How to Develop a

Research Topic &

Literature Review

About Facilitator
Associate

Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA)

Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA), U.K.
ACMA from

from

Institute of Cost & Management Accountant of Pakistan

Master

in Business Administration (MBA) from Iqra University,

Karachi, Pakistan
Doing

PhD in Finance From Bahria University Karachi on HEC

Scholarship
Chartered Accountant
Having
Having

journals

(Module F)

8 Years of experience in Financial & Corporate sectors

13 Research Publications in HEC recognized international

Chapters of Research Thesis

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Introduction
Thesis Proposal
Literature Review
Methodology
Results & Estimation
Thesis Defense
Conclusion & Recommendations

Selection of Research topic

There are a number of students who had already identified
their area of interest by the time they come to Thesis Class.
But for those who dont, it was agreed that the first task for
Thesis is identification of students area of interest. Any
one or combination of some of the following uniform
structured steps would be taken to help students in identify
their interest area.

Selection of Research topic

1. Grade temptation
2. Previous Research Oriented Courses
3. Work Experiences
4. Marketable (Improve your C.V)
5. Promotion/ Growth at jobs
6. Feedback from Corporate world
7. Projects from Corporate World
8. By reviewing the literature (Most Important)

Chapters of Research Thesis

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Introduction
Thesis Proposal
Literature Review
Methodology
Results & Estimation
Thesis Defense
Conclusion & Recommendations

2. Literature Review
The literature broadly refers to information
relevant to your topic of interest. Such
works may deal specifically or more
generally with your topic of interest. While
such information may be obtained from a
variety of sources, including books, journal
articles, reports, etc., the focus is on
scholarly published materials.

Why we do Literature Review?

There are several reasons why you may conduct
a literature review:

to ensure you have a thorough understanding of the

topic
to identify potential areas for research
to identify similar work done within the area
identifying knowledge gaps that demand further
investigation
to compare previous findings
to critique existing findings and suggest further
studies.

Sources for Literature Review

Primary

source: Original research from

journals, articles or conferences, original
materials such as historical documents, or
creative works such as art or literature.
Secondary source: Evaluations, reviews or
syntheses of original work

Format of Literature Review

Raza et al. (2011) examine .by using
data..
.
They
use
the
. Variables used for
the study ... Results
indicate that
Hence
it
is
suggested
that
.

Format of Literature Review

Raza et al. (2011) examine the impact of job characteristics

on employee motivation in health sector of Pakistan
through sample size of 400 participants. They use factor
analysis and multiple regression techniques. They use five
variables; skills variety, task identity, feedback, working
environment and task significance. Results indicate the
positive and significant relationship of working
environment, task identity and skill variety with employee
motivation, while task significance and feedback show
insignificant relationship. They suggest that employer
should focus on working environment, task identity and
skill variety to enhance the motivation level of their
employees.

Necessary Information
Author

Name & Year (First Page)

Research Topic (First Page)
Sample Size/Period (Methodology)
Research Technique (Methodology/Results &
Estimations)
Variables Used (Methodology)
Findings (Results & Estimations)
Conclusion & Recommendations

Format of Literature Review

Raza et al. (2007) examine the factors that influence the current
account balance of Pakistan by using the time series data of
period from 1976 to 2010. They use co-integration and error
correction model techniques. In their study they select four
variable; balance of trade, workers remittances, total
consumption and domestic saving. Results indicate that the
relationships of all variables are significant. They conclude
that current account balance of Pakistan is positively
correlated with workers remittances, domestic saving and
balance of trade while negatively correlated with total
consumption. They recommend that the government needs to
be cautious in financing its fiscal deficit. Savings habits
should be increase to narrow the investment gap in economy.

Free Access Databases

DOAJ
SSRN
EUROJOURNALS
Emerald

(only from university)

JSTOR (only from university)
Google Scholar

Thank You