When I travel, especially to new places, I gather information about the place from books, from the Internet and from people who've been there before. The information gathering continues after I arrive and start to narrow in on my interests. When I return home, I seem to pay more attention to news or magazine articles about the place I visited.
I also browse the Internet, dig into books and talk to people as part of my research in practice process. Typically, though not necessarily, research also involves some checking or review of the literature. In this chapter, we'll consider the benefits and challenges to doing a literature review and consider some alternatives.
In academic research tradition, the term literature refers to the body of articles, reports and other documents on a particular topic. A literature review refers to the process of finding, reading and synthesizing materials related to the topic. It also refers to the summary of key sources that authors include in their research reports. Engaging with the literature can happen all along the way of your research. Here are some reasons for doing literature reviews.
Locating our work. Reading related research can help you locate your work in the bigger picture or "conversation" about the topic. Who else has done research about the topic? What have others learned? How is your research similar or different? Sometimes the literature does not reflect your experiences or you cannot find material that addresses your questions. This can be additional motivation for your research.
Clarifying questions. Reading about related research may help you clarify the topic or question you want to address. It may help you see the problem from other points of view. Researchers sometimes suggest questions for further study. These could help you form your question(s).
Identifying methods. Other researchers may have used methods that you might be able to adapt or use in your research. In focus groups about learners' perspectives on progress (Lefebvre et al., 2006), the researchers used some questions and prompts suggested in an earlier related study written up by Battell (2001). Kate Nonesuch (2008a) reviewed the literature about violence and learning to develop questions for her survey about practitioners' knowledge of that topic.
Interpretation. Others' research and theoretical writing may help you interpret what you find. For example, in my study about sharing power (Norton, 2000a), I drew on frameworks developed by Patricia Cranton (1996) and Starhawk (1987).