Cluster III. Good governance: where the strategy aims at developing structures and systems of democratic governance that are participatory, representative, accountable and inclusive and
2.8 Summary
agricultural production, particularly in accessing appropriate agricultural inputs and marketing of agricultural produce (Kamuzora 2003; URT 1997b). Efforts to promote income generation activities and other diversified coping strategies were believed to have been undermined by inadequate access to credit, along with inadequate business entrepreneurial skills among the target population, particularly the women in the Magu district (Kamuzora 2003).
CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW 3.0 Introduction
This chapter discusses the literature on information and communication technologies, socio- economic development and sustainable livelihoods. Building upon previous studies
this chapter begins by addressing the purposes for which the literature was used in the current study and shows how the literature review for this study is organised. The chapter
presents the theoretical foundation of the study and shows the debates, scepticism and controversy currently found in discussions of the role of ICTs for sustainable livelihoods and socio-economic development in developing countries.
The reasons for conducting the literature review for this study was to position the study within other similar studies and explore the available knowledge in the study area, so as to understand the relationship between the problem and the body of knowledge in the area. Other reasons were to establish the need for this kind of research and acquaint the researcher with the methodologies that have been used by others to find answers to research questions similar to the ones investigated in this study.
3.1 Definitions, purpose and organisation of the literature review
The literature review is a systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and interpreting the existing body of recorded work produced by researchers, scholars and practitioners (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight 2001: 120). It is a critical discussion of all significant, publicly available literature that contributes to the understanding of a subject (Pickard 2007: 26). The literature review involves the systematic identification, location and analysis of documents containing information related to the research problem being investigated (Mugenda and Mugenda 2003: 29). A review of the literature is important because it enables the researcher to acquire an understanding of the topic, identify related research and place the work in the context of what has already been done (Trochim 2001: 27).
The main purpose of the literature review is to determine what has already been done in relation to the research problems being studied. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003: 29) pointed
out that this knowledge helps the researcher avoid unnecessary and unintentional duplication and demonstrates researcher‟s familiarity with the existing body of knowledge on the subject.
Various scholars have highlighted the benefits of conducting a literature review (Creswell 2003: 27-28; Kothari 2004; Mugenda and Mugenda 2003: 29; Pickard 2007: 26). According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1990) cited by Creswell (1994: 20) the literature review shares with the reader the results of other studies that are closely related to the study being reported. It relates the study to the larger, ongoing dialogue in the literature about a topic, filling in gaps and extending prior studies. It establishes the importance of the study as well as providing a benchmark for comparing the results of a study with other findings. Other purposes of the literature review, pointed out by Kumar (1999: 26), are bringing clarity and focus to the research problem, improving the methodology and broadening the knowledge base in the research areas.
The literature review plays an extremely important role in shaping the research problem, because in the course of reviewing the literature the researcher understands the subject area better and this helps the researcher to conceptualise the research problem clearly and precisely. Knowledge of the literature is defined by Strauss and Corbin (1990: 41) as one source of gaining “theoretical sensitivity”. These authors define theoretical sensitivity as “a personal quality of the researcher”, indicating “an awareness of the subtleties of the meaning of data”
Characteristics of a good literature review, as pointed out by Peters (1994: 29), include the literature review being exhaustive, but not necessarily bulky, representative, directly related to the research problem, being critical and analytical and not resorting to castigating other scholars if they fell short of a researcher‟s expectations. Stilwell (2000: 173) stressed that a good literature review needs to indicate the different views, agreements, disagreement and trends of thought on the topic of research. It should be accurately portrayed and acknowledged in the text and produce a conceptual model, including philosophical stances and theoretical assumptions and key assumptions and theoretical problems or contradictions.
The literature review might take several different forms and little consensus exists about the preferred form (Creswell 2003: 32). Various scholars have provided a guideline to the form the literature review may take. Kaniki (2000: 17) indicated that the literature review can present a historical review, which considered the chronological development of the literature.
Another style is to break the literature into stages or phases and thematic reviews which are structured around different themes or perspectives and often focused on debates between different schools and theoretical reviews which trace the theoretical development in a particular area. The last style is to use empirical reviews, when an attempt is made to summarise the empirical findings on different methodologies.
Cooper (1984 cited by Creswell 2003: 32) suggested that the literature review can take three different forms. The first one is integrative, in which the researcher summarises broad themes in the literature. A second form is theoretical review, in which the researcher focuses on extant theory that relates to the problem under study. The third form suggested by Cooper (1984) is methodological review, in which the researcher focuses on methods and definition.
Pickard (2007: 34) believed that the literature review not only informs the researcher of the
“state of knowledge” of the subject, but it also provides insight concerning methodology. In methodological review the researcher not only provides a summary of the study but also provides an actual critique of the strength and weaknesses of the methods section.
The present study adopted a combination of the chronological, thematic and methodological approaches to presenting the literature related to the study. Therefore, for the purpose of this study:
The literature review chapter discusses the different models that explain the relationship between ICTs and socio-economic development.
Literature related to this study was reviewed thematically, by organising the available literature into sections that focus on themes that relate to the study. These include the main themes derived from the objectives and research questions of the study.
The literature review presented a chronological review of the origin and the way in which knowledge has been built up in the field of ICTs for socio-economic
development and identified important trends, the available debates and controversies in the field.
The review included empirical research that is closely related to the study. These included articles from peer reviewed scholarly journals, research reports from national and international organisations and individuals, theses and dissertations. Government publications, statutes and policy documents which were relevant to the study were included in the literature review.