Table 1
Class Standing and COVID (n=108)
Class Standing
First Year / Sophomore (n=13)
Junior / Senior (n=82)
Graduate Student (n=13)
COVID
Before (n=46)
Count
1
36
9
Expected Count
5.5
34.9
5.5
During (n=62)
Count
12
46
4
Expected Count
7.5
47.1
7.5
The primary interest of the study was to observe whether or not students reported an improvement in perceived stress after the research consultation. Thirty-seven percent (n=40) of respondents reported high levels of project stress and 64 percent (n=69) reported high levels of overall stress before the consultation. Respondents reported an improvement in both project stress and overall stress after the research consultation. Frequencies can be seen in figures 1 and 2. Respondents in the study experienced a mean positive change in project stress of 1.5 units and a mean positive change in overall stress of 1.2 units.
Using crosstabs, the researchers performed a chi-square goodness of fit test to explore associations between the variables and found significant associations between: 1. Project Stress and Covid; 2. Overall Stress Change and COVID; 3. Project Stress and Overall Stress; and 4. Project Stress Change and Overall Stress Change. One area of interest was whether participants in the study demonstrated higher levels of stress during the COVID phase of the study than in the pre-COVID phase.
Figure 1 |
Project Stress Change Histogram |
|
Figure 2 |
Overall Stress Change Histogram |
|
There was a significant association between COVID and project stress before the consultation (x 2 (1)=10.297, p =.001), but the data showed there were more respondents than expected reporting high project stress before COVID (late October 2019 through early March 2020). Likewise, more respondents than expected reported low project stress during COVID (late October 2020 through early March 2021) as shown in table 2. A similar analysis on overall stress before the consultation did not show a significant association with COVID.
Table 2 | ||||
Project Stress and COVID (n=108) | ||||
Project Stress | ||||
Low (1–3) (n=68) | High (4–5) (n=40) | |||
COVID | Before (n=46) | Count | 21 | 25 |
Expected Count | 29 | 17 | ||
During (n=62) | Count | 47 | 15 | |
Expected Count | 39 | 23 |
There was a significant association between COVID and overall stress change (x 2 (2)=6.725, p =.035). There were more respondents than expected reporting a positive overall stress change by two units before COVID, and more than expected reporting no overall stress change, or a positive stress change by one unit during COVID (see table 3). No students reported a negative overall stress change. In general, improvements in overall stress were higher before COVID. A similar analysis on project stress change did not show a significant association with COVID.
Table 3 | |||||
Overall Stress Change and COVID (n=108) | |||||
Overall Stress Change | |||||
0 (n=17) | 1 (n=54) | 2 (n=37) | |||
COVID | Before (n=46) | Count | 5 | 19 | 22 |
Expected Count | 7.2 | 23 | 15.8 | ||
During (n=62) | Count | 12 | 35 | 15 | |
Expected Count | 9.8 | 31 | 21.2 |
In addition to the difference between initial project stress and COVID, there was a significant association between project stress and overall stress (x 2 (1)=5.101, p =.024). There were more respondents than expected with both low project and overall stress, and likewise more than expected with both high project and overall stress (see table 4). In general, students with low project stress also had low overall stress and students with high project stress also had high overall stress.
Table 4 | ||||
Project Stress and Overall Stress (n=108) | ||||
Project Stress | ||||
Low (1–3) (n=68) | High (4–5) (n=40) | |||
Overall Stress | Low (1–3) (n=39) | Count | 30 | 9 |
Expected Count | 24.6 | 14.4 | ||
High (4–5) (n=69) | Count | 38 | 31 | |
Expected Count | 43.4 | 25.6 |
There was also a significant association between project stress change and overall stress change (x 2 (6)=35.181, p <.001). In general, students that showed large positive changes in project stress were more likely to show large positive changes in overall stress (see table 5).
Table 5 | ||||||
Project Stress Change and Overall Stress Change (n=108) | ||||||
Project Stress Change | ||||||
–1 (n=2) | 0 (n=3) | 1 (n=40) | 2 (n=63) | |||
Overall Stress Change | 0 (n=17) | Count | 2 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
Expected Count | .3 | .5 | 6.3 | 9.9 | ||
1 (n=54) | Count | 0 | 2 | 23 | 29 | |
Expected Count | 1 | 1.5 | 20 | 31.5 | ||
2 (n=37) | Count | 0 | 0 | 5 | 32 | |
Expected Count | .7 | 1 | 13.7 | 21.6 |
An ordinal regression model using the Cauchit link function in SPSS was used to estimate the relationships between changes in stress and possible explanatory variables including: COVID, Millennial, Gen Z, class standing, and initial project/overall stress respectively. The use of this model was affirmed by the model fitting, Pearson, and Deviance tests.
The ordinal regression model for project stress change found two explanatory variables that were statistically significant (see table 6). Students in the pre-COVID portion of the study reported stronger positive changes in project stress on average than students in the COVID portion (beta = 1.817, se = 0.885, p = 0.040). Students with low project stress prior to consultation reported stronger positive changes in project stress on average than students with high initial project stress (beta = 1.986, se = 0.876, p = 0.023).
Table 6 | ||||||||
Regression of Project Stress Change | ||||||||
Parameter Estimates | ||||||||
| Estimate | Std. Error | Wald | df | Sig.
| 95% Confidence Interval | ||
Lower Bound | Upper Bound | |||||||
Threshold | [ProjectStressChange = –1.00] | –20.649 | 21.738 | 0.902 | 1 | 0.342 | –63.254 | 21.956 |
[ProjectStressChange = .00] | –5.065 | 4.333 | 1.367 | 1 | 0.242 | –13.556 | 3.427 | |
[ProjectStressChange = 1.00] | 2.664 | 1.615 | 2.721 | 1 | 0.099 | –0.501 | 5.829 | |
Location | [GenZ=0] | 0.964 | 1.003 | 0.924 | 1 | 0.336 | –1.002 | 2.930 |
[GenZ=1] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
[COVID=0] | 1.817 | 0.885 | 4.220 | 1 | 0.040 | 0.083 | 3.551 | |
[COVID=1] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
[ClassStanding=1.00] | 1.645 | 1.450 | 1.286 | 1 | 0.257 | –1.198 | 4.487 | |
Location | [ClassStanding=2.00] | 0.863 | 1.078 | 0.640 | 1 | 0.424 | –1.251 | 2.977 |
[ClassStanding=3.00] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
[ProjectStressHigh=.00] | 1.986 | 0.876 | 5.146 | 1 | 0.023 | 0.270 | 3.702 | |
[ProjectStressHigh=1.00] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
[ProjectStressHigh=.00] | –20.649 | 21.738 | 0.902 | 1 | 0.342 | –63.254 | 21.956 | |
[ProjectStressHigh=1.00] | –5.065 | 4.333 | 1.367 | 1 | 0.242 | –13.556 | 3.427 | |
Link function: Cauchit. | ||||||||
a This parameter is set to zero because it is redundant. |
A cross tab analysis shows the responses to these questions and illustrates the difference between the estimated and reported values (see table 7). Respondents before COVID reported a higher-than-expected project stress change of two units and a lower than expected change of one unit while those during COVID reported a lower than expected project stress change of two units and higher than expected change of one unit. In general, respondents reported lower levels of project stress change during COVID than they did before.
Table 7 | ||||||
Project Stress Change and COVID (n=108) | ||||||
Project Stress Change | ||||||
–1 (n=2) | 0 (n=3) | 1 (n=40) | 2 (n=63) | |||
COVID | Before (n=46) | Count | 1 | 2 | 13 | 30 |
Expected Count | .9 | 1.3 | 17 | 26.8 | ||
During (n=62) | Count | 1 | 1 | 27 | 33 | |
Expected Count | 1.1 | 1.7 | 23 | 36.2 |
Table 8 shows that respondents who reported high project stress (4–5) reported lower-than-expected results for a positive project stress change factor of two and higher than expected results for zero project stress change and a positive project stress change factor of one. In general, participants reported lower levels of project stress change when they had high initial project stress than when they had low initial project stress.
Table 8 | ||||||
Project Stress Change and Project Stress (n=108) | ||||||
Project Stress Change | ||||||
–1 (n=2) | 0 (n=3) | 1 (n=40) | 2 (n=63) | |||
Project Stress | Low (1–3) (n=68) | Count | 2 | 1 | 21 | 44 |
Expected Count | 1.3 | 1.9 | 25.2 | 39.7 | ||
High (4–5) (n=40) | Count | 0 | 2 | 19 | 19 | |
Expected Count | .7 | 1.1 | 14.8 | 23.3 |
Similarly, the overall stress change regression found overall stress and COVID to be the two significant explanatory variables (see table 9). Students in the pre-COVID portion of the study reported stronger positive changes in overall stress on average than students in the COVID portion (beta = 2.252, se = 0.837, p = 0.007). Students with low overall stress prior to consultation reported stronger positive changes in overall stress on average than students with high initial overall stress (beta = 1.594, se = 0.646, p = 0.014).
Table 9 | ||||||||
Regression Analysis of Overall Stress Change | ||||||||
Parameter Estimates | ||||||||
| Estimate | Std. Error | Wald | df | Sig.
| 95% Confidence Interval | ||
Lower Bound | Upper Bound | |||||||
Threshold | [OverallStressChange = .00] | –0.759 | 1.044 | 0.528 | 1 | 0.468 | –2.805 | 1.288 |
[OverallStressChange = 1.00] | 3.136 | 1.300 | 5.820 | 1 | 0.016 | 0.588 | 5.683 | |
Location | [GenZ=0] | –0.451 | 0.771 | 0.341 | 1 | 0.559 | –1.963 | 1.061 |
[GenZ=1] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
[COVID=0] | 2.252 | 0.837 | 7.238 | 1 | 0.007 | 0.611 | 3.893 | |
[COVID=1] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
[ClassStanding=1.00] | 2.011 | 1.287 | 2.442 | 1 | 0.118 | –0.512 | 4.534 | |
[ClassStanding=2.00] | 0.400 | 0.894 | 0.200 | 1 | 0.655 | –1.353 | 2.153 | |
[ClassStanding=3.00] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
[OverallStressHigh=.00] | 1.594 | 0.646 | 6.086 | 1 | 0.014 | 0.328 | 2.860 | |
[OverallStressHigh=1.00] | 0a | 0 | ||||||
Link function: Cauchit | ||||||||
a This parameter is set to zero because it is redundant. |
Respondents before COVID had a higher-than-expected overall stress change for two units and lower than expected change for zero and one units (see table 10). Respondents during COVID had a lower-than-expected overall stress change of two units and a higher-than-expected change for zero and one units. In general, respondents reported lower levels of overall stress change during COVID than they did before and when they had high initial overall stress.
