Prepared by: Margot Reeh,
Academic Skills, University of the Sunshine Coast
for presentation to this class• To understand the purpose of a literature review
• To use strategies for investigating the literature
• To use strategies for writing and structuring a
literature reviewWrite a 1500 word literature review paper
on your selected aspect of contemporary project
management theory and practice.
Due Week 13 (35%)
Additional guidelines
• Use template provided
• Use correct PM terminology
• Cover theoretical and applied perspectives
• Write academically
• Use minimum 10 academic and 5 non-academic sources (2000 or later)
• Identify and critically analyse differing perspectives on issues Aspect
Contemporary project management
Theory and practice
&
Write
Literature review Is the aspect chosen ‘contemporary’
Is the aspect chosen appropriate
Have you limited/confined the aspect chosen to
a manageable size?
And find out what constitutes a literature review• The existing knowledge significant to
your inquiry or question that provides
the context for your research.
• This can be found in texts: books,
journals and the like• A critical examination of the what
scholars have written (or not) about a
particular research topic that relates to
your inquiry/aspect of contemporary
project management
Involves description,
synthesis, analysis and
evaluation, comparison and
contrastEssay Report Literature
Review
Purpose To persuade,
explain &
explore
To inform
& analyse
To critically examine
research/knowledge on a topic and
identify gaps in the knowledge for
future research i.e.. Identify what is
known and what is not known
Format Usually
continuous
prose
Major &
minor
headings
Headings (Title page, Abstract,
Introduction, Headings and subheadings, Conclusion, List of
references
Style Formal Formal Formal: precise, concise, specific,
logical, documented, grammatically
correct• Informs the reader of the state of current
research/knowledge related to the question
• Identifies relationships, contradictions,
strengths, weaknesses, gaps and
inadequacies in the current research
• Suggests the next step/s in solving the
problemSource: Google Images (2015)• Lots of selected research and reading
• Lots of critical examination of the literature and
sorting of the trends, themes and controversies
presented
• Lots of words to write
• Writing always takes longer than you think• be selective (don’t try to read everything)
• be systematic: take notes under bibliographic headings/save online
articles
• start general and gradually narrow the scope
• identify authors important in your area
• group ideas/trends/concepts/major arguments & show their relationship
to one another (compare and contrast)
• be critical of data, methodology and interpretations
• show inconsistencies or shortcomings in knowledge and
understanding/similarities and differences
• Look for gaps in the knowledge and reflect on what has not been
exploredPublishing
details
Assessing project
success
Shenhar, AJ, Dvir, D, Levy, O &
Maltz, AC 2001, ‘Project success: a
multidimensional strategic concept’,
Long Range Planning, vol.34, pp.
699-725
Four-dimensional
framework/assessment
of short-term & longterm project objectives…
Stefanovic, JV & Shenhar, AJ 2007,
‘Why companies need to adopt a
strategic approach to project
management’, Current issues in
Technology Management, vol. 11, no.
2
Add teamwork to the
four dimensional
framework
Defining project
Smith J…. Find themes and trends
Find what connects your sources together
Identify the controversies and the gaps in the
knowledge
Look again at the question• Consider the hierarchy of ideas rather than the
chronology of ideas
• Organise around themes
• Use meaningful headings
• Use maps or flow charts to organise informationThe integration of
project management
organization and
change management is
now a necessity Issue/topic
Issue/topic
Issue/topic
Abstract
Introduction
Project work and project
management
Project management
bodies and knowledge
The project management
process
Success and failure
Project management and
change management
Conclusion
Linear planning Mind mapping
Concept/
Aspect– Summarising: recapping and identifying main
points/conclusions
– Synthesising: bringing diverse information together,
reorganising it and showing your own thought processes
– Analysing: critically examining information, making
connections and showing relationships
– Evaluating: identifying strengths, weaknesses, gaps and
inconsistencies in the knowledge Title of review
Name of person for whom review has been prepared
Name of person/s who authored the review
Date
Tutorial day and time• States the purpose of the literature review
• Outlines the findings of the review including
the gap
• Points to future research: why the review is
significantThis paper reviews the literature on project management leadership style and
its influence on the success or failure of projects. The review found a gap in
the research on leadership style or competence as a success factor for project
managers. There was also a lack of research relating to the appropriateness
of leadership style to different projects. This is in direct contrast to the general
management literature, which views effective leadership as a critical success
factor in the management of organisations and has shown that an appropriate
leadership style can lead to better performance.
Adapted from Turner and Mueller (2005)• States the objectives/purpose of the review
(why are you writing this?)
