- (link
5) standards of adequacy
for a narrative literature review (use these
criteria to critique a literature review chapter in a
dissertation)
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- Standards of Adequacy for Narrative
Literature Review
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- Quoted from McMillian, J. and Schumacher, S. (1997). Research
in education: A conceptual introduction (4th
edition), pp. 152-153-308. NY: HarpersCollins College
Publishers.
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- A narrative literature review is judged
by three criteria: its selection of the
sources, its criticism of the
literature; and its summary and
overall interpretation of the literature on the problem. Below are questions that aid a reader in
determining the quality of the literature review.
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- This criteria will be useful to apply
to your chapter for a self-evaluation when you write your
thesis or dissertation after the proposal is approved
(beyond the scope of this course). Therefore you may want
to print this page for future reference.
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Literature Review Chapter Critique
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- A literature review is judged adequate in the context
of the proposal or the completed study. The problem, the
significance of the study, and the specific research
questions or hypotheses influence the type of literature
review. A literature review is not judged by its length
nor by the number of references included. The quality of
the literature review is evaluated according to whether
it furthers the understanding of the status of knowledge
of the problem and provides a rationale for the study.
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- Selection
of the Literature
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- 1. Is the purpose of the review (preliminary or
exhaustive) indicated?
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- 2. Are the parameters of the review reasonable?
- a. Why were certain bodies of literature
included in the search and others excluded from
it?
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- b. Which years were included in the search?
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- 3. Is the primary literature emphasized in the review
and secondary literature, if cited, used selectively?
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- 4. Are recent developments in the problem emphasized
in the review?
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- 5. Is the literature selected relevant to the problem?
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- 6. Are complete bibliographic data provided for each
reference?
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- Criticism
of the Literature
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- 1. Is the review organized by topics or ideas, not by
author?
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- 2. Is the review organized logically?
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- 3. Are major studies or theories discussed in detail
and minor studies with similar limitations or results
discussed as a group?
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- 4. Is there adequate criticism of the design and
methodology of important studies so that the reader can
draw his or her own conclusions?
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- 5. Are studies compared and contrasted and conflicting
or inconclusive results noted?
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- 6. Is the relevance of each reference to the problem
explicit?
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- 1. Does the summary provide an overall interpretation
and understanding of our knowledge of the problem?
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- 2. Do the implications provide theoretical or
empirical justification for the specific research
questions or hypotheses to follow?
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- 3. Do the methodological implications provide a
rationale for the design to follow?
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