This document provides an overview of how to conduct a literature review. It defines a literature review, explains why it is important to review existing literature, and outlines the process of identifying relevant literature sources, searching for information, evaluating sources, and structuring a good literature review. Key steps include defining a research topic, choosing search terms, searching appropriate indexes and databases, evaluating the relevance and quality of sources found, and synthesizing the literature in a critical essay. Help and guidance is available from library resources, librarians, and dissertation supervisors.

1. Library & Learning Centre
Doing your literature review:
an overview
Katy Jordan
Librarian, Social & Policy
Sciences

2. Outline of session
• What is a literature review?
• Why review the literature?
• Identifying the literature - where do you start?
• Searching the literature
• Online indexes
• Statistical sources
• Subject gateways
• Sourcing the documents
• Reading – getting the gist
• Evaluating what you read
• A good literature review…
• More help and guidance
• Exercise

3. What is a literature review?
“… a systematic…method for identifying,
evaluating and interpreting the …work
produced by researchers, scholars and
practitioners.”
FINK, A., 1998. Conducting literature
research reviews: from paper to the
internet. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage., p.3.

4. Why review the literature?
“…without it you will not acquire an
understanding of your topic, of what has
already been done on it, how it has been
researched, and what the key issues are.”
HART, E., 1998. Doing a literature review:
releasing the social science research
imagination, by E. Hart and M. Bond. London:
Sage., p.1.

5. Identifying the literature – where do
you start?
• Define your research area
• Essay/dissertation title
• Break this down into key areas
• Choose search terms (keywords) that express those areas
• This will be your search strategy
Example
Dissertation: An examination of incidences of sex
discrimination among employees of the
University of Bath
Key areas: GENDER ISSUES and
WORKPLACE ISSUES and
DISCRIMINATION
Search terms: gender AND workplace AND discrimination

6. Identifying the literature – where do
you start?
2. What sort of literature will there be?
• Different indexes cover different types of literature – there is no single
source you can search…
Literature Example of indexes/resources
Journal articles – print/online IBSS, Web of Knowledge,
ZETOC
Conference papers – print/online ISI Proceedings, ZETOC
Monographs (books) COPAC
Dictionaries/encyclopaedias COPAC, Library catalogue
Reports – print and online COPAC, SOSIG
Theses/dissertations – Bath/elsewhere Index to Theses, Lib catalogue
Statistics – print and online UK Statistics online, ESDS,
Eurostat, Stats collection
‘Grey literature’ – print and online SOSIG
Email discussion lists/online forums JISCmail website

7. Identifying the literature – where do
you start?
1. Choose your sources of information
• Sources of information for social sciences
• Resources for your subject
Examples
• For journal articles
• Web of Knowledge SSCI
• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
• For books – COPAC
• For theses – Library catalogue; Index to Theses
• For reports and grey literature – SOSIG
• For statistics – UK statistics site, Eurostat,
Library statistics collection, ESDS

8. Searching the literature
Sample searches
• Web of Knowledge
• COPAC
• UK Statistics
• SOSIG

9. Source your documents
From an online index
• Available online? – click on Links button
• Available in Library? – click on Links button
OR if your online index doesn’t have the Links
button
• Available online? – check the A-Z of e-journals
• Available in Library? – check the Library
catalogue
IF your document is not online or in the Library
• Use Inter-Library Loans to get a photocopy or
borrow a book from the British Library

10. Reading - getting the gist
• Check the introduction, conclusion,
abstract or executive summary for the
main points
• Check contents pages of books and
reports – pick out relevant
chapters/sections
• Use the index of books or reports
• First or last sentences of paragraphs often
summarise

11. Evaluating what you read
Think about…
• Relevance to your topic
• Intended audience
• Currency of the information
• Coverage of the topic that the information
provides
• Accuracy of the information
• Authority of the author or information source
• Level of objectivity of the author

12. Record your sources
• Download references from online indexes
• Keep systematic notes of the full records – use A guide
to citing references
• This will form the basis of your bibliography for your
dissertation
• A good method is bibliographic software – the SORTED
programme offers training in
• Reference manager
• Endnote
• Keep a note of the content of each document
• e.g. ‘Includes discussion of the idea of originality in
postgraduate research projects.’

13. A good literature review…
• Goes beyond simply listing relevant literature
• Is a critical essay
• Refers to the bibliography at the end of your
dissertation
• Assesses the range of literature available
• Is a critical summary of the literature
• Examines the background against which your
own research is set
• Forms a significant section of your dissertation

14. A good literature review…
• Offers opinions and personal response to
the different writings
• Relates different writings to each other,
compares and contrasts
• Does not take the literature at face value
• Shows an awareness of the theories and
values that underpin the research
• Uses particular language: authors assert,
argue, state, conclude, contend

15. More help and guidance
• Books on social science research
techniques at 300.001.5
• Resources for your subject
• A guide to citing references
• Your librarian in L5.01
• Your dissertation supervisor

16. Exercise
• Choose your research area and pick your search terms
• Use different sources to find ONE example of each type of literature in your
subject area:-
• Journal article
• Monograph (book)
• Report
• Thesis/dissertation
HINT: Use Resources for your subject
• Note down the bibliographic reference for each document
HINT: use A guide to citing references
• How would you get access to each document?
• Access online?
• Find in University library
• Use Inter-Library Loans?