Table 10 | |||||
Overall Stress Change and COVID (n=108) | |||||
Overall Stress Change | |||||
0 (n=17) | 1 (n=54) | 2 (n=37) | |||
COVID | Before (n=46) | Count | 5 | 19 | 22 |
Expected Count | 7.2 | 23 | 15.8 | ||
During (n=62) | Count | 12 | 35 | 15 | |
Expected Count | 9.8 | 31 | 21.2 |
Respondents who reported high overall stress (4–5) reported lower than expected results for a positive overall stress change factor of two and higher than expected results for zero overall stress change and a positive overall stress change factor of one (see table 11). In general, respondents who reported higher overall stress had lower levels of stress change than people with lower overall stress.
Table 11 | |||||
Overall Stress Change and Overall Stress (n=108) | |||||
Overall Stress Change | |||||
2 (n=37) | 1 (n=54) | 0 (n=17) | |||
Overall Stress | Low (1–3) (n=39) | Count | 5 | 18 | 16 |
Expected Count | 6.1 | 19.5 | 13.4 | ||
High (4–5) (n=69) | Count | 12 | 36 | 21 | |
Expected Count | 10.9 | 34.5 | 23.6 |
The most impactful finding of this study is the consistent positive change in reported student stress after the research consultation. While the researchers were expecting to see a positive change in project stress, the researchers were very encouraged to see a corresponding positive change in overall stress. The overall stress change was lower in magnitude during the COVID phase of the study. This study did not ask students to describe the factors contributing to their overall stress and stress factors may have been more persistent during COVID times than prior. In their study of 243,694 students seeking counseling support, the Center for Collegiate Mental health found that levels of distress related to academics, eating, and family were heightened in 2020. 38 The finding that project stress levels were lower during the COVID period of our study was surprising. Anderson, Fisher, and Walker 39 analyzed 3,331 reference encounters at Georgia State University from the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters, coding them for level of difficulty, and found that transactions during COVID were more difficult than those before COVID. However, as the Vermont study speculated, accommodations from instructors during the COVID period of change may explain reduced stress. 40 Western Michigan University faculty may have improved communication and support—many faculty went through professional development when transitioning their courses online in the spring and summer of 2020. Additionally, the registrar offered students the opportunity to change their grading structure to pass/fail during the COVID lockdown with no penalty. In Texas A&M’s study students reported increased stress due to COVID. 41 There was no significant difference in reported overall stress before and during COVID in our study or Vermont’s, 42 but it’s possible that students saw the project as a lower weighted stress factor in comparison to factors that arose from the context of the pandemic. The regression analysis found that, similarly to overall stress change, project stress change had a lower magnitude during the COVID phase of the study.
The findings in the regression analysis that respondents with lower initial project stress, or lower initial overall stress, experienced greater change is unexpected because there was less opportunity for change—if stress is already low, you wouldn’t expect it to have as much room for improvement. However, it is easier to remove a small amount of stress than a large amount, and students going from some stress to none could see this as a great improvement. Researchers at Rutgers University studied subjective factors—such as happiness and confidence—before and after six web search tasks; they found that those who were happy before the search, and who thought the search task would be easy, felt better after the search. 43 In the same study, subjects who felt unhappy before the search did feel happier, as well as more confident and satisfied with the results if the results found were complete and relevant. So, it may be that patrons going into the consultation with low project stress are likely to report improvement afterward regardless of the relevancy of the sources found, but patrons with high initial project stress are more reliant on relevancy for perceived improvement. These findings emphasize the importance of the librarian considering the research question fully and making connections between the information found in the consultation and the research question clear to the patron.
While the study gathered sufficient responses from Gen Z and Millennials to run a comparison, they were too close in age to represent the breadth of their generations. Additionally, there were only two Gen Xers in the study. Over the span of the study from October 2019 through March 2021, the mean age was 22.2 and the standard deviation was 4.6. Sixty-seven percent of respondents who gave their age were between 20 and 23 years old. Our finding of no difference in stress levels by generation is also in line with the APA Stress in America 2021 study where Gen Z and Millennials report the most similar stress levels of any generation, at 5.6 and 5.7 out of 10 respectively. The researchers theorized there would be a stress difference by class standing—that as students gained experience in their programs, they would gain research and coping skills. However, this may be offset by the increased difficulty of the assignments in the upper levels.
The research coincided with a movement toward personal wellness at the Western Michigan University campus due to groundswell support from students during a series of educational innovation town halls held in 2018 and 2019. In pursuing this goal, the campus adopted the Wellness Wheel model derived from Hettler’s Dimensions of Wellness. 44 The wheel adopted included eight dimensions: social, emotional, physical, environmental, financial, purpose/spiritual, occupational, and intellectual. Selected campus services were assigned a dimension and provided to students seeking education on campus wellness options. Through this study the researchers were able to get the research consultation service included on the menu of services for the dimension of intellectual wellness in spring 2020, joining others such as the tutoring and the writing center. Additionally, the library sought out mental health first aid professional development opportunities offered to all employees and invited the Assistant Director of Mental Health Outreach to present at a library all staff meeting.
The study gathered a sample of 108 completed responses which may limit generalizability to the larger student population at the university. The study did not collect demographic factors beyond class standing and age. Additionally, responses were self-selected and reported on perceived stress, which increases subjectivity. The mode of delivery of the consultation (virtual meeting vs in-person) may have influenced stress levels; this was not explored because the shift in delivery due to COVID was unexpected at the initiation of the study and thus was not included on the survey instrument.
Future opportunities for research include analyzing changes and perceived stress by comparing students who sought the research consultation intervention to a control of students who did not seek a consultation. This would likely have the additional advantage of gathering a larger sample size. While the study focused on having a short survey in order to increase responses and to decrease consultation time dedicated to the survey, additional demographic questions could be included to analyze differences by gender, race, ethnicity, GPA, and first-generation status, among others. The post-test was administered immediately following the consultation. Future studies could investigate persistence of the effects further into the semester. One of the librarians in the study does collect Project Outcome data on the research consultation at the end of the semester and received 26 responses during the period of the study. Ninety-six percent reported using the resources for their assignment and 81 percent reported they applied what they learned to another research task; however, these responses do not touch on stress. Overall and Project Stress also could be further segmented. Future studies could include the incorporation of assessment metrics, such as the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) or Bostick’s Library Anxiety Scale. Another opportunity would be to conduct a study incorporating factors of confidence, happiness, stress, and library anxiety, which are frequently studied separately.
Findings of the study confirm the researchers’ hypothesis that the library research consultation improves perceived stress levels at the project and overall level in the population surveyed. While the researchers want to affirm their belief that the consultation is not in any way a replacement for professional counseling services, the results show that it is a wellness-focused student service that can help students to reduce academic stress. Therefore, they argue it could be included with other campus services promoted to students seeking wellness triage, particularly for students who seek intellectual wellness. The researchers hope this is just the beginning of librarianship interest in utilizing the research consultation to its fullest potential not only in student learning but also as one of several academic services contributing to student wellness.
The authors would like to acknowledge the work of Will Stutz, Data Scientist and Associate Director at the Western Michigan University Office of Institutional Research for advising the authors on appropriate statistical tests and interpretation of the data.
1. Beth McMurtrie, “A ‘Stunning’ Level of Student Disconnection,” The Chronicle of Higher Education April 5, 2022, https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-stunning-level-of-student-disconnection .
2. Michael Dimock, “Defining Generations: Where Millennials End and Generation Z Begins,” Pew Research Center, January 17, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins .
3. Wendy Rubin, American Psychological Association, “Stress in America TM Generation Z. Stress in America Survey,” American Psychological Association , no. October (2018): 1–11, https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2018/stress-gen-z.pdf .
4. Daniel Eisenberg, Sarah Ketchen Lipson, and Julie Posselt, “Promoting Resilience, Retention, and Mental Health,” in New Directions for Student Services (2016), 87–95, https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20194 .
5. Michael T. Kalkbrenner, Amber L. Jolley, and Danica G. Hays, “Faculty Views on College Student Mental Health: Implications for Retention and Student Success,” Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice 23, no. 3 (November 1, 2021): 636–58, https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025119867639 .
6. Alan M. Woody Schwitzer and John A. Vaughn, “Mental Health, Well–Being, and Learning: Supporting Our Students in Times of Need,” About Campus: Enriching the Student Learning Experience 22, no. 2 (2017): 4–11, https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.21287 .
7. Jackie Stapleton, Caitlin Carter, and Laura Bredahl, “Research Consultations in the Academic Library: A Scoping Review on Current Themes in Instruction, Assessment and Technology,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 46, no. 4 (July 1, 2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102156 .
8. Ying Zhong and Johanna Alexander, “Academic Success : How Library Services Make a Difference,” in Proceedings of the ACRL Thirteenth National Conference, March 29–April 1, 2007, Baltimore, Maryland 2007, 141–57.
9. Krista M. Soria, Jan Fransen, and Shane Nackerud, “Library Use and Undergraduate Student Outcomes: New Evidence for Students’ Retention and Academic Success,” Portal 13, no. 2 (2013): 147–64, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2013.0010 .
10. Robin E. Miller, “Reference Consultations and Student Success Outcomes,” Reference and User Services Quarterly 58, no. 1 (2018): 16–21, https://doi.org/10.5860/rusq.58.1.6836 .
11. Angie Cox, Anne Marie Gruber, and Chris Neuhaus, “Complexities of Demonstrating Library Value: An Exploratory Study of Research Consultations,” Portal 19, no. 4 (October 1, 2019): 577–90, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2019.0036 .
12. Carol Collier Kuhlthau, “The Library Research Process: Case Studies and Interventions with High School Seniors in Advanced Placement English Classes Using Kelly’s Theory of Constructs,” (EdD diss., Rutgers University, 1983).
13. C. Carol Kuhlthau et al., “Validating a Model of the Search Process: A Comparison of Academic, Public and School Library Users,” Library and Information Science Research 12, no. 1 (1990): 5–31.
14. Constance A. Mellon, “Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and Its Development,” College & Research Libraries 47, no. 2 (1986): 160–65, https://doi.org/10.5860/crl_47_02_160 .
15. Sharon Lee Bostick, “The Development and Validation of the Library Anxiety Scale” (PhD diss., Wayne State University, 1992).
