1. 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
 Purpose?
 Steps?
 Modes of organisation?
 Strategies for literature searches?
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Purpose: A literature review is essential in order to establish that your
research is worth doing, that it is feasible, and that you what what you
are doing. This may be done in several ways.
A. Outlining theory, and listing hypotheses which arise from it.
B. Describing previous research on a question, and identifying questions
poorly answered, or unanswered.
C. Identifying disagreements among the findings of previous studies with
a view to resolving them.
D. Noting methodological faults in previous studies, and making
improvements.
E. Establishing that the question is thought by others to be important.
F. Outlining the nature of a practical problem which needs to be solved.
G. Outlining the philosophical basis, or view of business, upon which your
proposed solution to a problem us based.
H. Taking up recommendations for future research.
I. Reorganising the literature; identifying trends and patterns.
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3. One of the early activities in the research process is the review of the
research literature – the body of research information related to the
research problem. After the problem has been identified, at least
tentatively, information is needed about the problem so that it can be
put in the proper context and the research can proceed effectively.
(Wiersma, 1991, p. 45).
What is the value of a review of the literature?
Besides providing a context for the research study, the review may be
useful in any or all of the following:
1. More specifically limiting and identifying the research problem and
possible hypotheses.
2. Informing the researcher of what has already done in the area.
3. Providing possible research design and methodological procedures
that may be used in the research study.
4. Providing suggestions for possible modifications in the research to
avoid unanticipated difficulties.
5. Identifying possible gaps in the research.
6. Providing a backdrop for interpreting the results of the research study.
(ibid., p. 50)
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4. Review of the literature
This section should be a discussion of the
previous research that is relevant to the
study.
Such a discussion should, at a
minimum, provide
(1) the background or rationale for the study,
(2) a demonstration of how previous research
is related to the study,
(3) a frame work for reviewing the study.
However, an author who is broaching an
unexplored area of research cannot cite
previous works. (Brown, 1988, p. 46)
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5. Review of the literature
 A survey of the most important and recent
work of relevance to your field of study.
 Not usually sufficient to list key texts and
state the contents.
 Among the approaches you might pursue
are:
+ to identify where writers differ;
+ how the literature has changed over time.
 One of the aims of the literature review is to
demonstrate your ability to engage in
reasoned argument and critical evaluation
of the relevant literature. (HUFS, 1996, p.
14)
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6. Three important steps:
 Presentation of theory
 Significance
 Implication
Modes of organisation:
 Chronological
 Thematic
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7. 12/24/2012 7
(McCarthy, 2001, p. 114)

8. 12/24/2012 8
(Nyyssonen, 1995, pp. 159-160)

9. For some applied linguists, there have existed several ways to define a task as follows:
Crookes (1986, p. 1): A task is ‘a piece of work or an activity, usually with a specified
objective, undertaken as part of an educational course or at at work.’
Prabhu (1987, p. 24): A task is ‘an activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome
from given information through some process of thought, and which allowed teachers to
control and regulate that process.’
Nunan (1989, p. 10): A communicative task is ‘a piece of classroom work which involves
learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, or interacting in the target language
while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form. The task should
also have a sense of completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in
its own right.’
Skehan (1998, p. 95): A task is ‘an activity in which: meaning is primary; there is some sort
of relationship to the real world; task completion has some priority; and the assessment
of task performance is in term of task outcome.’.
Bygate, Skehan, and Swain (2001): A task ‘is an activity which requires learners to use
language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective.’
In general, these definitions focus on various aspects of a language task. They all refer to the
learner’s target language use combining his/her own experiences meaningfully to
develop his/her communicative competence.
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10. Strategies for literature searches
• Branching – following up references cited in recent
research articles
• Using a citation index – start from a key research study
and see who has cited it
• Published indexes (eg Resources in Business) or
abstracts (eg Dissertation Abstracts)
• Computer searchers – through the library or via Internet
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