ABM Grade 12 Modules and activities! 2022-2023

Practical Research II part2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE (RRL)
Definition of RRL

RRL is an important component of research regardless of the type of research. Be it qualitative or quantitative research, you spend time and effort in reviewing related literature. Reviewing related literature is one major activity in research that makes you examine or study again concepts or ideas related to your research that people managed to publish in books, journals, or other reading materials in the past.

Purposes of RRL

Your reasons for reviewing related literature are true for both qualitative and quantitative research. You re-examine written works related to your research for the following purposes:
1. To find out the connection of your research to the current conditions or situations of the world
2. To know more about theories or concepts underlying your research and to learn from them with respect to your own research study
3. To discover the relation of your research with previous research studies
4. To obtain information on the accuracy or relevance of your research questions
5. To familiarize yourself with technical terms related to your research

RRL in Quantitative Research

You have learned that there are two basic methods of reviewing related literature: traditional and systematic review. Traditional is for qualitative research; systematic, for quantitative research. Systematic review, 'a question-driven methodology' is used by quantitative researchers who begin their research work by asking questions-one big question that states the main problem of the research and a set of sub-questions that deal with specific aspects of the research.

Qualitative research likewise begins with research questions, but these are open-ended and subjective questions, in contrast to quantitative questions that aim at obtaining exact, specific, and objective answers whose origin or sources are easy to trace. (Ridley 2012, p. 189; Jesson 2011)

Steps in Conducting a Systematic Review
Systematic review of related literature happens through the following sequential steps:
1. Clarifying the research questions
2. Planning the research based on your understanding of the research questions
3. Searching for literature
4. Listing criteria for considering the values of written works
5. Evaluating the quality of previous research studies
6. Summarizing the various forms of knowledge collected

Meta-analysis in Quantitative Research
What is meta-analysis in relation to RRL? Meta-analysis is a kind of review of related literature in which you re-examine and combine the results of two or more statistical studies for coming out with a grand total to indicate stronger effects of the research outcome. Putting the results together and making them appear as one result work to strengthen whatever impact the independent variable has on the dependent variable.

Meta-analysis helps in guaranteeing the precision of the measuring method used in a quantitative research. However, this merging of statistical results is not applicable to all quantitative research studies. You resort to meta-analysis only if the statistics that you intend to combine come from studies having several similarities like they are comparable in terms of research questions, research design, treatment, measuring technique, and measurable outcome. Similar in many ways, these studies that are apt for combination purposes are called homogenous studies. Conversely, with a number of differences from other studies, they are called heterogeneous studies and are exempted from this type of systematic review of related literature called meta-analysis.

In-text Citation and Referencing Styles
All reading materials related to your research that you intend to review or re-examine offer you concepts, ideas, or information belonging to other people. Having honesty, respect, or courtesy to the owners of these varied forms of knowledge as well as gratefulness fortheir valuable contribution to the field, you see to it that the names of these idea owners or authors appear in the appropriate sections of your research paper. Other people's ideas incorporated in the central section or main body of your paper are to be cited or referred to the true owners of borrowed ideas. Referring to authors within the main body of the paper is called Citation or In-text Citation; at the end of the paper, it is called Bibliography or References. The two most commonly used referencing styles are the MLA (Modern Language Association) and the APA (American Psychological Association). The following table shows you how these two referencing styles differ in some aspects.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Definition of Conceptual Framework

Research is an academic activity that requires a great deal of abstraction or formation of concepts or ideas in your mind about things in your surroundings. This activity in all its stages immerses you into performing varied higher-orderthinking strategies ofinterpreting, criticizing, applying, and creating. Resulting from mental conceptions and viewed holistically, research has to appear understandable to people who are enthusiastic to read the research findings. Owing to the cognitive-based nature of this scholarly academic work called research, you need a certain scheme or detailed plan or system to explain the components of the research including the relationships of these research features.

Purposes of Conceptual Framework
Conceptual framework shows the organization, order, and direction of your research study. It is an essential initial activity of your research because by means of a schematic diagram, explained verbally as well, it enables the readers to obtain a general understanding of the research. It gives people a notion on the research activities you want to perform, on the manner you want to carry these activities out, and on the knowledge you have to prove your familiarity with your research topic or research problem. It also serves the purpose of clarifying concepts and their relationships with one another in a research study.

Concept Map
Made up of varied figures: lines, circles, boxes, and other marks or symbols representing your concepts on these varied features of your research-research question, review of related literature, research methodology, and variables, among others-a conceptual framework looks like a map showing the main features of a plan or project plus the relationship between or among the features or variables in the research. Through the proper connection of lines and pointing of arrows to boxes and other codes symbolizing your concepts about the research, the readers are able to visualize a comprehensive picture of your study.

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