Deck 3: Critically Reviewing the Literature

Question 1

A critical literature review should consist of summaries of all the books and articles you have read.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Which of these is NOT a purpose of a project's literature review?

A) To analyse your empirical data
B) To show how your ideas build on the work of others
C) To show your awareness of current thinking on your topic
D) To avoid repeating work already done

Answer 2

To analyse your empirical data

Question 3

The Literature Review takes place at the start of the project and then stops.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Literature Review will identify the work of previous researchers and it will ________.

A) Ignore their methodology
B) Evaluate their methodology
C) Not be concerned with their methodology
D) Will copy their methodology

Question 5

The Literature Review will examine ________.

A) Only one side of the main argument
B) Only facts
C) All aspects of a topic
D) Only opinions

Question 6

Which of these stages in the literature review process should come after you "define parameters" for your search?

A) Evaluate
B) Generate and refine keywords
C) Obtain literature
D) Start drafting review

Question 7

What is meant by "critical reading"?

A) Adopting a questioning stance towards what you read
B) Adopting a negative stance towards what you read
C) Making sure you read everything that is vital to your topic
D) Making sure everything you read is academic

Question 8

Why is it important to use "review questions" as you read articles and books on your research topic?

A) To structure your literature review
B) To ensure you are reading critically
C) To check your understanding
D) None of the above

Question 9

"Leadership is often referred to as an 'art' (Taylor 2005). Other authors consider leadership to be a 'science' (Andrew 2001, Smith 2006). Davies (1998) defined leadership as a set of character traits, whereas Liu (2003) argues leadership is based on learned skills. There is debate over whether leadership can be learned or whether leaders are "born and not made" (Girgin 1987: 23)." Is this passage ________.

A) Descriptive
B) Critical
C) Plagiarised
D) None of the above

Question 10

"There is debate over whether leadership can be learned or whether leaders are "born and not made" (Girgin 1987: 23). Which side of the debate is chosen depends on whether leadership is seen as a set of character traits inherent in the personality of leaders (Davies 1998), or whether leadership is better defined as skills that can be learned as Liu (2003) argues. This is further complicated by writers who question whether leadership should be thought of as an art or a science (Taylor 2005, Andrew 2001, Smith 2006)." Is this passage ________.

A) Descriptive
B) Critical
C) Plagiarised
D) None of the above

Question 11

The three most important contents of your literature review are key academic theories, up to date knowledge on your topic and thorough clear referencing.

Question 12

Being critical in reviewing the literature has nothing to do with the attitude with which you read.

Question 13

What is meant by the phrase "critique of objectivity"?

A) Questioning the author's facts
B) Questioning the author's values
C) Questioning the author's use of language
D) Questioning the author's referencing

Question 14

The results page from Internet search engines (such as Google) give an indication of content. This is an example of ________.

A) Primary literature source
B) Secondary literature source
C) Tertiary literature source
D) Some other source

Question 15

Researchers need to be cautious of some material, particularly material found online. Why?

A) It is too recent
B) The quality is unknown
C) It has been used before
D) The authors name often does not appear

Question 16

Newspapers are an example of a ________.

A) Primary literature source
B) Secondary literature source
C) Tertiary literature source
D) All of these

Question 17

Primary sources of literature are quick to be published and contain a lot of detail about a specific issue or topic.

Question 18

What is a journal?

A) A published collection of articles on a specific topic/theme
B) The notes you keep about the literature you have read
C) A database that helps you search for articles
D) A bibliographic reference

Question 19

Which one of these is likely to be peer reviewed?

A) Womans Own
B) The Guardian
C) The European Journal of Management
D) The Economist

Question 20

What is the difference between an academic and a professional journal?

A) Academic journals are peer-reviewed, professional journals are not
B) Trade journals are peer-reviewed, academic journals are not
C) Academic journals contain more up to date information than professional journals
D) There is no difference

Question 21

Peer review is the process where experts on a topic assess the quality of an article before it is published.

Question 22

Considering how far each piece of literature you read goes towards answering your research question is a good way to keep your literature review focused.

Question 23

What is the best way to use textbooks in your literature search?

A) For the majority of your ideas
B) As a source of current thinking on your topic
C) As an introduction to the key issues in your topic
D) All of these

Question 24

A source that is more than 10 years old should never be used.

Question 25

A good literature review should start off narrow and become broader.

