Chapter 2. Therefore, the review of literature needs to be accurate, thorough, and impartial.

Every major topic that will be addressed in the findings must be covered in Chapter 2 and introduced in Chapter 1. Although the literature may be scarce in some areas, the student researcher is reminded to consider the importance of including all related topics in Chapter 2. If a survey format is used for data collection, the context of each item on the survey must be included in the literature review. This is necessary to illustrate the reason for including the item in the survey and to give justification to soliciting the information in the item. The discussion of findings in Chapter 5 must relate back to the literature review of Chapter 2.

The literature review of Chapter 2 must be a synthesis of major concepts and issues in the field or area of study. It is not just a reporting or listing of individual studies in sequence. Student researchers should show that they understand the literature well enough to ‘make it their own’ and create a new and original product.

The level of detail about individual studies should be appropriate for and relevant to the purpose of including the study in the review of literature. For example, if the findings of several studies were contradictory, it would not be enough to simply state the conclusions or the findings of those studies without pointing out the contradictions. Including information about the research designs or specific procedures used in the studies would help the reader put each study and its findings into perspective.)

Organization of Review

(I.e. the order and nature of chapter content)

The purpose of this study was ________________________________________.  The research questions/hypotheses were ______________________________________.  This chapter reviews literature addressing research and theory related to the study in the areas of ______________, ______________, ______________, and ______________.  A summary analysis of prominent themes and findings within the reviewed literature is presented at the end of the chapter.

Theoretical Framework

(These sections present and reference a narrative summary of research and theory relevant to the study purpose, including description of the findings and employed methodologies of major research studies.)

Review of Research and Theory about ____________

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Review of Research and Theory about ____________

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Review of Research and Theory about ____________

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Review of Research and Theory about ____________

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Summary of Findings and Themes within Reviewed Literature

(This section presents a summary analysis of prominent themes and findings that emerge from the literature review.  As such, they serve as a base for subsequent comparison of study findings to relevant research literature in Chapters Four and/or Five.)

The above review of literature represents the theoretical framework related to the research questions addressed by the study.  This final chapter section summarizes prominent themes and findings within the framework.  This summarization will serve as a base for comparison of study findings to relevant literature in Chapter Five.

Summary of Themes/Findings about ________________

Theme/Finding: ____________

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Theme/Finding: ____________

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Summary of Themes/Findings about ________________

Theme/Finding: ____________

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Theme/Finding: ____________

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Forecast Chapter Three

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Chapter 3

Methodology

(This chapter describes the research design employed to find answers to the questions/hypotheses addressed by the study, i.e., description of how the research was conducted.  The quality of this description is ultimately judged by whether it clearly communicates:  (a) what was done in a manner that would enable replication of the study by other researchers and (b) adherence to the conventions and principles of scientific research). 

Introduction

(This section:  (a) briefly restates the purpose of the research and related research questions/hypotheses, (b) describes and justifies the alignment of a primary research approach to the research purpose.  Enough information should be included so that someone who has not read Chapters 1 and 2 could understand the basics of Chapter 3. An overview of the components of Chapter 3 is also included at the end of the introduction.)

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Research Purpose

The research questions should be repeated here exactly as they are stated in Chapter 1. Restating the research questions provides both the reader and the researcher with a refresher on the questions and the direction of the methodology. If the study will involve hypothesis testing, each question will be followed by the null and the alternative hypotheses.

The purpose of this study was to ______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.  The related research question(s)/hypotheses was/were:

1. ___________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________

Research Design

(This section is an introductory description of the methods used in the study stated in general terms. In this section, the student describes the specific design used in the study (i.e., ethnographic, historical, descriptive, correlation, causal-comparative, mixed method). Variables and classifications are clearly spelled out and are consistent with the definitions in Chapter One. This section will often have several subsections or subheadings.

Included with the description of the general type of study proposed (quantitative or qualitative) is the rationale for choosing that method. Any operational definitions of the variables in the study are also included along with a brief description of how the data will be collected and analyzed. The details of procedure, methodology, and data analysis will be provided in subsequent sections.

The student researcher is encouraged to reference all necessary elements of this section. Commonly used terms, such as descriptive statistics, for example, should have a citation. The assumption should be made that the reader has a “professional level of understanding” of the proposed methodology, so references are used to demonstrate knowledge and provide a rationale for research methodology used in the dissertation, but students should not provided detailed instruction on how to use or the steps required for a particular methodology.)

The research methodology employed to resolve the question(s)/hypotheses addressed by the study was that of ___________________________________________.

Nature of the Methodology

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Appropriateness of the Methodology to the Research

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Research Plan

(This section details how resources and procedures were organized into a coherent plan for collecting and interpreting data that responds to the research questions/hypotheses.  The following sub-headings are useful to structuring section content.)

Site, Popoulation and Sample

(as appropriate—not every study will have a site)

Selection and Description of Site

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Communication with Site

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Selection and Description of Population

(The characteristics of the population from which the sample for the study will be selected including how the population was identified and the chosen as the best one to use in the study is provided along with sufficient information so that the reader can determine whether the sample actually represents that population.)

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Selection and Description of Sample

(In this section, there must be a complete description of the participants and where they came from (setting), without identifying them personally (except in a case study and in some phenomenological studies). Any incentives offered to participants for their participation, and the possible benefits they might gain from participation, should be mentioned. Any characteristics of the participants that would be considered key to the study and to the outcomes must be described. How the participants were selected for the sample, and what population they represent must also be presented.