Quantitative and Qualitative Literature Reviews

Quantitative and qualitative literature reviews serve different purposes.   This post discusses the content and structure of each.  A quantitative study is not complete until the report is written (McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, 2006a).  It is generally intended for scholars and students.  Two important elements of a quantitative study are the introduction and the literature review.

Quantitate Study

The introduction is generally one or two paragraphs in length.  Its purpose is to frame the study and state the intention. The introduction should engage the reader, encouraging them to continue reading. 

After the introduction, the report contains the literature review.  The purpose of a literature review for quantitative research project is to further frame the research area.  The goal is to put the study into perspective.  It may include the history of the variables being studied.  The literature review should beyond a description of literature to include analysis, synthesis, and possibly a critique.

The problem statement should be included near the beginning of the literature review.  It servers to clarify the nature of the problem, why it is important to study it, why the researchers conducted the study, and why the reader should be interested in the results.  The literature review should include empirical research results, and possibly publications that evaluate or propose a theory.  The number of articles to be included in a literature review vary based upon the topic and nature of research. 

The literature review can be organized in various ways.  One way is to start with the seminal work and move forward in a chronological order.  An alternative is to start from the general concepts related to the study and move to specifics.  The first paragraph of the literature review should outline the upcoming topics.  The literature review should be organized, utilizing headings and other helpers to guide the reader.  A literature review is typically written in third person and should follow proper style, such as APA.

The research questions and hypotheses should be placed at the end of the literature review.  They should emerge from the literature that was reviewed.  They should be stated as a simple question or sentence.  They may be referred to using a shorthand notation, such as H1 and H2 or RQ1 and RQ2. 

Qualitative Study

A qualitative study is similar to a quantitative study in that it is not complete until the report has been written (McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, 2006b).  Unlike a quantitative study, a qualitative study is written in a somewhat reflective way.       While the quantitative study relies on instruments to gather data, a qualitative study relies on the author to interpret and to some extent capture information.  The literature review in a qualitative study is a summary.

References

McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. (2006a). Chapter 17: Reading and Writing the Quantitative Research Report.   Retrieved from http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0073049506/240132/Chapter_17.ppt

McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. (2006b). Chapter 18: Reading and Writing the Qualitative Research Report.   Retrieved from http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0073049506/295001/Chapter_18.ppt