16. Qun G Jiao, Anthony J Onwuegbuzie, and Art A Lichtenstein, “Library Anxiety: Characteristics of ‘at-Risk’ College Students,” Library & Information Science Research 18, no. 2 (1996): 151–63, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0740-8188(96)90017-1 .
17. Sharon L. Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J., Jiao, Qun G. & Bostick, Library Anxiety: Theory, Research, and Applications (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press Inc., 2004).
18. Shelley Blundell and Frank Lambert, “Information Anxiety from the Undergraduate Student Perspective: A Pilot Study of Second-Semester Freshmen,” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 55, no. 4 (2014): 263.
19. Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie and Qun G. Jiao, “Information Search Performance and Research Achievement: An Empirical Test of the Anxiety-Expectation Mediation Model of Library Anxiety,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 55, no. 1 (2004): 41–54.
20. Peiling Wang, William B. Hawk, and Carol Tenopir, “Users’ Interaction with World Wide Web Resources: An Exploratory Study Using a Holistic Approach,” Information Processing and Management 36, 2000, (2000): 229–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4573(99)00059-X .
21. Kalkbrenner, Jolley, and Hays, “Faculty Views,” 636–58.
22. Ashley Eklof, “Understanding Information Anxiety and How Academic Librarians Can Minimize Its Effects,” Public Services Quarterly 9, no. 3 (2013): 246–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/15 .
23. Jacqueline Kracker, “Research Anxiety and Students’ Perceptions of Research: An Experiment. Part I. Effect of Teaching Kuhlthau’s ISP Model,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 53, no. 4 (February 15, 2002): 282–94, https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.10040 .
24. Gillian S. Gremmels and Karen Shostrom Lehmann, “Assessment of Student Learning from Reference Service,” College and Research Libraries 68, no. 6 (2007): 488–502, https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.68.6.488 .
25. John Watts and Stephanie Mahfood, “Collaborating with Faculty to Assess Research Consultations for Graduate Students,” Behavioral and Social Sciences Librarian 34, no. 2 (January 1, 2015): 70–87, https://doi.org/10.1080/01639269.2015.1042819 .
26. Trina J. Magi and Patricia E. Mardeusz, “Why Some Students Continue to Value Individual, Face-to- Face Research Consultations in a Technology-Rich World,” College and Research Libraries 74, no. 6 (2013): 605–18, https://doi.org/10.5860/crl12-363 .
27. Pamela N. Martin and Lezlie Park, “Reference Desk Consultation Assignment: An Exploratory Study of Students’ Perceptions of Reference Service,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 49, no.4 (2010): 333–340. https://doi.org/10.5860/rusq.49n4.333
28. Thomas L. Reinsfelder, “Citation Analysis as a Tool to Measure the Impact of Individual Research Consultations,” College and Research Libraries 73, no. 3 (2012): 263–77, https://doi.org/10.5860/crl-261 .
29. Crystal D. Gale and Betty S. Evans, “Face-to-Face: The Implementation and Analysis of a Research Consultation Service,” College and Undergraduate Libraries 14, no. 3 (December 18, 2007): 85–101, https://doi.org/10.1300/J106v14n03_06 ; Christine Moghimi and Mary C. Rickelman, “Assessing Information Literacy Skills and Library Anxiety of First-Year Occupational Therapy Graduate Students,” Journal of Occupational Therapy Education 5, no. 1 (January 1, 2021): 1–16, https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2021.050104 ; Lauren Reiter and Carmen Cole, “Beyond Face Value Evaluating Research Consultations from the Student Perspective,” Reference and User Services Quarterly 59, no. 1 (2019): 23–30, https://doi.org/10.5860/rusq.59.1.7222 ; Lindsey Sikora, Karine Fournier, and Jamie Rebner, “Exploring the Impact of Individualized Research Consultations Using Pre and Posttesting in an Academic Library: A Mixed Methods Study,” Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 14, no. 1 (2019): 2–21, https://doi.org/10.18438/eblip29500 .
30. Watts and Mahfood, “Collaborating with Faculty,” 70–87.
31. Sandy Hudock, “Can Research ‘Send Me High?’ Addressing Flow Theory,” Reference Services Review 43, 4 (2015): 689–705, https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-04-2015-0025 .
32. Martin and Park, “Reference Desk Consultation,” 333–340.
33. Magi and Mardeusz, “Why Some Students,” 605–18.
34. American Psychological Association, “Stress In America: A National Mental Health Crisis,” American Psychological Association 2020, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.2307/2675115 .
35. ActiveMinds, “Student Mental Health Survey,” ActiveMinds , September, 2020, accessed April 13, 2022, https://www.activeminds.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Student-Mental-Health-Data-Sheet-Fall-2020-1.pdf .
36. Changwon Son et al., “Effects of COVID-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study,” Journal of Medical Internet Research 22, no. 9 (2020): 1–14, https://doi.org/10.2196/21279 .
37. William E. Copeland et al., “Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on College Student Mental Health and Wellness,” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 60, no. 1 (2021): 134–141.e2, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.08.466 .
38. Center for Collegiate Mental Health, “Fall 2021: COVID-19 Impact on College Student Mental Health,” Penn State Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2022, accessed April 13, 2022, https://ccmh.psu.edu/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&year=2022&month=03&day=21&id=23:fall-2021-COVID-19-impact-on-college-student-mental-health .
39. Raeda Anderson, Katherine Fisher, and Jeremy Walker, “Library Consultations and a Global Pandemic: An Analysis of Consultation Difficulty during COVID-19 across Multiple Factors,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 47, no. 1 (January 1, 2021), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102273 .
40. Copeland et al., “Impact of COVID-19,” 134–141.e2.
41. Son et al., “Effects of COVID-19,” 1–14.
42. Copeland et al., “Impact of COVID-19,” 134–141.e2.
43. Jacek Gwizdka and Irene Lopatovska, “The Role of Subjective Factors in the Information Search Process,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 60, no. 12 (December 2009): 2452–64, https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21183 .
44. Bill Hettler, “Wellness Promotion on a University Campus,” Family and Community Health 3, no. 1 (1980): 77–95, https://doi.org/10.1097/00003727-198005000-00008 .
* LuMarie Guth is an Associate Professor and Business Librarian at Western Michigan University, email: [email protected] ; Bradford Dennis is an Associate Professor and Education and Human Development Librarian at Western Michigan University, email: [email protected] . ©2024 LuMarie Guth and Bradford Dennis, Attribution-NonCommercial ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ) CC BY-NC.
Contact ACRL for article usage statistics from 2010-April 2017.
2024 |
January: 0 |
February: 0 |
March: 0 |
April: 0 |
May: 0 |
June: 5 |
July: 14 |
© 2024 Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association
Print ISSN: 0010-0870 | Online ISSN: 2150-6701
ALA Privacy Policy
ISSN: 2150-6701
12 Accesses
Explore all metrics
This article aims to identify counterfeiting state-of-the-art and expand the Operations and Supply chain Management (OSCM) field from the identified gaps and bottlenecks to understand the real-life phenomenon and critically evaluate the existing body of knowledge. This is a systematic literature review from 63 relevant articles identified from Scopus and Web of Science. This is a reflection exercise to identify gaps and bottlenecks to subsidy research opportunities. Clearly, the strategies for combating counterfeiting could be more reactive or proactive, for example, reactive in the purchasing/co-opting offenders and proactive by blockchain adoption and marketing communication with tips to identify fake products. Therefore, the results also identified some central aspects related to the evolution of counterfeiting studies in the OSCM field and relevant gaps. We provide theoretical evidence that an interesting and broad field exists to expand from the identified gaps and bottlenecks. We also present up-to-date, state-of-the-art literature on all the aspects and facets of counterfeiting.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Subscribe and save.
Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)
Instant access to the full article PDF.
Rent this article via DeepDyve
Institutional subscriptions
Data availability.
The author confirms that all data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the article, including the Supplementary File.
