ABSTRACT
The term literature review can sometimes be a bit confusing because behavioral scientists use the term in more than one way. One type of literature review is the background reading, such as we discussed in Chapter 5, that researchers do on existing theories and research in preparation for conducting a new study. Literature review also refers to the part of the introduction section of a research report the provides the authors’ summary of the relevant theories and research that form the bases of their hypotheses (see Chapter 20). Another type of literature review is a form of research that summarizes what is known about a topic. This type of review can focus on the historical development of theory or research on a topic, on comparisons and evaluations of competing theories on a topic, or on summaries and critical evaluations of the research on a topic.
