ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the quality of literature reviews in more detail. A researcher should consider the strengths and weaknesses of previously published studies. The currency of the literature can be checked by noting whether research published in recent years has been cited. Researchers cannot be reviewing only research literature that supports their case while ignoring any studies that contradict (or do not support) their hypothesis or expected results. An important goal of maintaining impartiality and objectivity in science requires that the authors of an empirical study include both the studies that support their view as well as those that produced opposite or inconclusive results. Instead, research results offer degrees of evidence, which are sometimes extremely strong, and much more often, are only modest or weak. It is not necessary for a researcher to indicate the degree of confidence that should be accorded every finding discussed in a literature review.
