependent and independent variables.
Therefore, your Literature Review chapter will be organized as follows, with the following H2 sub-titles, unless otherwise directed by your school or supervisor:
2.1 Empirical Review
2.2 Theoretical Framework
2.3 Research Gaps
2.4 Conceptual Framework
Frequently asked Questions
FAQ: What are the 5 parts of a literature review?
A literature review is divided into: the Introduction that introduces the chapter by explaining what a literature review is and what it entails; the body, which gives the empirical review where previous studies are highlighted focusing on what the studies were about and what they found out, the theoretical review that gives the theories that the previous studies were based on and the theories that your study will be based on; an analysis of the previous studies and the theories they were based on versus your study and your theories it is based on to draw a comparison that critiques the two; identification of gaps that justify your study and gives an explanation of how your study will address the gaps; and a conclusion and future direction section that summarizes the findings from previous studies, highlights the gaps they present, and suggest cause(s) for future research studies.
FAQ: What are the parts of chapter 2 in a thesis?
Chapter two in a thesis is the Literature Review. The Literature Review has the following parts: the introduction that introduces the chapter by explaining what a literature review is and what it entails; the body, which gives the empirical review where previous studies are highlighted, focusing on what the studies were about and what they found out, the theoretical review that gives the theories that the previous studies were based on, and the theories that your study will be based on; an analysis of the previous studies and the theories they were based on versus your study and your theories it is based on, to draw a comparison that critiques the two; identification of gaps that justify your study and gives an explanation of how your study will address the gaps; and a conclusion and future direction section that summarizes the findings from previous studies, highlights the gaps they present, and suggest cause(s) for future research studies.
FAQ: What is the structure of a literature review chapter?
The structure of the Literature Review chapter in a research project, thesis or dissertation varies slightly depending on the academic institution. The parts are the same in all institutions but the arrangement may vary. The following is the standard structure: First we have the introduction that introduces the chapter by explaining what a literature review is and what it entails; the body, which gives the empirical review where previous studies are highlighted, focusing on what the studies were about and what they found out, the theoretical review that gives the theories that the previous studies were based on, and the theories that your study will be based on; an analysis of the previous studies and the theories they were based on versus your study and theories it is based on, to draw a comparison that critiques the two; identification of gaps that justify your study and gives an explanation of how your study will address the gaps; and a conclusion and future direction section that summarizes the findings from previous studies, highlights the gaps they present, and suggest cause(s) for future research studies.
FAQ: What is the difference between an intervening variable and a mediating variable?
The intervening variable is an external factor that determines how the dependent variable relates with the independent variables. A mediating variable is an external factor that affects how the independent variables engage with the dependent variable. In your study, having an intervening variable will mean less work as compared to having a mediating variable, because having a mediating variable will need you to statistically analyze it. For an intervening variable, you simply explain its relation with the other variables without giving its own statistical analysis.