how to do a literature search for a literature review

A literature search is distinguished from, but integral to, a literature review. Literature reviews are conducted for the purpose of (a) locating information on a topic or identifying gaps in the literature for areas of future study, (b) synthesising conclusions in an area of ambiguity and (c) helping clinicians and researchers inform decision-making and practice guidelines.

Abstract. Undertaking a literature search can be a daunting prospect. Breaking the exercise down into smaller steps will make the process more manageable. This article suggests 10 steps that will help readers complete this task, from identifying key concepts to choosing databases for the search and saving the results and search strategy.

Specific proximity symbols will vary. Check the 'Help' section of the database you are searching. 4. Improve your search results. All library databases are different and you can't always search and refine in the same way. Try to be consistent when transferring your search in the library databases you have chosen.

Examples of literature reviews. Step 1 - Search for relevant literature. Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources. Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps. Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure. Step 5 - Write your literature review.

When developing a literature search, a good place to start is to identify searchable concepts of the research question, and then expand by adding other terms to describe those concepts. Read below for more information and examples on how to develop a literature search, as well as find tips and tricks for developing more comprehensive searches.

To guide your search development, you can follow the search steps below. For more information on each step, navigate to its matching tab on the right menu. 1. Formulate a clear, well-defined, answerable search question. Generally, the basic literature search process begins with formulating a clear, well-defined research question.

Literature Review A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources that provides an overview of a particular topic. Literature reviews are a collection of the most relevant and significant publications regarding that topic in order to provide a comprehensive look at what has been said on the topic and by whom.

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. There are five key steps to writing a literature review: Search for relevant literature. Evaluate sources. Identify themes, debates and gaps.

Example: Predictors and Outcomes of U.S. Quality Maternity Leave: A Review and Conceptual Framework: 10.1177/08948453211037398 ; Systematic review: "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139).

Steps. Please click on the boxes below to get a bit more detail on each step. + STEP 1: Think about your search question 🎬. + STEP 2: Identify your key concepts. + STEP 3: Think about synonyms. + STEP 4: Choose the most appropriate databases to search. + STEP 5: Combine your search terms.

The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say "literature review" or refer to "the literature," we are talking about the research (scholarship) in a given field. You will often see the terms "the research," "the ...

Read, take notes, and summarize. As you keep finding relevant articles, take notes and summarize them. Meticulously record any special observations you may have for each study you want to cite. Use these notes when writing a summary in your review. Avoid copy-pasting text; try and summarize studies in your own words.

Searching literature is one of the most important elements of a systematic review. A well planned search strategy in the right databases ensures you have a robust list of results to whittle down as part of your PRISMA workflow. We've answered some of the common questions we get asked about searching literature as part of a systematic review.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment. ... Use the key words in your question, as well as synonyms for those words, as terms in your search. Use the database tutorials for help. Save the searches in the databases. This saves time when you want to redo, or modify ...

A literature search is a systematic, thorough search of all types of published literature to identify a breadth of good quality references relevant to a specific topic, and is a fundamental element of the methodology of any research project. The success of a research project is dependent on a thorough review of the academic literature at the ...

Effective Literature Searching. A literature search is likely to be one of the first tasks you undertake in your research. Writing a literature review can be daunting, frustrating, confusing and time-consuming. You are expected to be familiar and up-to-date with all that has been written in your field and to write critically about that ...

When searching the literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply: be thorough, use different keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and. look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters.

A formal literature review is an evidence-based, in-depth analysis of a subject. There are many reasons for writing one and these will influence the length and style of your review, but in essence a literature review is a critical appraisal of the current collective knowledge on a subject. Rather than just being an exhaustive list of all that ...

First think carefully about what you actually need to find out: there are likely to be a number of questions to be answered. Choose a database to use to carry out your search (es) identify the appropriate database for each question you need to answer. Design your search strategy/ keywords according to the resource being used.

Five steps for literature search success. There are several steps involved in conducting a literature search. You may discover more along the way, but these steps will provide a good foundation. Plan using PICO (T) to develop your clinical question and formulate a search strategy. Identify a database to search.

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. Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic. Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.

Phase 1. To begin, perform a title and/or abstract review of the papers. Read the title, and the abstract if necessary, of each paper to evaluate whether the article should be included in a future review. If you are unsure, keep the article in the included list for now.

A search methodology should document your search so that someone else can reproduce your steps and get the same results. Include: the names of the sources you search and which provider you accessed them through - eg Medline (Ovid), Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) any grey literature sources you used. the date you carried out the searches.

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship ...

The term literature review has been used to refer to both a review of the literature and a knowledge synthesis (Maggio et al., 2018; Siddaway et al., 2019 ). For our purposes, we employ the term as commonly used to refer to a knowledge synthesis, which is a formal comprehensive review of the existing body of literature on a topic.

As the population ages, older people account for a larger proportion of the health and social care budget. A significant body of evidence suggests that arts and creativity interventions can improve the physical, mental and social wellbeing of older adults, however the value and/or cost-effectiveness of such interventions remains unclear. We systematically reviewed the economic evidence ...

To better understand potential lifestage-based variations, we compared susceptibilities to neurotoxicity in children and adults using Mn biomarker data. Methods. We developed a literature search strategy based on a Population, Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes statement focusing on inhalation exposures and neurological outcomes in humans.