Literature Review

Literature review is a very important part of the research writing process. It helps the researcher in mainly two ways 1) in collection of data needed for research 2) It helps the researcher to be familiarize with the related work already been done by the other researchers.

Different kinds of information are required in research. This can be classified into the following two types of information:

1)      Primary data: Primary data are the actual information which is received by the researcher for study from the actual field of research. These data are attained by means of questionnaires and schedules. In some fields primary data are collected through interview and observation methods. The observation method, for collecting primary data, may be both participant and non participant. Such data are known as primary because they are attained by the researcher from the field of research directly and for the first time. Participant observation sometimes unravels such primary data which can not be known by any other means. Literature review doesn’t help too much in collection of primary data.

2)      Secondary data: Secondary data are the information which is attained indirectly. The researcher doesn’t attain them himself or directly. Such data are attained generally from published and unpublished material. Secondary data are gathered from information collected from the individuals and institutions through personal diaries, letters and survey documents etc. The secondary data again are gathered through two types of sources. The first source is the personal documents such as diaries, letters, photographs etc. The other sources are the public documents such as books, manuscripts records, census reports, reports of surveys by private institutions and various information published in newspapers and magazines. According to Lundberg, the information achieved from inscriptions on stones and objects of excavations may also be included in secondary data. Literature review is very important in collecting these types of data.

At the time of literature review the researcher comes to know about the different work already been done in this field. This helps him in making the plan for his own research work. The advantages of this approach are mainly as follow:

1)      Integral study: The study of a problem in a particular subject and through a particular method is generally one sided and limited. A particular approach studies only a particular aspect of a problem. The integral approach, on the other hand, leads to an integral and total study. Thus, it is particularly useful for a deep and all round study of a problem.

2)      Elimination of errors: There is a possibility of several errors in the study of a problem in a particular approach. On the other hand, if the same problem is simultaneously studied by several approaches, the possibility of error diminishes. It is so, since firstly, it attempts to study all the aspects and secondly, the problem is studied in several ways. This makes literature review much advantageous.

Literature review is undoubtedly a very important part of the research writing process and if it is done well then completion of the project will become easier.