Sample Selection in Systematic Literature Reviews
by Janet Salmons, Ph.D., Research Community Manager for SAGE Methodspace
A feature topic in the Organizational Research Methods journal, Rigorous and Impactful Literature Reviews, explores methodologies for conducting review research. Some of the articles are open access, the others are available until April 12, 2023. Methodspace is highlighting this useful collection with a series of interviews and related resources.
So many articles - how do you choose?
Before journals were made available electronically, searching for relevant literature was an article-by-article process in the library. Alternatively, you had to dig through journals obtained from the subscriptions you purchased. Today’s academic researchers find articles through databases accessible online.
Each option has its advantages and challenges. If reliant on print journals, access might have been limited to those that corresponded to the disciplines associated your institution’s curriculum. When your library didn’t subscribe to a journal you wanted, you would have to request an inter-library loan and wait for a paper copy to arrive by mail. In other words, the process might slow, but targeted.
Today’s researchers have the opposite challenge: with a few clicks you have access to journals from across disciplines and across the globe. How do you decide which databases to use, how do you sort through the abundance of resources available, and ultimately how do you choose which studies to include in your literature review? What articles should you read in entirety, and which should you skim? Clearly, today’s researchers need a strategy!
While researchers who collect data from human participants are familiar with the need to develop a sampling strategy, review researchers may not understand what is involved. Martin Hiebl offers guidance in this article, “Sample Selection in Systematic Literature Reviews of Management Research,” and related interview. His recommendations about sampling will help you save time and improve the quality of your review research.
Dr. Martin Hiebl is Professor of Management Accounting and Control at the University of Siegen, Germany, and Visiting Professor at Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. His research focuses on management accounting and control, risk management, family businesses and small businesses, and contemporary research methods.
Learn more!
Feldermann, S. K., & Hiebl, M. R. (2020). Using quotations from non-English interviews in accounting research. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 17(2), 229-262. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-08-2018-0059
Hiebl, M. R. (2023). Literature reviews of qualitative accounting research: challenges and opportunities. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-12-2021-0222
Hiebl, M. R., & Richter, J. F. (2018). Response rates in management accounting survey research. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 30(2), 59-79. https://doi.org/10.2308/jmar-52073 (subscription only)
Pielsticker, D. I., & Hiebl, M. R. (2020). Survey response rates in family business research. European Management Review, 17(1), 327-346. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12375
More Methodspace Posts about Review Research and Literature Reviews
The process for researching literature on research methods is somewhat different from the process used for researching literature about the topic, problem, or questions. What should we keep in mind when selecting methods literature?