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One of the essential steps in conducting an economic research paper is to review the existing literature on the topic of interest. This process involves finding, reading, and evaluating relevant economic studies that have been published by other researchers. The purpose of this process is to:
- Identify the main research questions, methods, findings, and gaps in the literature.
- Situate the current research within the broader context and debates in the field.
- Demonstrate the originality and significance of the current research question and hypothesis.
- Provide a theoretical and empirical foundation for the current research design and analysis.
To perform a literature review effectively, the following steps are recommended:
1. Define the scope and keywords of the search. The scope refers to the specific aspects or dimensions of the topic that the researcher wants to focus on, such as the time period, geographic region, population group, or policy issue. The keywords are the terms or phrases that describe the topic and can be used to search for relevant studies in various databases and sources. For example, if the topic is the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial outcomes, the scope could be limited to studies conducted in developing countries in the past decade, and the keywords could be "entrepreneurship education", "entrepreneurial outcomes", "developing countries", and related terms.
2. identify and access the sources of information. The sources of information refer to the databases, journals, books, reports, websites, and other publications that contain economic studies related to the topic. Some of the common sources of information for economic research are:
- EconLit: This is the most comprehensive database of economic literature, covering over 1,300 journals and books, as well as working papers, dissertations, and conference proceedings. It provides abstracts and citations of economic studies, as well as links to full-text versions when available. It also allows users to filter the search results by various criteria, such as publication date, journal name, author name, subject, and methodology.
- Google Scholar: This is a free search engine that indexes scholarly literature across various disciplines and formats, such as articles, books, theses, and preprints. It provides citations and links to full-text versions of economic studies, as well as metrics such as the number of citations and the h-index of the authors. It also allows users to sort the search results by relevance or date, and to create alerts for new publications on the topic.
- RePEc: This is a collaborative network of over 2,000 archives and institutions that provide access to economic research papers, such as working papers, journal articles, books, and book chapters. It offers various services and tools for finding and evaluating economic studies, such as IDEAS, which is a bibliographic database of economic literature, and CitEc, which is a citation analysis service that tracks the impact and influence of economic studies.
- Other sources: Depending on the topic and the scope of the research, other sources of information may be relevant and useful, such as specialized journals, books, reports, and websites that focus on specific areas or aspects of economics, such as development, labor, trade, health, education, environment, and so on. For example, the World Bank, the international Monetary fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the United Nations are some of the organizations that produce and publish economic research and data on various topics and regions.
3. Evaluate the quality and relevance of the studies. Once the researcher has identified and accessed the sources of information, the next step is to evaluate the quality and relevance of the studies that are found. This involves reading the abstracts and the full-text versions of the studies, and applying some criteria to assess their validity, reliability, and applicability to the current research question and hypothesis. Some of the criteria that can be used to evaluate the quality and relevance of the studies are:
- Theoretical framework: This refers to the concepts, models, and assumptions that underpin the study and explain the relationship between the variables of interest. A good study should have a clear and coherent theoretical framework that is consistent with the existing literature and the research question.
- Research design: This refers to the methods and procedures that are used to collect and analyze the data and test the hypothesis. A good study should have a rigorous and appropriate research design that matches the research question and the theoretical framework, and that controls for potential biases and confounding factors.
- Data and sources: This refers to the type, quality, and availability of the data and the sources that are used in the study. A good study should have reliable and valid data and sources that are relevant to the research question and the theoretical framework, and that are sufficiently large and representative of the population of interest.
- Results and findings: This refers to the outcomes and implications of the data analysis and the hypothesis testing. A good study should have clear and consistent results and findings that are supported by the data and the methods, and that address the research question and the theoretical framework.
- Limitations and gaps: This refers to the weaknesses and shortcomings of the study and the areas that need further research. A good study should acknowledge and discuss the limitations and gaps of the study, such as the data quality, the sample size, the external validity, the causal inference, and the generalizability of the results and findings.
4. Synthesize and summarize the literature. The final step in the literature review process is to synthesize and summarize the literature that has been found and evaluated. This involves organizing, integrating, and comparing the main research questions, methods, findings, and gaps in the literature, and highlighting the similarities and differences among the studies. The synthesis and summary of the literature should provide a comprehensive and critical overview of the current state of knowledge and debate on the topic, and identify the gaps and opportunities for the current research. Some of the ways to synthesize and summarize the literature are:
- Narrative review: This is a descriptive and qualitative approach that summarizes the literature by using a narrative or a story-like format. It provides a chronological or thematic overview of the literature, and discusses the main arguments, perspectives, and controversies on the topic. It does not use any formal or quantitative methods to analyze or compare the studies, but rather relies on the researcher's interpretation and judgment.
- Systematic review: This is a rigorous and quantitative approach that summarizes the literature by using a systematic and transparent protocol. It defines a specific research question and a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria to select and evaluate the studies, and uses statistical methods, such as meta-analysis, to synthesize and compare the results and findings of the studies. It provides a comprehensive and objective overview of the literature, and assesses the strength and consistency of the evidence on the topic.
- Literature map: This is a visual and interactive approach that summarizes the literature by using a graphical or a diagrammatic format. It identifies and displays the main concepts, variables, and relationships in the literature, and shows how they are connected and clustered. It provides a holistic and dynamic overview of the literature, and reveals the patterns and gaps in the knowledge on the topic.
How to Find and Evaluate Relevant Economic Studies - Economics Research Paper Unlocking Entrepreneurial Insights: A Study of Economic Research Papers