Literature reviews in dissertation papers are designed to elaborate on the topic and the rationale for research. It identifies a gap in research and explains how the current research intends to fill the knowledge gap. The aim of the literature review is universal regardless of the type of research being undertaken. However, there is a notable difference between the structure of the literature review in quantitative and qualitative research.
There are several differences in the literature review contained in the two types of researches. For instance, the literature review in qualitative studies is structured to address different aspects of the topic being studied. Each of the elements may be presented in the form of subheadings under the main literature review headings, which focus on explaining the various aspects of the main topic as addressed in previous studies. In his qualitative dissertation entitled “ Professional Learning Community Implementation and Teacher Perceptions of Participation Influences on Professional Growth” Watkins (2016) presented a literature review under the subsections such as PLC focus on learning and teaching, professional development, and transformational learning among others. This structure presents literature on different aspects of the topic under review.
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In contrast, the review of the literature on quantitative research is structured to address both independent and dependent variables. As such, it mainly focuses on reviewing how other experts have discussed the variables that the research wants to study (Cottrell, 2014). Moreover, the review is structured to discuss the connection between the variables as depicted in other literature. In his quantitative dissertation entitled “ Servant Leadership and its Impact on Classroom Climate and Student Achievement ” Mulligan (2016) structured the literature review to discuss both independent variables such as the measure of servant leadership as well as dependent variables such as leadership outcomes. Therefore, the distinction in both qualitative and quantitative approaches in structuring their reviews is premised on what they choose to discuss; topic versus variables.
Various reasons justify the differences in the structural approach in the literature review for the two types of research. First, the differences are justified based on the differences in the study models. Qualitative dissertations focus on providing an in-depth insight into a given problem. Therefore, it considers the issue being studied from diverse perspectives (Cottrell, 2014). As a result, qualitative studies require a literature review that appreciates the contributions of various experts in the field that considers different aspects of the topic under review. Therefore, this justifies the approach of focusing mainly on exploring literature on different aspects of the topic being researched.
On the other hand, quantitative dissertations focus on quantifying the issues in a given problem and depicting the relationship between them. Therefore, they relate the quantities of different aspects to a problem in a way that generates useful statistics and drawing relevant conclusions. Therefore, the structure of the literature review must be developed to support the overall structure of quantitative studies. The assessment should also be structured to elaborate both variables before the real study can be undertaken. Such a review should explain how other studies have quantified and established a relationship between both variables after which the research can proceed with their new study. Therefore, this structure is necessary as a way of aligning previous studies with the overall purpose of the new quantitative study.
Overall, the structure of the literature review in qualitative studies differs significantly from quantitative studies. Whereas the review in qualitative studies is structured to the ideas of other experts on the topic, a quantitative literature review focuses on the independent as well as dependent variables. The variations in structure between the two literature reviews are justified because they guide researches into getting some in-depth information about their topics before diving into the actual and respective studies.
References
Cottrell, S. (2014). Literature search and review. Dissertations and Project Reports, 77-88.
Mulligan D. (2016). “Servant Leadership and its Impact on Classroom Climate and Student Achievement” Proquest.
Watkins T., (2016). Professional Learning Community Implementation and Teacher Perceptions of Participation Influences on Professional Growth. Proquest .
