Chapter 2: Review of the Literature

Test Bank

Note: An asterisk* indicates questions which also appear in the online student quizzes.

Multiple Choice

1. When conducting a literature review, how many sources should you have during an initial search?

a. 10

b. 30

c. 50

d. 70

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which type of literature should be prioritized when you are beginning your study and want to establish a broad synthesis of the literature?

a. journal articles

b. encyclopedias

c. conference papers

d. books

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Priority for Selecting Literature Material

Difficulty Level: Easy

*3. Which type of literature varies the most in quality and should be lower in priority?

a. conference papers

b. research monographs

c. encyclopedias

d. dissertations

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Priority for Selecting Literature Material

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Which suggestion is useful tip when designing a visual literature map?

a. Include citations to provide evidence of major concepts.

b. Avoid using circles or flowcharts for clarity.

c. Include at least 75 studies.

d. Focus only on quantitative research articles.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Literature Map of the Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Literature reviews are typically shorter for a research proposal, approximately 20–30 pages in length.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Use of Literature

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Conference papers and proceedings are not appropriate sources of literature for a literature review.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Priority for Selecting Literature Material

Difficulty Level: Easy

*3. The Chicago Manual of Style is the most popular style manual used in field of education and psychology.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Style Manuals

Difficulty Level: Easy

*4. When abstracting a study, you should identify the methodological and technical strengths and weaknesses.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Abstracting Studies

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Quantitative studies should incorporate a review of the literature at the beginning of the study to provide direction for the research study; whereas qualitative studies should incorporate a review of the literature at the end to compare and contrast with the themes and categories of the study.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Use of the Literature

Difficulty Level: Medium

*6. Definition of terms appear in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods proposals to ensure the researcher’s precision of meaning.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Definition of Terms

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Why should researchers draft a working title early in the development of their projects?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Research Topic

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Creswell (2017) argues that the question is not can a research topic be researched, but should a research topic be researched. Assess and explain why and how a topic for research is chosen: How does the researcher understand if the topic can and should be researched?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Research Topic

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. In your own words, articulate the purpose of the review of literature and the forms that it can take?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Literature Review

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Several computerized databases include ERIC, Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, Sociological Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, and PsycINFO. Choose one of these databases to examine and demonstrate its applicability to a research topic

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Searching Computerized Databases

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Describe the 7 steps in conducting a literature review.

1. Begin by identifying key words to assist in locating literature materials at an academic college or university.

2. Use the keywords to begin searching for academic literature using computerized databases. It is best to initially focus on journal articles and books.

3. Try to locate a minimum of 50 research articles or books related to the research topic.

4. Read, review, and skim the initial group of articles and books to get a better sense of the information.

5. Begin developing a literature map to begin to see connections among the literature that you have found related to the topic.

6. Begin writing annotations for the articles to produce a summary for each resource.

7. Integrate the literature by organizing the literature summaries thematically or grouping by important concepts. This is when you begin to create your literature review and conclude with a summary of the major themes and concepts of the topic and how your study fits into or adds to the literature.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

Difficulty Level:Hard