Literature review and theoretical background

Categories you should follow

Scholars need to be scanning the literature long after a formal literature review product appears to be completed. A careful literature review is usually 15 to 30 pages and could be longer.

The process of reviewing the literature requires different kinds of activities and ways of thinking. For a person doing a literature review this would include tasks such as recognition, retrieval and recollection of the relevant literature.

During this stage relevant books, articles, monographsdissertationsetc.

Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

This step is critical because no one can write clearly about something they do not understand. Understanding may be challenging because the literature could introduce the scholar to new terminology, conceptual framework and methodology.

Why organizations choose to mange diversity?

Toward a leadership-based theoretical framework. Human Resource Development Review, 7, The effect of gender on the transfer of interpersonal communication skills training to the workplace: Human Resource Development Review, 1, Google ScholarLink Passmore, D.

Disciplinary bases of research in HRD. Linking research to practice pp. Google Scholar Rocco, T.

An exploratory examination of the literature on age and HRD policy development. Human Resource Development Review, 2, Google ScholarLink Torraco, R.

What is the difference between a literature review and a theoretical framework/background?

Writing integrative literature reviews: Human Resource Development Review, 4, Google ScholarLink Watson, E. Who or what creates?

A conceptual review of social creativity. Human Resource Development Review, 6, Google ScholarLink Wilensky, A. Understanding the literature beliefs of theoretical executives through and stories. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12, Your literature review must include enough works to provide evidence of both the breadth and the depth of the research on your topic or, at least, one important angle of it.

The number of works necessary to do this will depend on your topic. For most topics, AT LEAST TEN works mostly books but also significant scholarly articles are necessary, although you will not necessarily give all of them equal treatment in your paper e.

As you uncover the literature i. Your ability to do so will demonstrate your understanding of the evolution of literature.

This list is not exhaustive. You might also decide to subdivide categories based on other criteria. Do not arbitrarily choose a categorization; use the one that the literature seems to fall into.

How do you do that? For every source, you should note its thesis, date, author background, methodology, and sources.

Does a pattern appear when you consider such information from each of your sources? If so, you have a possible thesis about the literature.

If not, you might still have a thesis. Are there missing elements in the literature?