Literature Search Importance & Techniques

Use of E-Resources in
Literature Search
Dr. Rupak Chakravarty
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Library & Information Science
Panjab University, Chandigarh
rupak@pu.ac.in

The Frame of Reference...
Analysis and
interpretation
Evaluation

Literature search
Problem formulation

Lit
er
at
ur
e
R
ev
ie
w

The Frame of Reference...

Literatu
re
Review

Problem
formulatio
n

Literatu
Evaluati
re
on
search

Analysis
and
interpretatio
n

The steps to undertaking a LR involve:
selecting a topic
literature searching

reading
organising the literature
analysis and synthesis
writing up the final review
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Literature Review
critical discussion
similarities and inconsistencies
identify relevant literature
gather and synthesis information.
draw on and critique previous studies in an orderly, precise
and analytical manner.
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Literature Review

• LR is the process of
critically evaluating and
summarising that literature.

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LS Vs LR
• Literature Search:

searching the
literature for some
studies.

• Literature review:

reviewing the
studies which
have been
identified.

Literature Review
comprehensive picture
justification

thorough grasp of background
knowledge.
inspire and generate new ideas
One single article – incomplete /
baisedreview
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Literature Review
surveys scholarly articles, books and other
sources (e.g. dissertations, conference
proceedings)
provides a description, summary, and critical
evaluation of each work.
offers an overview of significant literature
published on a topic.

Literature Review
All works included in the review must be read, evaluated
and analysed
relationships between the literature must also be identified
and discussed.
Explore Prior knowledge, their strengths and weaknesses

Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of
effort
Point the way forward for further research

Importance...
know what the most important
issues are and their relevance to your
work
know the controversies, neglected
area
becomes your springboard for the
whole thesis.

The purposes of the review are:
 to define and limit the problem you are working on
 to place your study in an historical perspective
 to avoid unnecessary duplication
 to evaluate promising research methods
 to relate your findings to previous knowledge and
suggest further research
• A good literature review, therefore, is critical of what
has been written, identifies areas of controversy,
raises questions and identifies areas which need
further research.

Literature Search
As a subset of LR

Facilitates LR

Resonance in aims
& objectives of LR

Quality of LR is
directly
proportional to LS

Literature Search

A systematic and
exhaustive search for
published material on a
specific subject.

It is often the first step in
a research and
sometimes reveals that
the proposed action is
unnecessary, having been
carried out previously.”

Literature Search

LS is a systematic
and thorough
search of all
types of published
literature

LS is carried out in
order to identify
a breadth of
good quality
references relevant
to a specific topic.

Literature Search

The success of your
research project is
dependent on a
thorough review of the
academic literature at
the outset.

It is therefore a
fundamental element
of the methodology
of any research
project.

Literature Search
Effective literature searching is a critical skill in its
own right and will prove valuable for any future
information gathering activity whether in
academia or not.
Getting the literature search right will save hours
of time through the course of your research
project and will inform and improve the quality of
the research you go on to do for yourself.

Aims
Review existing critical opinions/theories
Identify current research findings on a topic

Identify potential research methods or models
you could use
Having carried out research, enabling
comparison with your own research findings

LS
The literature search can be a
time-consuming job –
you need to be well prepared
before beginning.

LS is a never ending process
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Literature Search: Techniques
Background reading and preparation
Working with your title: identify search terms
Identify the resources to search
Search using search techniques
Choosing keywords

Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT)
Collate your results (collect, combine & compare)

Selecting relevant sources
Level of
Access

Cost Factor

Format

Document
Type

Books

Bibliographic

Paid

Print

Theses
Journals

FullText

Free

Electronic

Conference

Bibliographic
(Abstracting & Indexing)

MEDLINE
MEDLINE provides over 20 million
references to biomedical and life
sciences journal articles back to 1946.
MEDLINE includes citations from
approximately 5,600 scholarly
journals published around the world.
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MEDLINE
The MEDLINE (1960) database is the largest subset of
PubMed.

PubMed (1996) has over 22 million references
including the MEDLINE database
PMC (PubMed Central) launched in 2000 as a free
archive for full-text biomedical and life sciences
journal articles.
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Is a health information Web site for patients, families and other consumers

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Evidence Based Databases

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Search Effectiveness
Authortative
Currency

Recency
Language

Geographical or cultural relevance
Final selection

Library Resources
OPAC - Online Public Access Catalogue
Basically used for searching printed documents available
in the library
OPAC help you to identify relevant documents pertaining
to your subject which are available in your library

Modern OPAC also provides link to various e-resources
like e-books and e-journals for immediate access.

Library E-Resources
• Library can provide you rich literature on your
topic through
– Subscribed journals, books and databases
– Format can be print or electronic
– A researcher should not undermine the
significance of printed resources.
– A habit of visiting library on regular basis
– Inculcating good reading habit is also very
important

Library E-Resources
The library website can be your focal point providing
single window access
It can offer access to expensive databases which an
individual can’t subscribe and are not available
through search engines.
The most helpful service which university libraries are
providing to the scholars are through UGC INFONET
Digital Library Consortium

Problem of too many…
So many publishers
So many databases
Library own subscribed

Made available through consortia
User may get confused
What is needed is a UNIFIED SEARCH INTERFACE

Discovery Services
One search = all content
Panjab University is providing the
access to Summon and EBSCO
Academic Search Complete

Statistical Databases
At times we may require statistical
data
PU is providing access to two
databases pertaining to various
aspects of Indian States and Districts.

Micrograms per cubic metre (micrograms/m3)
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
9.7, 20%
17, 35%
Delhi
Kolkata

Chennai

8.5, 17%

Mumbai

14, 28%

Electronic Theses & Dissertations
(ETDs)

Open Access (OA)
By "open access" to this literature, we mean its free
availability on the public internet, permitting any users to
read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to
the full texts of these articles, crawl them for
indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for
any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or
technical barriers other than those inseparable from
gaining access to the internet itself.
Copyright should be to give authors as they have the right
to be properly acknowledged and cited.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the reproduction of ideas and/or
language from the source materials without adequately
acknowledging the original source.
It is an academic dishonesty
Spreading as an epidemic
Research Scholars most affected.
Need intervention

Categories

Factors



Poor

Writing

Lack of search skills
Problems evaluating Internet sources

and 

Confusion between plagiarism and paraphrasing

I


Confusion about terminology



Careless note taking



Confusion about how to properly cite sources



Research Skills

Misconception of plagiarism

Misunderstanding Key 
II

Misconception of intellectual property, copyright, and public domain

IV

Internal Factors

Perception of online information as public knowledge
Pressure from family, competition for scholarships and jobs.



Student ethics



External Factors

Misconception of common knowledge


III




Concepts

Commoditization of knowledge and education-Internal Factors.



Poor time management and planning skills

How to avoid?
use of quality literature
understand the concepts with clarity by inculcating good
reading habit

comprehension ability
use quotation marks for the exact words of the source
express the ideas in a passage in your own words through
paraphrasing
consult the guide
use appropriate citation style
most important is awareness regarding plagiarism to eliminate it
from root.

Learning Outcome
Know what you want to know
Use quality literature search eresources (paid + free)
Read, comprehend, understand
Cite
SHARE
2/3/2014

Being a scholar….
• I would also recommend you to make use of
……………

2/3/2014

Literature Search Importance & Techniques

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