Chapter 3: Reviewing the literature

Test your understanding of each chapter by taking the quiz below. Click anywhere on the question to reveal the answer. Good luck!

1. A literature review is best described as:

  1. A list of relevant articles and other published material you have read about your topic, describing the content of each source
  2. An internet search for articles describing research relevant to your topic criticising the methodology and reliability of the findings
  3. An evaluative overview of what is known about a topic, based on published research and theoretical accounts, which serves as a basis for future research or policy decisions
  4. An essay looking at the theoretical background to your research study

Ans: C

2. Choose the best answer. A literature review is

  1. Conducted after you have decided upon your research question
  2. Helps in the formulation of your research aim and research question
  3. Is the last thing to be written in your research report
  4. Is not part of a research proposal

Ans: B

3. Choose the best answer. Which is the most reliable source of information for your literature review?

  1. A TV documentary
  2. A newspaper article
  3. A peer reviewed research article
  4. A relevant chapter from a textbook

Ans: C

4. Choose the best answer. Critical analysis means

  1. Subjecting the literature to a process of interrogation in order to assess the relevance, authenticity and reliability of the literature together with the summarizing of common thematic areas of discussion
  2. An evaluation of past research being critical of the methodology used and describing how your methodology will be an improvement
  3. An analysis of theoretical approaches showing how they are no longer valid according to our current state of knowledge
  4. Looking at the way articles are structured, pointing out logical inconsistencies

Ans: A

5. Which is not a reason for accurate referencing in your literature review?

  1. Accurate referencing is needed so that tutors can follow up your sources and check that you have reported them accurately
  2. Accurate referencing is needed so that researchers who read your work are alerted to source that might be helpful for them
  3. Referencing shows that you go to the library when not in lectures
  4. Accurate referencing is required because it is an academic convention

Ans: C