Agrawal TK, Koehl L, Campagne C (2018) A secured tag for implementation of traceability in textile and clothing supply chain. Int J Adv Manuf Technol Int J Adv Manuf Technol 99:9–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2638-x
Article Google Scholar
Amaral NB (2020) What can be done to address luxury counterfeiting? An integrative review of tactics and strategies. J Brand Manage Palgrave Macmillan UK 27(6):691–709. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-020-00206-6
Ames J, Souza DZ (2012) Counterfeiting of drugs in Brazil. Rev Saude Publica 46(1):154–159. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102012005000005
Berman B (2008) Strategies to detect and reduce counterfeiting activity. Bus Horiz 51(3):191–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2008.01.002
Bian X, Moutinho L (2011) Counterfeits and branded products: effects of counterfeit ownership. J Prod Brand Manage 20(5):379–393. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421111157900
Böhle C, Hellingrath B, Deuter P (2014) Towards process reference models for secure supply chains. J Transp Secur 7(3):255–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12198-014-0142-6
Busby JS (2019) The co-evolution of competition and parasitism in the resource-based view: a risk model of product counterfeiting. Eur J Oper Res 276(1):300–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.12.039
Cataldo A, Grieco A, Prete A, Del, Cannazza G, Benedetto E, De (2016) Innovative method for traceability of hides throughout the leather manufacturing process. Int J Adv Manuf Technol Int J Adv Manuf Technol 86:9–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-016-8489-4
Cho SH, Fang X, Tayur S (2015) Combating strategic counterfeiters in licit and illicit supply chains. Manuf Service Oper Manage 17(3):273–289. https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2015.0524
Choi TM, Feng L, Li R, Elsevier BV (2020) Vol. 221 No. July 2019, 107473, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.08.008
Cole R, Stevenson M, Aitken J (2019) Blockchain technology: implications for operations and supply chain management. Supply Chain Manage 24(4):469–483. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-09-2018-0309
Cordell VV, Wongtada N, Kieschnick RL Jr. (1996) Counterfeit purchase intentions: role of lawfulness attitudes and product traits as determinants. J Bus Res 35(95):41–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(95)00009-7
Crettez B, Hayek N, Zaccour G (2018) Brand imitation: A dynamic-game approach, International Journal of Production Economics , Vol. 205 No. November, pp. 139–155, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.09.010
Danese P, Mocellin R, Romano P (2021) Designing blockchain systems to prevent counterfeiting in wine supply chains: a multiple-case study. Int J Oper Prod Manage 41:1–33. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-12-2019-0781
Durach CF, Kembro JH, Wieland A (2021) How to advance theory through literature reviews in logistics and supply chain management. Int J Phys Distribution Logistics Manage ahead–of–p(No ahead–of–print). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-11-2020-0381
Falasca M, Dellana S, Rowe WJ, Kros JF (2021) The impact of counterfeit risk management on healthcare supply chain performance: an empirical analysis. Int J Productivity Perform Manage. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-08-2020-0426
Gao SY, Lim WS, Tang C (2017) The impact of the potential entry of copycats: Entry conditions, Consumer Welfare, and Social Welfare. Decis Sci 48(4):594–624. https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12235
Garg P, Gupta B, Chauhan AK, Sivarajah U, Gupta S, Modgil S (2021) Measuring the perceived benefits of implementing blockchain technology in the banking sector, Technological Forecasting and Social Change , Elsevier Inc., Vol. 163 No. June 2020, p. 120407, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120407
Ghadge A, Duck A, Er M, Caldwell N (2021) Deceptive counterfeit risk in global supply chains, Supply Chain Forum , Taylor & Francis, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 87–99, https://doi.org/10.1080/16258312.2021.1908844
Ghamat S, Pun H, Critchley G, Hou P (2021) Using intellectual property agreements in the presence of supplier and third-party copycatting, European Journal of Operational Research , Elsevier B.V., Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, 64 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C7, Canada, Vol. 291 No. 2, pp. 680–692, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2020.09.041
Gnezdova JV, Barilenko VI, Kozenkova TA, Chernyshev AV, Vasina NV (2018) evna. Food safety auditing in Russia in a climate of foreign sanctions and a policy of import substitution, Quality - Access to Success , Vol. 19 No. 167, pp. 155–158
Hoecht A, Trott P (2014) How should firms deal withcounterfeiting? A review of the success conditions of anti-counterfeiting strategies. Int J Emerg Markets 9(1):98–119
Itkis D, Daim T, Basoglu N (2009) Balancing efficiency and competitiveness in outsourcing decisions. Int J Serv Oper Manage 5(5):662–686. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSOM.2009.025120
Jaeger SR, Worch T, Phelps T, Jin D, Cardello AV (2021) Effects of ‘craft’ vs. ‘traditional’ labels to beer consumers with different flavor preferences: a comprehensive multi-response approach. Food Qual Prefer 87(No May 2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104043
Jæger B, Menebo MM, Upadhyay A (2021) Identification of environmental supply chain bottlenecks: a case study of the Ethiopian healthcare supply chain. Manage Environ Quality: Int J 32(6):1233–1254. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-12-2019-0277
Kamenivskyy Y, Palisetti A, Hamze L, Saberi S (2022) A blockchain-based solution for COVID-19 vaccine distribution. IEEE Eng Manage Rev 50(1):43–53. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMR.2022.3145656
Kasuma J, Noor NM, Abdurahman AZA, Sawangchai A, Jemari MA (2020) The influence of information susceptibility and normative susceptibility on counterfeit manufacturing products purchase intention. Int J Supply Chain Manage 9(2):234–239
Google Scholar
Kros JF, Falasca M, Dellana S, Rowe WJ (2020) Mitigating counterfeit risk in the supply chain: an empirical study. TQM J 32(5):983–1002. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-02-2019-0054
Kumar S, Dieveney E, Dieveney A (2009) Reverse logistic process control measures for the pharmaceutical industry supply chain. Int J Productivity Perform Manage 58(2):188–204. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410400910928761
Kwong KK, Yau OHM, Lee JSY, Sin LYM, Tse ACB (2003) The effects of Attitudinal and demographic factors on intention to Buy Pirated CDs: the case of Chinese consumers. J Bus Ethics 47(3):223–235. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026269003472
Leng J, Jiang P, Xu K, Liu Q, Zhao JL, Bian Y, Shi R (2019) Makerchain: a blockchain with chemical signature for self-organizing process in social manufacturing. J Clean Prod 234:767–778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.265
Li Z, Xu X, Bai Q, Guan X, Zeng K (2021) The interplay between blockchain adoption and channel selection in combating counterfeits, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review , Vol. 155 No. December 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2021.102451
Lima FRP, Da de AL, Godinho Filho M, Dias EM (2018) Systematic review: resilience enablers to combat counterfeit medicines. Supply Chain Manage 23(2):117–135. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-04-2017-0155
Liu K, Li JA, Lai KK (2004) Single period, single product newsvendor model with random supply shock. Eur J Oper Res 158(3):609–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(03)00382-5
Liu K, Li JA, Wu Y, Lai KK (2005) Analysis of monitoring and limiting of commercial cheating: a newsvendor model. J Oper Res Soc 56(7):844–854. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601913
Liu F, Liu K, Xie XL (2016) Monitoring and limiting deceptive counterfeiting: a two-stage model. J Oper Res Soc China 4(3):265–308. Operations Research Society of China10.1007/s40305-016-0130-6
Lohne J, Kjesbu NE, Engebø A, Young B, Lædre O (2019) Scoping Literature Review of Crime in the AEC industry. J Constr Eng Manag 145(6):1–14. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0001648
Longo F, Nicoletti L, Padovano A, d’Atri G, Forte M (2019) Blockchain-enabled supply chain: an experimental study. Computers Industrial Eng 136(No July):pp57–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.07.026
Lu W, Jiang Y, Chen Z, Ji X (2022) Blockchain adoption in a supply chain system to combat counterfeiting, Computers and Industrial Engineering , Vol. 171 No. July, p. 108408, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2022.108408
Machado SM, Paiva EL, da Silva EM (2018) Counterfeiting: addressing mitigation and resilience in supply chains. Int J Phys Distribution Logistics Manage 48(2):139–163. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2017-0004
Manchanda M, Deb M, Lomo-David E (2021) Scrutinizing the efficacy of branded apps quality to counter counterfeiting and restore trust in m-commerce, Quality Management Journal , Taylor & Francis, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 156–174, https://doi.org/10.1080/10686967.2021.1920869
Minchin RE, Cui S, Walters RC, Issa R, Pan J (2013) Sino-american opinions and perceptions of counterfeiting in the Construction Supply Chain. J Constr Eng Manag 139(1):1–8
Naderpajouh N, Hastak M, Gokhale S, Bayraktar ME, Iyer A, Arif F (2015) Counterfeiting risk governance in the Capital projects Supply Chain. J Constr Eng Manag 141(3):1–12. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0000943
O’Leary DE (2017) Configuring blockchain architectures for transaction information in blockchain consortiums: the case of accounting and supply chain systems. Intell Syst Acc Finance Manage 24(4):138–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/isaf.1417
OECD (2021) Global Trade in fakes: a worrying threat. OECD Publishing, Paris
Book Google Scholar
OECD (2022) Dangerous fakes: Trade in Counterfeit Goods that Pose Health, Safety and Environmental risks. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/117e352b-en
Pecht BM, Tiku S (2006) Bogus! IEEE Spectr 43(5):37–46
Pour PD, Nazzal MA, Darras BM (2022) The role of industry 4.0 technologies in overcoming pandemic challenges for the manufacturing sector. Concur Eng Res Appl 30(2):190–205. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063293X221082681
Pun H, Swaminathan JM, Hou P (2021) Blockchain Adoption for combating deceptive counterfeits. Prod Oper Manage 30(4):864–882. https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.13348
Qian Y (2008) Impacts of entry by counterfeiters. Quart J Econ 123(4):1577–1609. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2008.123.4.1577
Qian Y, Gong Q, Chen Y (2015) Untangling searchable and experiential quality responses to counterfeits. Mark Sci 34(4):522–538. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2014.0867
Rogerson M, Parry GC (2020) Blockchain: case studies in food supply chain visibility. Supply Chain Manage 25:601–614. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-08-2019-0300
Sandborn M, Olea C, White J, Williams C, Tarazaga PA, Sturm L, Albakri M et al (2021) Towards secure cyber-physical information association for parts, Journal of Manufacturing Systems , Vol. 59 No. October 2020, pp. 27–41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2021.01.003
Scuderi A, Foti V, Timpanaro G (2019) The supply chain value of pod and pgi food products through the application of blockchain. Qual - Access Success 20(S2):580–587
Şerbancea F, Stănescu A, Lazăr V (2018) Ethics in Knowledge Management. Food Saf Manage 19(167):159–165
Shen B, Xu X, Yuan Q (2020) Selling secondhand products through an online platform with blockchain, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review , Elsevier, Vol. 142 No. August, p. 102066, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2020.102066
Shen B, Cheng M, Dong C, Xiao Y (2023) Battling counterfeit masks during the COVID-19 outbreak: quality inspection vs. blockchain adoption. Int J Prod Res 61(11):3634–3650. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2021.1961038
Shi J, Zhou J, Zhu Q (2019) Barriers of a closed-loop cartridge remanufacturing supply chain for urban waste recovery governance in China. J Clean Prod 212:1544–1553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.114
Shultz CJ, Saporito B (1996) Protecting intellectual property: strategies and recommendations to Deter Counterfeiting and Brand Piracy in Global Markets. Columbia J World Bus 31(1):18–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5428(96)90003-4
Stevenson M, Busby J (2015) An exploratory analysis of counterfeiting strategies: towards counterfeit-resilient supply chains. Int J Oper Prod Manage 35(1):110–144. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-04-2012-0174
Sun Z, Xu Q, Shi B (2022) Price and product quality decisions for a two-Echelon Supply Chain in the Blockchain era. Asia-Pac J Oper Res 39(1):1–31. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0217595921400169
Thaichon P, Quach S (2016) Dark motives-counterfeit purchase framework: Internal and external motives behind counterfeit purchase via digital platforms, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services , Elsevier, Vol. 33, pp. 82–91, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2016.08.003
Ting SL, Tsang AHC (2014) Using social network analysis to combat counterfeiting. Int J Prod Res 52:4456–4468. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2013.861947
Tranfield D, Denyer D, Smart P (2003) Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. Br J Manag 14(3):207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375
Urciuoli L (2010) Supply chain security-mitigation measures and a logistics multi-layered framework. J Transp Secur 3(1):1–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12198-009-0034-3
Urciuoli L, Paulraj A, Näslund D (2013) The role of the law enforcement agencies in transport security, a survey with Swedish operators. Logistics Res 6(4):145–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12159-013-0102-8
Wagner L, Gürbüz M, Ҫagri, Parlar M (2019) Is it fake? Using potentially low quality suppliers as back-up when genuine suppliers are unavailable, International Journal of Production Economics , Vol. 213 No. August 2018, pp. 185–200, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.03.016
Wang L, Kowk SK, Ip WH (2012) A radio frequency identification-based quality evaluation system design for the wine industry. Int J Comput Integr Manuf 25(1):11–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951192X.2011.562542
Wang Y, Lin J, Choi TM (2020) Gray market and counterfeiting in supply chains: A review of the operations literature and implications to luxury industries, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review , Vol. 133 No. November 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2019.101823
Webster J, Watson RT (2002) Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review. MIS Quarterly 26(2):xiii–xxiii. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4132319
Whittemore R, Knafl K (2005) The integrative review: updated methodology, Journal of Advanced Nursing , John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Vol. 52 No. 5, pp. 546–553, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03621.x
Wyld DC, Jones MA (2007) RFID is no fake: the adoption of radio frequency identification technology in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Int J Integr Supply Manage 3(2):156–171. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJISM.2007.011974
Xie D, Zhu W, Zhao X, Xie J (2021) An experimental study on the sale of counterfeit products under monitoring policies, Journal of the Operational Research Society , Taylor & Francis, Vol. 72 No. 1, pp. 93–108, https://doi.org/10.1080/01605682.2019.1650623
Yi Z, Yu M, Cheung KL (2022) Impacts of counterfeiting on a global supply chain. Manuf Service Oper Manage 24(1):159–178. https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2020.0912
Zhang J, Zhang RQ (2015) Supply chain structure in a market with deceptive counterfeits. Eur J Oper Res 240(1):84–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2014.06.041
Zhang J, Hong LJ, Zhang RQ (2012) Fighting strategies in a market with counterfeits. Ann Oper Res 192(1):49–66
Download references
This work was supported by the Coordination for the improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), foundations within The Brazilian Ministry of Education.
