SH1662

Literature Review
I. Literature Review

Is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers

Develops your understanding of the literature in a field of study

A. Objectives of Literature Review

1. Information seeking – the ability to understand the literature efficiently, using manual or
computerized methods.
2. Critical appraisal – the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and
valid studies.

B. Importance of Literature Review:

• To identify gaps in the research area
• To carry on from what others have already completed
• To fathom the depth of knowledge of your subject area
• To identify methods that could be relevant to your project
II. The APA Format
Reference Citations in Text:
Reference citations in text comprises author surname/s, and the publication date of the source
within the body of the essay or report. It is inserted directly after the information being sourced
from the scientific literature.

TYPE DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

Works by a The last name of the author and the from theory on bounded
single author year of publication are inserted in the rationality (Simon, 1945)
text at the appropriate point.
If the name of the author or the date Simon (1945) posited that
appear as part of the narrative, cite
only missing information in
parentheses.
Works by When a work has two (2) authors, as has been shown (Leiter &
multiple always cite both names every time the Maslach, 1998)
authors reference occurs in the text. In
parenthetical material, join the names
with an ampersand (&).
In the narrative text, join the names as Leiter and Maslach
with the word "and." (1998) demonstrated
When a work has three (3), four (4), or Kahneman, Knetsch, and
five (5) authors, cite all authors the Thaler (1991) found
first time the reference occurs.
Works with no When a work has no author, use the on climate change ("Climate
author first two (2) or three (3) words of the and Weather", 1997)
work's title (omitting any initial
articles) as your text reference, Guide to Agricultural
capitalizing each word. Place the title Meteorological Practices
in quotation marks if it refers to an (1981)
article, chapter of a book, or Web
page. Italicize the title if it refers to a

05 Handout 1 *Property of STI

Page 1 of 3
 SH1662

book, periodical, brochure, or report.

Anonymous authors should be listed as on climate change
such followed by a comma and the (Anonymous, 2008)
date.

Reference List:
o Order: Entries should be arranged in alphabetical order by authors' last names.
Sources without authors are arranged alphabetically by title within the same list.
o Authors: Write out the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work. Use
an ampersand (&) instead of the word "and" when listing multiple authors of a single
work. e.g. Smith, J. D., & Jones, M.
o Titles: Capitalize only the first word of a title or subtitle, and any proper names that
are part of a title.
o Pagination: Use the abbreviation p. or pp. to designate page numbers of articles from
periodicals that do not use volume numbers, especially newspapers. These
abbreviations are also used to designate pages in encyclopedia articles and chapters
from edited books.
o Indentation: The first line of the entry is flush with the left margin, and all subsequent
lines are indented (five [5] to seven [7] spaces) to form a "hanging indent".

Reference List:
Books - References to an entire book must include the following elements: author(s) or
editor(s), date of publication, title, place of publication, and the name of the publisher.
Examples:
No Author or Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003).
editor, in print Springfield, MA: Merriam- Webster.
One (1) author, Kidder, T. (1981). The soul of a new machine. Boston, MA: Little,
in print Brown & Company.
Two (2) Frank, R. H., & Bernanke, B. (2007). Principles of macro-
authors, in print economics (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Edited book Gibbs, J. T., & Huang, L. N. (Eds.). (2001). Children of color:
Psychological interventions with culturally diverse youth. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

III. Guidelines in Citing Related Literature and Studies

A. Characteristics in the Materials Cited
1. The materials must be as recent as possible
This is important because of the rapid, social, political, scientific, and technological
changes. Discoveries in historical and archaeological research have also changed
some historical facts. Researchers in education and psychology are also making great
strides. Therefore, findings 15 years ago may have little value today unless the study
is comparative inquiry about the past and the present. Mathematical and statistical
procedures, however, are a little more stable.
2. Materials must be as objective and unbiased as much as possible
Some materials are extremely one-sided, either politically or religiously biased. This
should be avoided.

05 Handout 1 *Property of STI

Page 2 of 3
 SH1662

3. Materials must be relevant to the study

Only materials that have some similarity to or bearing on the problem researched on
should be cited.
4. Materials must not be too few but not too many
They must be sufficient to give the researcher insight into his problem or to indicate
the nature of the present investigation. The number may also depend upon the
availability of related materials. This is especially a problem with pioneering studies.
Naturally, there are few related materials or even none at all.
a. What to Cite - It should be emphasized that only the major findings, ideas,
generalizations, principles, or conclusions in related materials relevant to the
problem under investigation should be discussed in this chapter. Generally, such
findings, ideas, generalizations, principles, or conclusions are summarized,
paraphrased, or synthesized.
b. Quoting a Material - A material may be quoted if the idea conveyed is so
perfectly stated or it is controversial and it is not too long. It is written single
spaced with wider margins at the left and right sides of the paper but without
any quotation marks.

*For the example given in the slide, let us say that the quote is derived from a
thesis paper; it should be quoted in the sense that given a thesis paper’s format
which has 2” margin on the left and 1.5” margin on the right, the quotation
being cited should be written with an additional .5” margin on each side.
In addition, texts in a thesis paper should follow a double-spacing format; thus,
quotations should only have single spaces between lines.

REFERENCES:
Calderon, J., & Gonzales, E. (1993). Related Literature and Studies. In methods of research and thesis writing.
Mandaluyong City: National Book Store.

Cornell University Library. (2015). Retrieved on November 11, 2014, from,

https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/apa

The Writing Center. (2010-2014). Retrieved on November 7, 2014, from,

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/

The Writing Center. (2014). on November 7, 2014, from,

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html

University of Toronto. (n.d.) Retrieved on November 7, 2014, from,

http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review

Wisegeek.org. (2003-2016). Retrieved on November 11, 2014, from, http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-

dramatic-poetry.htm

05 Handout 1 *Property of STI

Page 3 of 3