A literature review is...
Keep in mind...
Why do we write literature reviews?
- a systematic and critical analysis of the literature on a specific topic
- it describes trends, quality, relationships, inconsistencies and gaps in the research
- it details how the works enhance your understanding of the topic at large
Keep in mind...
- it is not simply an annotated bibliography that summarizes and/or assesses each article
- there is not one, correct way to approach and write a literature review
- it can be a stand-alone paper or part of a thesis/dissertation
- format and requirements can vary between disciplines, purpose and intended audience
Why do we write literature reviews?
- they provide a depth of knowledge of the field of inquiry: facts, theories, important scholars, trends, etc.
- to gain understanding of methodologies common to the field and appropriateness of various methods
- to help us understand what is known and what is unknown in the field
- to help us to determine scope of your question. Usually it will help to narrow or focus a problem/issue, but it may also help you determine where you need to step back and look at a bigger problem/question/theories/etc.
- Reinforces that your proposed question is a meaningful contribution to the field
- Generates hypotheses or questions for further studies
1. Choose a topic and defining a question
- Initially, keep your topic fluid, and do preliminary searching so you can adjust your question/scope as necessary
- Use reference tools like Gale Virtual Reference Library to make sure you’ve grasped theories and “big pictures”
- Once you have a sense of the literature landscape, try to focus on an answerable question, rather than covering a broad topic
- Determine inclusion criteria and parameters and depth of coverage: highlights vs. comprehensive review, current research vs. seminal works, limit to specific populations, applications, methodologies, etc.
- Determine which search tools you will use. Don’t use just one!
- For each search tool, determine the search phrases and limits that will provide the best results. Save or document this search! The best search for one database isn’t likely to be the best search in another database
- Through this process, adjust your topic and/or keyword scope accordingly
- Know that you may need to conduct multiple searches in each database to catch all of the literature on your topic
- Consider searching for distinct sets of literature that will each enlighten your knowledge of a very specific topic
- Try to identify the “seminal works” and important authors for your topics
- Save your searches and /or keep a list of subject headings or keywords related to your topic. You may rely on these in further searching and in developing conceptual outline for your review
- Read the articles you’ve selected
- Take notes! Focus on the strengths and weaknesses, as you are aiming to provide a critical analysis, rather than a summary of the literature
- If your notes use the exact phrasing as the article, note it as such to avoid plagiarism
- Consider categorizing the articles, or parts of articles, as to which aspects of your topic they address
- Note any jargon, definitions or theories you want to use, remember or investigate further
- Identity commonalities, relationships and trends in the literature. This may help determine themes or categories for your review. Also note any inconsistencies, so you can later determine if there is cause for specifically addressing them in your review
- Note any gaps in the literature, and consider why this may be occurring
1. Start here
2. From here, you may access the databases in a variety of ways…
2. From here, you may access the databases in a variety of ways…
- Browse alphabetically for a specific database
- Choose “Databases by Subject” to see databases recommended by areas of study
- Choose “Databases by Type” to see databases with specific types of material (ebooks, statistics, images, etc)
- Look at the “About” pages for each database to determine what is included
- Look at the recommended databases list for each subject
- Find the subject librarian/s for areas related to your research and ask for recommendations
- Don’t search with your topic as a phrase! (i.e.: faculty stress related to tenure processes)
- Use ANDs to separate important concepts – often this is done by typing each concept into a unique search bar.
- Use ORs to connect synonyms within a search bar. Think of all the terms that might fall under the umbrella of this concept (stress OR coping OR anxiety).
- When you find a good article, look at the subject headings and adjust your keywords accordingly.
- When off campus, use the Google Scholar link in the Libraries databases list so that Google will recognize you as a UT user and link you to our subscriptions
- This link
works like .gif)
in the databases - Google Scholar searches within the full text of most articles, so very general searches will retrieve many, many results
- Use the arrow in the search box to see advanced search options:
.jpg)
- The advanced search will help narrow your results:
Some databases will show you how many times an article has been cited by others, so you can get an idea of its effect on the field.
Google Scholar's citation count will give you a good idea of how many times an article has been cited, but don't consider it completely accurate
.jpg)
Web of Science is a more accurate measure, but is stronger in the sciences than in the humanities. Use the limiters on the bottom of the search page:
Citation counts appear under each article's description:
You may stumble upon this feature in some other databases, so keep an eye out.
Google Scholar's citation count will give you a good idea of how many times an article has been cited, but don't consider it completely accurate
Web of Science is a more accurate measure, but is stronger in the sciences than in the humanities. Use the limiters on the bottom of the search page:
Citation counts appear under each article's description:
You may stumble upon this feature in some other databases, so keep an eye out.
eBooks:
Print Books:
Web Sites:
- Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From Paper to the Internet
- The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step guide for students
- Succeeding with your Literature Review: A Handbook for Students
- Synthesizing Research: A Guide for Literature Reviews
- When to Use What Research Design
Print Books:
- An Education Research Primer: How to Understand, Evaluate, and Use it
- Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From Paper to the Internet
- Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Writing Empirical Research Reports: a Basic Guide for Students of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Web Sites:
- Literature Reviews (University of North Carolina, Writing Center)
- Writing Literature Reviews (Claremont Graduate University, Writing Center)
- Writing a Psychology Literature Review (University of Washington, Psychology Writing Center)
Start at the Library Databases: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/indexes
- Annual Reviews Online - Lengthy lit reviews, written by experts on the topic. Only certain topics are covered.
- Dissertation and Theses: Full Text - Full text dissertations. Each contains a lit review!
- PsycINFO & MEDLINE - Let you limit your results to literature reviews. Look for the option to limit by methodology.
- Other databases: Add this line to your search: “literature review” OR “review of the literature”
- Tutorial
- Find Articles class (guide and recording of past class)
- This button
allows our databases to communicate with each other to find the article as a PDF or in HTML - You may see “no online full text is available” for an article you need, click on the Library Catalog link to see if we have the publication in print
- Use Interlibrary Loan to request an item we do not own. Many articles are emailed to you within 2-5 days. This service is free to UT students, faculty and staff.
- Create an account with the databases you most often use. Most will allow you to save searches & citations.
- EndNote Web (free)
- EndNote (purchase at the Campus Computer Store) Next EndNote Intro class is Online April 8 12-1:30pm
- Zotero (free; see guide and recording for Zotero class here) Next Zotero Class is Online March 27 10-11:30
- Compare Citation Managers