Authors and affiliations.
Fundação Getulio Vargas’s Sao Paulo, School of Business Administration (FGV EAESP), 474 Itapeva St, 8th Floor, Bela Vista, São Paulo, 01332-000, SP, Brazil
Raul Beal Partyka, Roger Augusto Luna & Ely Laureano Paiva
Department of Supply Chain and Information Management, School of Business, College of Charleston, 66 George St, Beatty 334, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA
Rafael Teixeira
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Correspondence to Raul Beal Partyka .
Conflict of interest.
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note.
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions.
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
Reprints and permissions
Partyka, R.B., Teixeira, R., Luna, R.A. et al. The good, the bad, and the ugly: how counterfeiting is addressed in operations and supply chain management literature. Manag Rev Q (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-024-00453-w
Download citation
Received : 18 July 2023
Accepted : 19 June 2024
Published : 28 June 2024
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-024-00453-w
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.
All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .
Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.
Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.
Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.
Original Submission Date Received: .
Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.
Please let us know what you think of our products and services.
Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.
A review of impedance spectroscopy technique: applications, modelling, and case study of relative humidity sensors development.
da Silva, G.M.G.; Faia, P.M.; Mendes, S.R.; Araújo, E.S. A Review of Impedance Spectroscopy Technique: Applications, Modelling, and Case Study of Relative Humidity Sensors Development. Appl. Sci. 2024 , 14 , 5754. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135754
da Silva GMG, Faia PM, Mendes SR, Araújo ES. A Review of Impedance Spectroscopy Technique: Applications, Modelling, and Case Study of Relative Humidity Sensors Development. Applied Sciences . 2024; 14(13):5754. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135754
da Silva, Georgenes M. G., Pedro M. Faia, Sofia R. Mendes, and Evando S. Araújo. 2024. "A Review of Impedance Spectroscopy Technique: Applications, Modelling, and Case Study of Relative Humidity Sensors Development" Applied Sciences 14, no. 13: 5754. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135754
Article access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.
Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals
An official website of the United States government
The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .
Julie a. luft.
† Department of Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science Education, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7124
‡ Department of Teaching & Learning, College of Education & Human Ecology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
§ Department of Biology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA 99004
∥ Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132
To frame their work, biology education researchers need to consider the role of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks as critical elements of the research and writing process. However, these elements can be confusing for scholars new to education research. This Research Methods article is designed to provide an overview of each of these elements and delineate the purpose of each in the educational research process. We describe what biology education researchers should consider as they conduct literature reviews, identify theoretical frameworks, and construct conceptual frameworks. Clarifying these different components of educational research studies can be helpful to new biology education researchers and the biology education research community at large in situating their work in the broader scholarly literature.
Discipline-based education research (DBER) involves the purposeful and situated study of teaching and learning in specific disciplinary areas ( Singer et al. , 2012 ). Studies in DBER are guided by research questions that reflect disciplines’ priorities and worldviews. Researchers can use quantitative data, qualitative data, or both to answer these research questions through a variety of methodological traditions. Across all methodologies, there are different methods associated with planning and conducting educational research studies that include the use of surveys, interviews, observations, artifacts, or instruments. Ensuring the coherence of these elements to the discipline’s perspective also involves situating the work in the broader scholarly literature. The tools for doing this include literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks. However, the purpose and function of each of these elements is often confusing to new education researchers. The goal of this article is to introduce new biology education researchers to these three important elements important in DBER scholarship and the broader educational literature.
The first element we discuss is a review of research (literature reviews), which highlights the need for a specific research question, study problem, or topic of investigation. Literature reviews situate the relevance of the study within a topic and a field. The process may seem familiar to science researchers entering DBER fields, but new researchers may still struggle in conducting the review. Booth et al. (2016b) highlight some of the challenges novice education researchers face when conducting a review of literature. They point out that novice researchers struggle in deciding how to focus the review, determining the scope of articles needed in the review, and knowing how to be critical of the articles in the review. Overcoming these challenges (and others) can help novice researchers construct a sound literature review that can inform the design of the study and help ensure the work makes a contribution to the field.
The second and third highlighted elements are theoretical and conceptual frameworks. These guide biology education research (BER) studies, and may be less familiar to science researchers. These elements are important in shaping the construction of new knowledge. Theoretical frameworks offer a way to explain and interpret the studied phenomenon, while conceptual frameworks clarify assumptions about the studied phenomenon. Despite the importance of these constructs in educational research, biology educational researchers have noted the limited use of theoretical or conceptual frameworks in published work ( DeHaan, 2011 ; Dirks, 2011 ; Lo et al. , 2019 ). In reviewing articles published in CBE—Life Sciences Education ( LSE ) between 2015 and 2019, we found that fewer than 25% of the research articles had a theoretical or conceptual framework (see the Supplemental Information), and at times there was an inconsistent use of theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Clearly, these frameworks are challenging for published biology education researchers, which suggests the importance of providing some initial guidance to new biology education researchers.
Fortunately, educational researchers have increased their explicit use of these frameworks over time, and this is influencing educational research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. For instance, a quick search for theoretical or conceptual frameworks in the abstracts of articles in Educational Research Complete (a common database for educational research) in STEM fields demonstrates a dramatic change over the last 20 years: from only 778 articles published between 2000 and 2010 to 5703 articles published between 2010 and 2020, a more than sevenfold increase. Greater recognition of the importance of these frameworks is contributing to DBER authors being more explicit about such frameworks in their studies.
Collectively, literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks work to guide methodological decisions and the elucidation of important findings. Each offers a different perspective on the problem of study and is an essential element in all forms of educational research. As new researchers seek to learn about these elements, they will find different resources, a variety of perspectives, and many suggestions about the construction and use of these elements. The wide range of available information can overwhelm the new researcher who just wants to learn the distinction between these elements or how to craft them adequately.
Our goal in writing this paper is not to offer specific advice about how to write these sections in scholarly work. Instead, we wanted to introduce these elements to those who are new to BER and who are interested in better distinguishing one from the other. In this paper, we share the purpose of each element in BER scholarship, along with important points on its construction. We also provide references for additional resources that may be beneficial to better understanding each element. Table 1 summarizes the key distinctions among these elements.
Comparison of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual reviews
Literature reviews | Theoretical frameworks | Conceptual frameworks | |
---|---|---|---|
Purpose | To point out the need for the study in BER and connection to the field. | To state the assumptions and orientations of the researcher regarding the topic of study | To describe the researcher’s understanding of the main concepts under investigation |
Aims | A literature review examines current and relevant research associated with the study question. It is comprehensive, critical, and purposeful. | A theoretical framework illuminates the phenomenon of study and the corresponding assumptions adopted by the researcher. Frameworks can take on different orientations. | The conceptual framework is created by the researcher(s), includes the presumed relationships among concepts, and addresses needed areas of study discovered in literature reviews. |
Connection to the manuscript | A literature review should connect to the study question, guide the study methodology, and be central in the discussion by indicating how the analyzed data advances what is known in the field. | A theoretical framework drives the question, guides the types of methods for data collection and analysis, informs the discussion of the findings, and reveals the subjectivities of the researcher. | The conceptual framework is informed by literature reviews, experiences, or experiments. It may include emergent ideas that are not yet grounded in the literature. It should be coherent with the paper’s theoretical framing. |
Additional points | A literature review may reach beyond BER and include other education research fields. | A theoretical framework does not rationalize the need for the study, and a theoretical framework can come from different fields. | A conceptual framework articulates the phenomenon under study through written descriptions and/or visual representations. |
This article is written for the new biology education researcher who is just learning about these different elements or for scientists looking to become more involved in BER. It is a result of our own work as science education and biology education researchers, whether as graduate students and postdoctoral scholars or newly hired and established faculty members. This is the article we wish had been available as we started to learn about these elements or discussed them with new educational researchers in biology.
Purpose of a literature review.
A literature review is foundational to any research study in education or science. In education, a well-conceptualized and well-executed review provides a summary of the research that has already been done on a specific topic and identifies questions that remain to be answered, thus illustrating the current research project’s potential contribution to the field and the reasoning behind the methodological approach selected for the study ( Maxwell, 2012 ). BER is an evolving disciplinary area that is redefining areas of conceptual emphasis as well as orientations toward teaching and learning (e.g., Labov et al. , 2010 ; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011 ; Nehm, 2019 ). As a result, building comprehensive, critical, purposeful, and concise literature reviews can be a challenge for new biology education researchers.
There are different ways to approach and construct a literature review. Booth et al. (2016a) provide an overview that includes, for example, scoping reviews, which are focused only on notable studies and use a basic method of analysis, and integrative reviews, which are the result of exhaustive literature searches across different genres. Underlying each of these different review processes are attention to the s earch process, a ppraisa l of articles, s ynthesis of the literature, and a nalysis: SALSA ( Booth et al. , 2016a ). This useful acronym can help the researcher focus on the process while building a specific type of review.
