Reference no: EM133772111

The purpose of the literature review is to provide the context within which the project will be developed and framed. The process of finding, reviewing, synthesizing, analyzing, and writing the literature review provides greater definition to the theoretical framework and gives you a strong foundation from which to work when developing support for the research concept.

You will continue developing your literature review, integrating and synthesizing the information gleaned as you developed your research topic, your annotated bibliography, and your annotated outline, if you created one.

In this assessment, you will focus on developing brief, carefully constructed paragraphs supported by the literature and research. You will research and present key findings of your literature review that you may not have addressed or that may need further development. Plan to build upon what you have already presented.

Overview

In addition to the other helpful links provided in Resources, we recommend you use an organizing tool from the Capella University Library Services and Tools page, such as the Scholarly Research Log, to help you track the theories, methods, and findings of the articles you have read.

Instructions
The literature review assessment is a standalone assessment; however, it is part of the overall concept paper. Therefore, you notice that it is part of the concept paper template. You are encouraged to consult the assessment rubrics as you complete each assessment, including the final paper, for an understanding of the depth and breadth required for each level of scoring.

The following is a complete description of each section and subsection of the literature review assessment. These instructions are also included in the concept paper template, they are meant to help guide your process as you complete each section.

[Restate the Title Here and Remove the Brackets]

The introduction to the literature review should follow immediately after the title. Its placement signals that it is an introduction and does not require a separate heading. Follow current APA guidance for creating a title. The title should be a statement and not a question. It should summarize the main idea of the paper. It should be concise and include the variables in the research and their relationship. See section 2.4 on page 31 of the APA manual. Use this space to discuss what the reader is expected to learn from the literature review. Introduce your research topic and describe the significance of your topic. Discuss how you conducted your literature search, the databases and keywords used.
Theoretical Orientation for the Research Concept

Many times, the term theory can be conflated with other uses. In research there are about three ways that theory is applied in research: a) empirical theories; b) theories of method; and c) theories of content.

Empirical theories are likely to drive quantitative projects. These theories are intellectual guesses, supported by the research literature, that become the impetus for initiating a quantitative research study. They guide research questions, justify what is being measured (variables) as well as how those variables are related, and guide the data collection instruments. Such theories are best described in the research question section of the paper and should make a clear connection to the research question.

Theories of method refers to the epistemological underpinnings of theories that drive decisions associated with the planning and development of research strategies. Theories of method is also understood as concept mapping. It's a description of the research concept development with a discussion that includes a justification for making such choices. It's helpful to include this description in the background section of the paper.
For this section of the assignment, the focus should be on theories of content. Examples of theory related to content include psychoanalytic theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, attribution theories, and cognitive and developmental theories. Theories of content should be identified, defined, and described with support from the theoretical and empirical literature. These theories should be grounded in psychology and provide a lens by which to understand the research topic.

With this mind, be sure to:
Identify and define the theory or theories that provide the foundation for the research.

Describe the theory or theories and explain how the research topic relates to the theory(ies).

Include macro/umbrella theory or theories from seminal sources that provide a reasonable theoretical foundation for contextualizing the research concept.

Review of the Literature

The review of literature is more than a summary of the information found through the literature search. Its purpose is to provide the context within which the project will be framed and developed. It should include a conceptually organized synthesis of the results of the process that clearly delineates what is known, what is unknown, and what is controversial regarding your topic. It is expected that you will organize topics and subtopics in the literature review thematically. Reviews that are organized article by article are not appropriate for this project.

It is important to understand that the process of finding, reviewing, synthesizing, and writing the literature review defines the theoretical framework and gives you a strong foundation from which to work when developing your research question. The literature review is part of the concept paper template, which you will use and build on throughout the course.

For this section of the assessment, the review of literature should reflect an effective understanding of the current state of empirical research on the topic. Include (1) studies describing and/or relating to the research topic; (2) studies on related research such as factors associated with the themes; (3) studies on the instruments used to collect data; (4) studies on the broad population for the study; and/or (5) studies similar to the proposed study. The themes presented and research studies discussed and synthesized in the Review of Literature need to demonstrate a working understanding of all aspects of the research topic. Analyze the relationships among the related studies instead of presenting a series of seemingly unrelated abstracts or annotations. The literature review should motivate the study. The reader should understand why the problem should be researched and why the study represents a contribution to existing knowledge.