After this has been done, the researcher comes to the actual writing of the literature review, which should be relatively easy if the researcher has done the researcher properly.
Identification of Sources
Identifying sources that are high-quality and appropriate can be very difficult for the inexperienced researcher, but there are ways to help individuals determine whether a source is a good one or not. Generally, 'standard' (.com) websites have questionable reliability unless they belong to a specific and recognized source such as CNN news or Time magazine, for example. Websites that end in.gov or.org are better choices for legitimate information. There are also sites such as Questia or Highbeam where books, magazines, journal articles, and newspapers can be read online. Sources in the library are usually legitimate but researchers must be careful that books and journals are not fictionalized accounts of periods of history or other issues. Paying attention to where the sources come from is the key to ensuring that the sources used are appropriate (Cooper, 1984).
Evaluation of Reliability of Sources
Ensuring that the sources are reliable can also be a troubling issue, but reliability can be more easily determined by the answering of some simple questions. Many studies do not have a difficulty with either reliability or validity. The reason for this is that the data comes from sources...
Due to this, these studies are largely qualitative instead of quantitative, with the only quantitative part of these studies usually dealing with issues such as costs.
Information collected by means of the literature review can also be largely thought to be reliable and valid, since it comes from verifiable sources that are likely to be thorough and complete in their research and methods (Fink, 1998). Only by using these types of sources for the literature review can there be some assurance that the information contained in it will be acceptable for the study. The same is largely true of the information and opinions that are often collected from individuals in the study. In other words, it is necessary to collect this information from individuals that have interest in the subject and some basic knowledge of it, in order to determine whether there is an actual need for what is studied.
Bibliography
Fink, a. (1998). Conducting research literature reviews. New York: Sage Publications.
Cooper, H.M. (1984). The integrative research review - a systematic approach. New York: Sage Publications.
Reed, L.E. (1998). Performing a literature review. Retrieved at http://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie98/papers/1298.pdf.