However, new educational researchers often have questions about literature reviews that are foundational to SALSA or other approaches. Common questions concern determining which literature pertains to the topic of study or the role of the literature review in the design of the study. This section addresses such questions broadly while providing general guidance for writing a narrative literature review that evaluates the most pertinent studies.
The literature review process should begin before the research is conducted. As Boote and Beile (2005 , p. 3) suggested, researchers should be “scholars before researchers.” They point out that having a good working knowledge of the proposed topic helps illuminate avenues of study. Some subject areas have a deep body of work to read and reflect upon, providing a strong foundation for developing the research question(s). For instance, the teaching and learning of evolution is an area of long-standing interest in the BER community, generating many studies (e.g., Perry et al. , 2008 ; Barnes and Brownell, 2016 ) and reviews of research (e.g., Sickel and Friedrichsen, 2013 ; Ziadie and Andrews, 2018 ). Emerging areas of BER include the affective domain, issues of transfer, and metacognition ( Singer et al. , 2012 ). Many studies in these areas are transdisciplinary and not always specific to biology education (e.g., Rodrigo-Peiris et al. , 2018 ; Kolpikova et al. , 2019 ). These newer areas may require reading outside BER; fortunately, summaries of some of these topics can be found in the Current Insights section of the LSE website.
In focusing on a specific problem within a broader research strand, a new researcher will likely need to examine research outside BER. Depending upon the area of study, the expanded reading list might involve a mix of BER, DBER, and educational research studies. Determining the scope of the reading is not always straightforward. A simple way to focus one’s reading is to create a “summary phrase” or “research nugget,” which is a very brief descriptive statement about the study. It should focus on the essence of the study, for example, “first-year nonmajor students’ understanding of evolution,” “metacognitive prompts to enhance learning during biochemistry,” or “instructors’ inquiry-based instructional practices after professional development programming.” This type of phrase should help a new researcher identify two or more areas to review that pertain to the study. Focusing on recent research in the last 5 years is a good first step. Additional studies can be identified by reading relevant works referenced in those articles. It is also important to read seminal studies that are more than 5 years old. Reading a range of studies should give the researcher the necessary command of the subject in order to suggest a research question.
Given that the research question(s) arise from the literature review, the review should also substantiate the selected methodological approach. The review and research question(s) guide the researcher in determining how to collect and analyze data. Often the methodological approach used in a study is selected to contribute knowledge that expands upon what has been published previously about the topic (see Institute of Education Sciences and National Science Foundation, 2013 ). An emerging topic of study may need an exploratory approach that allows for a description of the phenomenon and development of a potential theory. This could, but not necessarily, require a methodological approach that uses interviews, observations, surveys, or other instruments. An extensively studied topic may call for the additional understanding of specific factors or variables; this type of study would be well suited to a verification or a causal research design. These could entail a methodological approach that uses valid and reliable instruments, observations, or interviews to determine an effect in the studied event. In either of these examples, the researcher(s) may use a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods methodological approach.
Even with a good research question, there is still more reading to be done. The complexity and focus of the research question dictates the depth and breadth of the literature to be examined. Questions that connect multiple topics can require broad literature reviews. For instance, a study that explores the impact of a biology faculty learning community on the inquiry instruction of faculty could have the following review areas: learning communities among biology faculty, inquiry instruction among biology faculty, and inquiry instruction among biology faculty as a result of professional learning. Biology education researchers need to consider whether their literature review requires studies from different disciplines within or outside DBER. For the example given, it would be fruitful to look at research focused on learning communities with faculty in STEM fields or in general education fields that result in instructional change. It is important not to be too narrow or too broad when reading. When the conclusions of articles start to sound similar or no new insights are gained, the researcher likely has a good foundation for a literature review. This level of reading should allow the researcher to demonstrate a mastery in understanding the researched topic, explain the suitability of the proposed research approach, and point to the need for the refined research question(s).
The literature review should include the researcher’s evaluation and critique of the selected studies. A researcher may have a large collection of studies, but not all of the studies will follow standards important in the reporting of empirical work in the social sciences. The American Educational Research Association ( Duran et al. , 2006 ), for example, offers a general discussion about standards for such work: an adequate review of research informing the study, the existence of sound and appropriate data collection and analysis methods, and appropriate conclusions that do not overstep or underexplore the analyzed data. The Institute of Education Sciences and National Science Foundation (2013) also offer Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development that can be used to evaluate collected studies.
Because not all journals adhere to such standards, it is important that a researcher review each study to determine the quality of published research, per the guidelines suggested earlier. In some instances, the research may be fatally flawed. Examples of such flaws include data that do not pertain to the question, a lack of discussion about the data collection, poorly constructed instruments, or an inadequate analysis. These types of errors result in studies that are incomplete, error-laden, or inaccurate and should be excluded from the review. Most studies have limitations, and the author(s) often make them explicit. For instance, there may be an instructor effect, recognized bias in the analysis, or issues with the sample population. Limitations are usually addressed by the research team in some way to ensure a sound and acceptable research process. Occasionally, the limitations associated with the study can be significant and not addressed adequately, which leaves a consequential decision in the hands of the researcher. Providing critiques of studies in the literature review process gives the reader confidence that the researcher has carefully examined relevant work in preparation for the study and, ultimately, the manuscript.
A solid literature review clearly anchors the proposed study in the field and connects the research question(s), the methodological approach, and the discussion. Reviewing extant research leads to research questions that will contribute to what is known in the field. By summarizing what is known, the literature review points to what needs to be known, which in turn guides decisions about methodology. Finally, notable findings of the new study are discussed in reference to those described in the literature review.
Within published BER studies, literature reviews can be placed in different locations in an article. When included in the introductory section of the study, the first few paragraphs of the manuscript set the stage, with the literature review following the opening paragraphs. Cooper et al. (2019) illustrate this approach in their study of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). An introduction discussing the potential of CURES is followed by an analysis of the existing literature relevant to the design of CUREs that allows for novel student discoveries. Within this review, the authors point out contradictory findings among research on novel student discoveries. This clarifies the need for their study, which is described and highlighted through specific research aims.
A literature reviews can also make up a separate section in a paper. For example, the introduction to Todd et al. (2019) illustrates the need for their research topic by highlighting the potential of learning progressions (LPs) and suggesting that LPs may help mitigate learning loss in genetics. At the end of the introduction, the authors state their specific research questions. The review of literature following this opening section comprises two subsections. One focuses on learning loss in general and examines a variety of studies and meta-analyses from the disciplines of medical education, mathematics, and reading. The second section focuses specifically on LPs in genetics and highlights student learning in the midst of LPs. These separate reviews provide insights into the stated research question.
A well-conceptualized, comprehensive, and critical literature review reveals the understanding of the topic that the researcher brings to the study. Literature reviews should not be so big that there is no clear area of focus; nor should they be so narrow that no real research question arises. The task for a researcher is to craft an efficient literature review that offers a critical analysis of published work, articulates the need for the study, guides the methodological approach to the topic of study, and provides an adequate foundation for the discussion of the findings.
In our own writing of literature reviews, there are often many drafts. An early draft may seem well suited to the study because the need for and approach to the study are well described. However, as the results of the study are analyzed and findings begin to emerge, the existing literature review may be inadequate and need revision. The need for an expanded discussion about the research area can result in the inclusion of new studies that support the explanation of a potential finding. The literature review may also prove to be too broad. Refocusing on a specific area allows for more contemplation of a finding.
It should be noted that there are different types of literature reviews, and many books and articles have been written about the different ways to embark on these types of reviews. Among these different resources, the following may be helpful in considering how to refine the review process for scholarly journals:
Purpose of theoretical frameworks.
As new education researchers may be less familiar with theoretical frameworks than with literature reviews, this discussion begins with an analogy. Envision a biologist, chemist, and physicist examining together the dramatic effect of a fog tsunami over the ocean. A biologist gazing at this phenomenon may be concerned with the effect of fog on various species. A chemist may be interested in the chemical composition of the fog as water vapor condenses around bits of salt. A physicist may be focused on the refraction of light to make fog appear to be “sitting” above the ocean. While observing the same “objective event,” the scientists are operating under different theoretical frameworks that provide a particular perspective or “lens” for the interpretation of the phenomenon. Each of these scientists brings specialized knowledge, experiences, and values to this phenomenon, and these influence the interpretation of the phenomenon. The scientists’ theoretical frameworks influence how they design and carry out their studies and interpret their data.
Within an educational study, a theoretical framework helps to explain a phenomenon through a particular lens and challenges and extends existing knowledge within the limitations of that lens. Theoretical frameworks are explicitly stated by an educational researcher in the paper’s framework, theory, or relevant literature section. The framework shapes the types of questions asked, guides the method by which data are collected and analyzed, and informs the discussion of the results of the study. It also reveals the researcher’s subjectivities, for example, values, social experience, and viewpoint ( Allen, 2017 ). It is essential that a novice researcher learn to explicitly state a theoretical framework, because all research questions are being asked from the researcher’s implicit or explicit assumptions of a phenomenon of interest ( Schwandt, 2000 ).
Theoretical frameworks are one of the most contemplated elements in our work in educational research. In this section, we share three important considerations for new scholars selecting a theoretical framework.
The first step in identifying a theoretical framework involves reflecting on the phenomenon within the study and the assumptions aligned with the phenomenon. The phenomenon involves the studied event. There are many possibilities, for example, student learning, instructional approach, or group organization. A researcher holds assumptions about how the phenomenon will be effected, influenced, changed, or portrayed. It is ultimately the researcher’s assumption(s) about the phenomenon that aligns with a theoretical framework. An example can help illustrate how a researcher’s reflection on the phenomenon and acknowledgment of assumptions can result in the identification of a theoretical framework.
In our example, a biology education researcher may be interested in exploring how students’ learning of difficult biological concepts can be supported by the interactions of group members. The phenomenon of interest is the interactions among the peers, and the researcher assumes that more knowledgeable students are important in supporting the learning of the group. As a result, the researcher may draw on Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory of learning and development that is focused on the phenomenon of student learning in a social setting. This theory posits the critical nature of interactions among students and between students and teachers in the process of building knowledge. A researcher drawing upon this framework holds the assumption that learning is a dynamic social process involving questions and explanations among students in the classroom and that more knowledgeable peers play an important part in the process of building conceptual knowledge.