Question 26

What can be a danger of using articles reported in newspapers?

A) They go out of date quickly
B) They may favour headlines over fact
C) The headlines are always wrong
D) They do not show up on databases

Question 27

When you do deductive research you should not start with any predetermined theories or conceptual frameworks.

Question 28

The age of the information in these publications is most likely to go from oldest to most recent: book, article, report, conference paper.

Question 29

The extent to which the literature review will influence your research design depends on whether your research is inductive or deductive.

Question 30

Which of these is a benefit of using an online database to search for literature?

A) It searches thousands of articles for you
B) It does not find articles that are peer-reviewed
C) It finds all the articles directly relevant to your topic
D) It ensures you use the correct keyword search

Question 31

Which of these is the most efficient way to locate relevant journals?

A) Searching using tertiary sources
B) Following up references in articles
C) Browsing the shelves in the library
D) Browsing in a newsagents

Question 32

Which is the major disadvantage of using peer reviewed journals in literature reviews?

A) The information is too recent
B) Information could be as old as four years
C) Humans control the quality
D) Subscription fees are high

Question 33

When planning your literature search you need to plan carefully. Which of these is NOT a parameter to consider for this phase of research?

A) Timeframe
B) Number of articles
C) Quality of articles
D) Number of questionnaires

Question 34

What should you do to avoid "information overload"?

A) 'Cut and paste' text from the Internet
B) Use several different keywords
C) Search only one or two tertiary sources
D) Tightly define your parameters

Question 35

In the context of searching for literature what is a 'keyword'?

A) The first word in the article's title
B) A word that relates to your research objective
C) The name of the author
D) What you enter to gain access to a database

Question 36

Which of these is NOT a useful function of a 'relevance tree'?

A) Helps you decide which areas to search for first
B) Gives structure to the searching process
C) Tells you where to look for literature
D) Shows relationships between concepts

Question 37

What is an 'abstract'?

A) A statement that tells you exactly what the article is about
B) The list of words and phrases at the back of a book
C) The results that are returned after a keyword search
D) A quote from a journal article

Question 38

A Boolean operator converts UK spellings to US.

Question 39

Which of these is plagiarism?

A) unintentionally forgetting to include citations in your text
B) Copying a published article without stating the source
C) Neither of the above
D) Both of the above

Question 40

What is meant by 'scanning' a journal article when reviewing the literature?

A) Making a copy to keep on your computer
B) Quickly getting an overview to see if the article is relevant
C) Browsing the journal's table of contents
D) Searching for an article on a database

Question 41

"34% of labourers have had an industrial accident in the past three years. The cause of these accidents is suspected to be a lack of safety equipment provided on site." Why is this extract plagiarism?

A) No footnotes are included
B) No quotation marks have been used
C) No sources are cited
D) No critical discussion is included

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT associated with a CRITICAL literature review?

A) Critique of style
B) Critique of rhetoric
C) Critique of tradition
D) Critique of authority

Question 43

When evaluating literature you should consider its ________.

A) Origin and audience
B) Relevance and value
C) Cost and availability
D) Style of referencing

Question 44

Which of these is NOT a criterion on which to assess an article's relevance to your research?

A) Length of references list
B) Similar objectives to your own research
C) How recent it is
D) Other work by the author was useful

Question 45

If an article contradicts your argument then do not include it in your literature review.

Question 46

Which one of these are not normally used by researchers to store references?

A) Handwritten index cards
B) Word processing software
C) Panels
D) Spreadsheets

Question 47

It is important to keep a full record of the citation details of everything you read ________.

A) To gain high marks
B) To help you compile your references list
C) To refine your keywords
D) All of these

Question 48

"Huen-Chui, F. (2005) 'Time for change? Total Quality Management in the motor industry' Manufacturing Today, Vol 35 (2) pp. 347 - 359" This is the correct bibliographic citation for a ________.

A) Chapter in an edited book
B) Webpage
C) Journal article
D) Sole authored monograph

Question 49

When you cite Internet resources, you do not need to find ________.

A) Date created
B) Date last updated
C) Date of birth of the author
D) Date of access

Question 50

"Lee, T. Bridging the Digital Divide at Work, London: Sage" What is missing from this book reference?

A) Year of publication
B) Pages referred to in the text
C) ISBN number
D) Library catalogue reference