Literature Review Research Strategies

Keep these questions in mind when you're reading your selected articles

• What has been written about your topic?   and   What has not been written?
• Who are the key contributors to the discussion?
• What are the prevailing theories and hypotheses?
• What questions are being asked?   and   What questions are not being asked?
• What are appropriate and useful methods or methodology?
• What gaps are you finding in the discussion?
• Also, why is it important to fill a gap in the literature?
• Are you finding areas that warrant further investigation?
• Are there controversies?

Don't forget - you also have questions that you're asking about your topic!

For each database search, record basic information

You will want to use similar terminology and other details in searching through various databases.  Be sure to adjust terminology if you search in a database from a different academic discipline that may use alternate terminology.

Basic information might include the following:
1. Database name* (ex. ERIC)
2. Database host  (ex. ProQuest)
3. Date of search  (ex. April 9, 2022)
4. Years covered  (ex. All years)
5. Search terms*  (ex. "graduate students", anxiety OR stress; Used save search)
6. Limits  (ex. English, peer-reviewed, scholarly)
7. # of articles retrieved  (ex. 75 articles retrieved)
8. Export? Save? Alert?  (ex. exported to RefWorks)
9. Notes*  (ex. Too broad, need to focus on…)

*Most important info to keep

Citation Searching or Citation Mining

Exploits formal linkages between papers

Identify an excellent article or an exemplar, preferably a seminal article, to track impact.

TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: 

Works the Author cites = Looking backwards in time

This tells you who influenced the author.  Who did this influential author cite?

Works that cite the Author = Looking forward in time

This tells you who was influenced by this author or article?  Who else cited the author or article?
 

What articles are cited in common by other authors?  These are often significant for your literature review.

NOTE:  Many database results indicate "cited" or "cited references," and some have features for searching cited references.  Ask a librarian for assistance with searching for these references.

New co-citing tools include:
Citation Gecko - https://www.citationgecko.com/
CoCites - https://www.cocites.com/
Connected Papers - https://www.connectedpapers.com/

1. Use review articles to get overviews of the literature on your topic.
    
   • Search in Annual Reviews journal collection database
     or
   • In subject databases:
     • Use Advanced search or the Limit/filter option to specify Methodology > Literature Review
     • Include the following strategy: Combine your topic AND (review OR “literature review”); also consider limiting this search to the Title Field
        
2. Locate additional related articles by the authors of relevant articles you've already found.
    
3. Consult a Subject / Liaison Librarian - https://library.fiu.edu/find/specialist

Don't Forget Proper Citation and Documentation

Citation managers ensure accuracy and reproducibility using whatever citation style you're required to use on your project.

Your professor or advisor will usually determine the citation style required for your project.

While style manuals can be utilized across many disciplines, there are specific styles that are often used within some disciplines.  A few examples include:

• APA - American Psychological Association
• MLA - Modern Language Association
• Chicago Manual of Style
• AMA - American Medical Association

Many databases will assist you with exporting to a citation manager or downloading results in a specific style format.

See the following Citation Guide for assistance with RefWorks, EndNote, or Zotero

Ask Yourself...

Does the literature I’ve found make a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic?

Has my search been wide enough to ensure I've found all the relevant material? 

Has my search been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material?

How to keep up with new literature in your field after your initial search

In Databases, use:

• Save searches to re-run your successful search strategies
• Create search alerts to receive updated results from your past searches.

For Journals:

• Use table of contents alerts

Using Web and Social Media:

• Consider RSS feeds or social bookmarking
• Create or capitalize on social networks

When your topic spans multiple disciplines, you will generally need to search in multiple databases that include the literature from the relevant disciplines.

It can be difficult to discover authoritative information sources (key authors, key publications, top research institutions)

Different disciplines will generally have different vocabularies and culture

Keep notes on variations in controlled vocabulary and acronyms across disciplines

Search multiple sources, multidisciplinary databases and federated search products

It can be harder to keep up with current research 

Consider consulting with subject librarians for multiple fields.  https://library.fiu.edu/find/specialist