It is important to state at this point that there are many different theoretical frameworks. Some frameworks focus on learning and knowing, while other theoretical frameworks focus on equity, empowerment, or discourse. Some frameworks are well articulated, and others are still being refined. For a new researcher, it can be challenging to find a theoretical framework. Two of the best ways to look for theoretical frameworks is through published works that highlight different frameworks.
When a theoretical framework is selected, it should clearly connect to all parts of the study. The framework should augment the study by adding a perspective that provides greater insights into the phenomenon. It should clearly align with the studies described in the literature review. For instance, a framework focused on learning would correspond to research that reported different learning outcomes for similar studies. The methods for data collection and analysis should also correspond to the framework. For instance, a study about instructional interventions could use a theoretical framework concerned with learning and could collect data about the effect of the intervention on what is learned. When the data are analyzed, the theoretical framework should provide added meaning to the findings, and the findings should align with the theoretical framework.
A study by Jensen and Lawson (2011) provides an example of how a theoretical framework connects different parts of the study. They compared undergraduate biology students in heterogeneous and homogeneous groups over the course of a semester. Jensen and Lawson (2011) assumed that learning involved collaboration and more knowledgeable peers, which made Vygotsky’s (1978) theory a good fit for their study. They predicted that students in heterogeneous groups would experience greater improvement in their reasoning abilities and science achievements with much of the learning guided by the more knowledgeable peers.
In the enactment of the study, they collected data about the instruction in traditional and inquiry-oriented classes, while the students worked in homogeneous or heterogeneous groups. To determine the effect of working in groups, the authors also measured students’ reasoning abilities and achievement. Each data-collection and analysis decision connected to understanding the influence of collaborative work.
Their findings highlighted aspects of Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of learning. One finding, for instance, posited that inquiry instruction, as a whole, resulted in reasoning and achievement gains. This links to Vygotsky (1978) , because inquiry instruction involves interactions among group members. A more nuanced finding was that group composition had a conditional effect. Heterogeneous groups performed better with more traditional and didactic instruction, regardless of the reasoning ability of the group members. Homogeneous groups worked better during interaction-rich activities for students with low reasoning ability. The authors attributed the variation to the different types of helping behaviors of students. High-performing students provided the answers, while students with low reasoning ability had to work collectively through the material. In terms of Vygotsky (1978) , this finding provided new insights into the learning context in which productive interactions can occur for students.
Another consideration in the selection and use of a theoretical framework pertains to its orientation to the study. This can result in the theoretical framework prioritizing individuals, institutions, and/or policies ( Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). Frameworks that connect to individuals, for instance, could contribute to understanding their actions, learning, or knowledge. Institutional frameworks, on the other hand, offer insights into how institutions, organizations, or groups can influence individuals or materials. Policy theories provide ways to understand how national or local policies can dictate an emphasis on outcomes or instructional design. These different types of frameworks highlight different aspects in an educational setting, which influences the design of the study and the collection of data. In addition, these different frameworks offer a way to make sense of the data. Aligning the data collection and analysis with the framework ensures that a study is coherent and can contribute to the field.
New understandings emerge when different theoretical frameworks are used. For instance, Ebert-May et al. (2015) prioritized the individual level within conceptual change theory (see Posner et al. , 1982 ). In this theory, an individual’s knowledge changes when it no longer fits the phenomenon. Ebert-May et al. (2015) designed a professional development program challenging biology postdoctoral scholars’ existing conceptions of teaching. The authors reported that the biology postdoctoral scholars’ teaching practices became more student-centered as they were challenged to explain their instructional decision making. According to the theory, the biology postdoctoral scholars’ dissatisfaction in their descriptions of teaching and learning initiated change in their knowledge and instruction. These results reveal how conceptual change theory can explain the learning of participants and guide the design of professional development programming.
The communities of practice (CoP) theoretical framework ( Lave, 1988 ; Wenger, 1998 ) prioritizes the institutional level , suggesting that learning occurs when individuals learn from and contribute to the communities in which they reside. Grounded in the assumption of community learning, the literature on CoP suggests that, as individuals interact regularly with the other members of their group, they learn about the rules, roles, and goals of the community ( Allee, 2000 ). A study conducted by Gehrke and Kezar (2017) used the CoP framework to understand organizational change by examining the involvement of individual faculty engaged in a cross-institutional CoP focused on changing the instructional practice of faculty at each institution. In the CoP, faculty members were involved in enhancing instructional materials within their department, which aligned with an overarching goal of instituting instruction that embraced active learning. Not surprisingly, Gehrke and Kezar (2017) revealed that faculty who perceived the community culture as important in their work cultivated institutional change. Furthermore, they found that institutional change was sustained when key leaders served as mentors and provided support for faculty, and as faculty themselves developed into leaders. This study reveals the complexity of individual roles in a COP in order to support institutional instructional change.
It is important to explicitly state the theoretical framework used in a study, but elucidating a theoretical framework can be challenging for a new educational researcher. The literature review can help to identify an applicable theoretical framework. Focal areas of the review or central terms often connect to assumptions and assertions associated with the framework that pertain to the phenomenon of interest. Another way to identify a theoretical framework is self-reflection by the researcher on personal beliefs and understandings about the nature of knowledge the researcher brings to the study ( Lysaght, 2011 ). In stating one’s beliefs and understandings related to the study (e.g., students construct their knowledge, instructional materials support learning), an orientation becomes evident that will suggest a particular theoretical framework. Theoretical frameworks are not arbitrary , but purposefully selected.
With experience, a researcher may find expanded roles for theoretical frameworks. Researchers may revise an existing framework that has limited explanatory power, or they may decide there is a need to develop a new theoretical framework. These frameworks can emerge from a current study or the need to explain a phenomenon in a new way. Researchers may also find that multiple theoretical frameworks are necessary to frame and explore a problem, as different frameworks can provide different insights into a problem.
Finally, it is important to recognize that choosing “x” theoretical framework does not necessarily mean a researcher chooses “y” methodology and so on, nor is there a clear-cut, linear process in selecting a theoretical framework for one’s study. In part, the nonlinear process of identifying a theoretical framework is what makes understanding and using theoretical frameworks challenging. For the novice scholar, contemplating and understanding theoretical frameworks is essential. Fortunately, there are articles and books that can help:
Purpose of a conceptual framework.
A conceptual framework is a description of the way a researcher understands the factors and/or variables that are involved in the study and their relationships to one another. The purpose of a conceptual framework is to articulate the concepts under study using relevant literature ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ) and to clarify the presumed relationships among those concepts ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ; Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). Conceptual frameworks are different from theoretical frameworks in both their breadth and grounding in established findings. Whereas a theoretical framework articulates the lens through which a researcher views the work, the conceptual framework is often more mechanistic and malleable.
Conceptual frameworks are broader, encompassing both established theories (i.e., theoretical frameworks) and the researchers’ own emergent ideas. Emergent ideas, for example, may be rooted in informal and/or unpublished observations from experience. These emergent ideas would not be considered a “theory” if they are not yet tested, supported by systematically collected evidence, and peer reviewed. However, they do still play an important role in the way researchers approach their studies. The conceptual framework allows authors to clearly describe their emergent ideas so that connections among ideas in the study and the significance of the study are apparent to readers.
Including a conceptual framework in a research study is important, but researchers often opt to include either a conceptual or a theoretical framework. Either may be adequate, but both provide greater insight into the research approach. For instance, a research team plans to test a novel component of an existing theory. In their study, they describe the existing theoretical framework that informs their work and then present their own conceptual framework. Within this conceptual framework, specific topics portray emergent ideas that are related to the theory. Describing both frameworks allows readers to better understand the researchers’ assumptions, orientations, and understanding of concepts being investigated. For example, Connolly et al. (2018) included a conceptual framework that described how they applied a theoretical framework of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to their study on teaching programs for doctoral students. In their conceptual framework, the authors described SCCT, explained how it applied to the investigation, and drew upon results from previous studies to justify the proposed connections between the theory and their emergent ideas.
In some cases, authors may be able to sufficiently describe their conceptualization of the phenomenon under study in an introduction alone, without a separate conceptual framework section. However, incomplete descriptions of how the researchers conceptualize the components of the study may limit the significance of the study by making the research less intelligible to readers. This is especially problematic when studying topics in which researchers use the same terms for different constructs or different terms for similar and overlapping constructs (e.g., inquiry, teacher beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge, or active learning). Authors must describe their conceptualization of a construct if the research is to be understandable and useful.
There are some key areas to consider regarding the inclusion of a conceptual framework in a study. To begin with, it is important to recognize that conceptual frameworks are constructed by the researchers conducting the study ( Rocco and Plakhotnik, 2009 ; Maxwell, 2012 ). This is different from theoretical frameworks that are often taken from established literature. Researchers should bring together ideas from the literature, but they may be influenced by their own experiences as a student and/or instructor, the shared experiences of others, or thought experiments as they construct a description, model, or representation of their understanding of the phenomenon under study. This is an exercise in intellectual organization and clarity that often considers what is learned, known, and experienced. The conceptual framework makes these constructs explicitly visible to readers, who may have different understandings of the phenomenon based on their prior knowledge and experience. There is no single method to go about this intellectual work.
Reeves et al. (2016) is an example of an article that proposed a conceptual framework about graduate teaching assistant professional development evaluation and research. The authors used existing literature to create a novel framework that filled a gap in current research and practice related to the training of graduate teaching assistants. This conceptual framework can guide the systematic collection of data by other researchers because the framework describes the relationships among various factors that influence teaching and learning. The Reeves et al. (2016) conceptual framework may be modified as additional data are collected and analyzed by other researchers. This is not uncommon, as conceptual frameworks can serve as catalysts for concerted research efforts that systematically explore a phenomenon (e.g., Reynolds et al. , 2012 ; Brownell and Kloser, 2015 ).
Sabel et al. (2017) used a conceptual framework in their exploration of how scaffolds, an external factor, interact with internal factors to support student learning. Their conceptual framework integrated principles from two theoretical frameworks, self-regulated learning and metacognition, to illustrate how the research team conceptualized students’ use of scaffolds in their learning ( Figure 1 ). Sabel et al. (2017) created this model using their interpretations of these two frameworks in the context of their teaching.
Conceptual framework from Sabel et al. (2017) .
A conceptual framework should describe the relationship among components of the investigation ( Anfara and Mertz, 2014 ). These relationships should guide the researcher’s methods of approaching the study ( Miles et al. , 2014 ) and inform both the data to be collected and how those data should be analyzed. Explicitly describing the connections among the ideas allows the researcher to justify the importance of the study and the rigor of the research design. Just as importantly, these frameworks help readers understand why certain components of a system were not explored in the study. This is a challenge in education research, which is rooted in complex environments with many variables that are difficult to control.