• Outlines the sources/methods used to gather the
information
• Outlines the organisational pattern of the review:
what will be coveredMethods of gathering information
• Successful project management requires delivery of agreed
outcomes on time and within budget. Whether or not the project
leader is a factor in the success of projects will be reviewed with
particular reference to the field of...... Secondary sources such
as scholarly journals as well as organisational websites and
databases have been used to gather information. To begin with,
leadership style will be examined, followed by the competence
and emotional intelligence of the leader. Other success factors
relating to leadership, such as....will also be considered.
what will be covered
to achieve the purpose
project management aspect and employment field identified
why this review is important/hook
purpose of the review• Critically analyses the literature
• Identifies themes, trends and controversies
• Identifies strengths and weaknesses in the
literature/research and the implications
• Identifies if interpretations lead to new points of
views and new research
• Uses tables and figures to complement textGaddis (1959) seems to be the first to coin the term
“project manager.” He saw this role as project
integration, a middle management
function (Nickels et al. 2010), and by the late
1960s and early 1970s, ideas on organizational
integration had begun to attract serious academic
attention, for example, Lawrence and Lorsch's (1967)
study on integration and differentiation, Galbraith's
(1973) on forms of integration, and Davis and
Lawrence's (1977) work on matrix organizations.
Adapted from Hornstein (2015, p. 292)
different perceptions over time identifiedDuring the period between and including 1970s and 2000s,
typically identified sources of project difficulties were: unclear
success criteria, changing sponsor strategy, poor project
definition, technology, concurrency, poor quality assurance,
poor linkage with sales and marketing, inappropriate
contracting strategy, unsupportive political environment, lack
of top management support, inflation, funding difficulties, and
inadequate manpower (Flyvbjerg et al. 2003; Meier 2008;
Miller & Lessard 2000; Morris & Hough1987).
Source: Hornstein (2015, p. 292)
Synthesised ideas from these sources…That is, while some authors have challenged the
validity of the Standish Group (2009) numbers in
particular (e.g. Glass 2005; Jørgensen 2005), others
like King and Peterson (2007) have clearly stated that
large project implementations are beset by problems
which result in less than optimal outcomes, and are a
significant contributor to project failures and the lack of
learning from those failures is overlooking the impact of
social/ psychological components–major components of
the change phenomenon (Holman et al. 2007;
Shepherd et al. 2011).
Source: Hornstein (2015, p. 295)
sources grouped controversy identified This paper has also demonstrated that the literature on project
success factors has been relatively quiet about the role of
organizational change, just as the PMI and other organizations such
as APM that offer training on project management are similarly quiet
(Turner & Müller, 2005). Moreover, this paper suggested that the
competition between change managers…
Source: Hornstein (2015, p. 295)Fig. 2 presents the four phases used in the structured
literature review. Although it is possible to separate
the phases analytically, the actual research process
was iterative, but is still presented in a structured
mannerReeh MKG211
Source: Svejvig & Andersen (2015, p. 281)Be specific
• Project management is regarded by
Cronin and Taylor (2012)…
NOT
• Project management is regarded by
some researchers to…
vague
specificKeep your own voice
• Your voice should remain front and centre
• Ensure you begin and end paragraphs
with your own ideas and words i.e..
YOUR interpretation of the literature
(NOT your opinions of the literature)For example
• Project leadership has been shown to
have varied effects on the ....... (writer’s
voice)
• Dodds et al. (2001) and Wood (2002)
demonstrated that…..(scholar’s voice)Typical vocabulary of a
literature review
• In contrast,…
• However,
• Whereas x…
• Other studies (ref )
• More recently, x (ref ) reported
• X’s perspective differs from …
• Although many …
• Researchers (ref ) agreeConclusion
• Concludes something
• Consolidates and strengthens the arguments
in the literature that have been identified
(sums up)
• Identifies gaps in the knowledge
(controversies, disagreements in the
research, what has not been researched)
• Points to future research based on the gaps
identifiedFor example
Findings linked to the purpose summarised
The literature has shown that the project leader has a significant
impact on project success. In particular, the project leadership
style, personality type and competence has a measurable
impact on the performance of .... in the field of ....However, no
research on the appropriateness of different competency styles
on different projects has been conducted to date. Research in
this area will be valuable for .....
Gap in the literature identified
Future research
Acknowledgements: Turner and Mueller (2005)Have you told the reader…
• What the research says (theory)
• What the controversies are
• What is missing i.e.. the gap in the
knowledge and what needs further
research
• How the research was carried out
(methodology) NB This is optional – check
course outline and with lecturer
Reeh MKG211References
Hornstein HA 2015, ‘The integration of project management and
organizational change is now a necessity’, International Journal
of Project Management, vol. 33, pp. 291-8.
Svejvig, P & Andersen, P 205, ‘Rethinking project management:
a structured literature review with a critical look at the brave new
world’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 33, pp.
278-90.
Turner, RJ & Mueller, R 2005, ‘The project manager’s
leadership style as a success factor on projects: a literature
review’, Project Management Journal, vol. pp. 49-61.Finally
• Begin early
• Read with purpose and evaluate the
literature under review
• Provide a well researched and
convincing evaluation and conclusions
about the current research and its
strengths, weaknesses and gaps
Reeh MKG211What makes a good literature
review?
• Appropriate selection of literature
• Effective criticism of the literature
• Effective interpretation of the literature
Reeh MKG211Reeh MKG211
Insight means the ability to
portray the state of
knowledge in the field,
based on the major
agreements, questions,
debates, divisions of opinion
and evidence.
Bullock, C 1991, Social sciences: an introduction,
Harcourt Brace, Sydney.