For example, Sabel et al. (2017) stated: “Scaffolds, such as enhanced answer keys and reflection questions, can help students and instructors bridge the external and internal factors and support learning” (p. 3). They connected the scaffolds in the study to the three dimensions of metacognition and the eventual transformation of existing ideas into new or revised ideas. Their framework provides a rationale for focusing on how students use two different scaffolds, and not on other factors that may influence a student’s success (self-efficacy, use of active learning, exam format, etc.).
In constructing conceptual frameworks, researchers should address needed areas of study and/or contradictions discovered in literature reviews. By attending to these areas, researchers can strengthen their arguments for the importance of a study. For instance, conceptual frameworks can address how the current study will fill gaps in the research, resolve contradictions in existing literature, or suggest a new area of study. While a literature review describes what is known and not known about the phenomenon, the conceptual framework leverages these gaps in describing the current study ( Maxwell, 2012 ). In the example of Sabel et al. (2017) , the authors indicated there was a gap in the literature regarding how scaffolds engage students in metacognition to promote learning in large classes. Their study helps fill that gap by describing how scaffolds can support students in the three dimensions of metacognition: intelligibility, plausibility, and wide applicability. In another example, Lane (2016) integrated research from science identity, the ethic of care, the sense of belonging, and an expertise model of student success to form a conceptual framework that addressed the critiques of other frameworks. In a more recent example, Sbeglia et al. (2021) illustrated how a conceptual framework influences the methodological choices and inferences in studies by educational researchers.
Sometimes researchers draw upon the conceptual frameworks of other researchers. When a researcher’s conceptual framework closely aligns with an existing framework, the discussion may be brief. For example, Ghee et al. (2016) referred to portions of SCCT as their conceptual framework to explain the significance of their work on students’ self-efficacy and career interests. Because the authors’ conceptualization of this phenomenon aligned with a previously described framework, they briefly mentioned the conceptual framework and provided additional citations that provided more detail for the readers.
Within both the BER and the broader DBER communities, conceptual frameworks have been used to describe different constructs. For example, some researchers have used the term “conceptual framework” to describe students’ conceptual understandings of a biological phenomenon. This is distinct from a researcher’s conceptual framework of the educational phenomenon under investigation, which may also need to be explicitly described in the article. Other studies have presented a research logic model or flowchart of the research design as a conceptual framework. These constructions can be quite valuable in helping readers understand the data-collection and analysis process. However, a model depicting the study design does not serve the same role as a conceptual framework. Researchers need to avoid conflating these constructs by differentiating the researchers’ conceptual framework that guides the study from the research design, when applicable.
Explicitly describing conceptual frameworks is essential in depicting the focus of the study. We have found that being explicit in a conceptual framework means using accepted terminology, referencing prior work, and clearly noting connections between terms. This description can also highlight gaps in the literature or suggest potential contributions to the field of study. A well-elucidated conceptual framework can suggest additional studies that may be warranted. This can also spur other researchers to consider how they would approach the examination of a phenomenon and could result in a revised conceptual framework.
It can be challenging to create conceptual frameworks, but they are important. Below are two resources that could be helpful in constructing and presenting conceptual frameworks in educational research:
Literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks are all important in DBER and BER. Robust literature reviews reinforce the importance of a study. Theoretical frameworks connect the study to the base of knowledge in educational theory and specify the researcher’s assumptions. Conceptual frameworks allow researchers to explicitly describe their conceptualization of the relationships among the components of the phenomenon under study. Table 1 provides a general overview of these components in order to assist biology education researchers in thinking about these elements.
It is important to emphasize that these different elements are intertwined. When these elements are aligned and complement one another, the study is coherent, and the study findings contribute to knowledge in the field. When literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks are disconnected from one another, the study suffers. The point of the study is lost, suggested findings are unsupported, or important conclusions are invisible to the researcher. In addition, this misalignment may be costly in terms of time and money.
Conducting a literature review, selecting a theoretical framework, and building a conceptual framework are some of the most difficult elements of a research study. It takes time to understand the relevant research, identify a theoretical framework that provides important insights into the study, and formulate a conceptual framework that organizes the finding. In the research process, there is often a constant back and forth among these elements as the study evolves. With an ongoing refinement of the review of literature, clarification of the theoretical framework, and articulation of a conceptual framework, a sound study can emerge that makes a contribution to the field. This is the goal of BER and education research.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Literature search. Fink has defined research literature review as a "systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars and practitioners."[]Review of research literature can be summarized into a seven step process: (i) Selecting research questions/purpose of the ...
A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field.
A literature review is not only a summary of key sources, but has an organizational pattern which combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories.A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem.
Instead, a good literature review (1) demonstrates that the author is knowledgeable about the prior work on the relevant topic(s), (2) identifies research gaps (e.g. issues that have been not been examined, have been mis-studied, or that have resulted in inconsistent findings) for the author and others, and provides the foundation for authors ...
This is why the literature review as a research method is more relevant than ever. Traditional literature reviews often lack thoroughness and rigor and are conducted ad hoc, rather than following a specific methodology. Therefore, questions can be raised about the quality and trustworthiness of these types of reviews.
Literature review is an essential feature of academic research. Fundamentally, knowledge advancement must be built on prior existing work. To push the knowledge frontier, we must know where the frontier is. By reviewing relevant literature, we understand the breadth and depth of the existing body of work and identify gaps to explore.
A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic. There are five key steps to writing a literature review: Search for ...
Systematic reviews that summarize the available information on a topic are an important part of evidence-based health care. There are both research and non-research reasons for undertaking a literature review. It is important to systematically review the literature when one would like to justify the need for a study, to update personal ...
Writing a literature review requires a range of skills to gather, sort, evaluate and summarise peer-reviewed published data into a relevant and informative unbiased narrative. Digital access to research papers, academic texts, review articles, reference databases and public data sets are all sources of information that are available to enrich ...
Snyder H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, ... Sharing links are not relevant where the article is open access and not available if you do not have a subscription. ... Literature Reviews in Social Work. 2014. SAGE Research Methods.
Besides the obvious reason for students -- because it is assigned! -- a literature review helps you explore the research that has come before you, to see how your research question has (or has not) already been addressed. You identify: core research in the field. experts in the subject area. methodology you may want to use (or avoid)
A literature review is an overview of the available research for a specific scientific topic. Literature reviews summarize existing research to answer a review question, provide context for new research, or identify important gaps in the existing body of literature.. An incredible amount of academic literature is published each year, by estimates over two million articles.
"A substantive, thorough, sophisticated literature review is a precondition for doing substantive, thorough, sophisticated research". Boote and Baile 2005 . Authors of manuscripts treat writing a literature review as a routine work or a mere formality. But a seasoned one knows the purpose and importance of a well-written literature review.
A literature review is an integrated analysis-- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question.That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.
This is probably the most obvious value of the literature review. Once a researcher has determined an area to work with for a research project, a search of relevant information sources will help determine what is already known about the topic and how extensively the topic has already been researched.
A literature review is a study - or, more accurately, a survey - involving scholarly material, with the aim to discuss published information about a specific topic or research question. Therefore, to write a literature review, it is compulsory that you are a real expert in the object of study. The results and findings will be published and ...
The quality and success of academic work are closely linked to the literature review process. A literature review is essential to any scientific research study, which entails an in-depth analysis ...
The objective of a Literature Review is to find previous published scholarly works relevant to an specific topic. A literature review is important because it: Explains the background of research on a topic. Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area. Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
Mapping the gap. The purpose of the literature review section of a manuscript is not to report what is known about your topic. The purpose is to identify what remains unknown—what academic writing scholar Janet Giltrow has called the 'knowledge deficit'—thus establishing the need for your research study [].In an earlier Writer's Craft instalment, the Problem-Gap-Hook heuristic was ...
A literature review is not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It's usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory.
Some Issues in Liter ature R eview. 1. A continuous and time consuming process runs. through out r esearch work (more whil e selecting. a resear ch problem and writing 'r eview of. liter ature ...
Literature review decides about the methodology to be used through the identification of the methodology choices used in the previous studies, looking at their strengths and limits. 3. Literature Review Definition A literature review may be defined as a survey of the most pertinent literature related to a particular topic or discipline.
Relationships between Faculty's Library Use and Their Research Productivity. Faculty's library resource use was further analyzed to examine whether their frequency of library resource use correlated with their research productivity (measured by number of publications including books, book chapters, conference proceeding, and journals) in a one-year period (2021) and a 5-year period (2017 ...
Academic libraries have conducted studies on the importance of the library research consultation (LRC) regarding student learning and the impact on academic success. While there is a robust literature examining library anxiety, no study has been designed to measure the impact of the library research consultation on stress.
The literature review methodology received different terms in the literature (Whittemore and Knafl 2005).Webster & Watson recommended a structured approach that focuses on the main journals and academic databases, which can speed up the identification of relevant papers.This research uses a descriptive approach (Durach, Kembro, e Wieland, 2015), based on gaps, themes, research agendas, framed ...
Purpose and Importance of the Literature Review. An understanding of the current literature is critical for all phases of a research study. Lingard 9 recently invoked the "journal-as-conversation" metaphor as a way of understanding how one's research fits into the larger medical education conversation. As she described it: "Imagine yourself joining a conversation at a social event.
Given the inconsistencies in the provision of psychological interventions identified in the literature and through reports, this report aimed to (1) review existing recommendations on psychosocial interventions to address UASC mental health needs, (2) examine the current mental health provision within health and social care in England from service providers' perspectives, and (3) synthesise ...
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and epilepsy represent two complex neurological disorders with distinct clinical manifestations, yet recent research has highlighted their intricate interplay. This review examines the association between AD and epilepsy, with particular emphasis on late-onset epilepsy of unknown etiology, increasingly acknowledged as a prodrome of AD. It delves into ...
Impedance Spectroscopy (IS) is a general term for the technique referring to small-signal measurements of the linear electrical response of a domain of interest. This method is based on the analysis of the system's electrical response to yield helpful information about its domain-dependent physicochemical properties (generally, the analysis is carried out in the frequency domain). Nowadays ...
A literature review examines current and relevant research associated with the study question. It is comprehensive, critical, and purposeful. A theoretical framework illuminates the phenomenon of study and the corresponding assumptions adopted by the researcher. Frameworks can take on different orientations.