Literature review strategies for

graduate studentsELIZABETH YATES, FACULTY OF APPLIED HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARIAN

BROCK UNIVERSITY

OCTOBER 2014

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www.brocku.ca/library > Collections > Digital Repository >Brock Theses > Masters Theses > Applied Health Sciences

Today’s outcomes You will recall strategies for:

•creating a research question

•building an efficient search strategy for a literature review: including keywords & synonyms, identifying relevant databases/journals, logging your searching and keeping current

•managing your citations

•getting help

Is your lit searching on target?

Getting to the

good stuff

What works for you?

Think before you

search

Image: Rodin Museum, Philadelphia http://brohammas.wordpress.com/philly/

Research path

Research question

Generate keywords

& synonyms

Get backgroun

d info

Add more keywords, context to

your search

Foreground

information

Revise as needed

Stay on the path•Track your research path: what have you searched & where?•Consider search alerts and RSS feeds•Store your citations and papers so they are findable•Try a citation manager

Step 1: crafting a research question

•Shapes what you will study and how

•Should be of personal interest

•Should be clear, concise, focused

•May need tweaking once you start exploring the literatureHint: ask yourself, “What would be the title of the perfect article to answer my question?”

Research question: ask yourself

Why is this interesting to me – and others? What are the gaps in the literature? What population are you studying? In what context? What interventions and outcomes are

you interested in? What answer do you expect to find? (your hypothesis)

Research question: who’s got one? Possible RQ: How does body image affect the leisure activities of men with spinal cord injury? -population -intervention -outcome Next:

translate research

question into a search strategy

Think like a search engine

Keywords & synonyms

Keywords

•Key to finding good information on your topic

•Usually nouns

•Think about broader, narrower and related terms

Thinking tool: generating concepts and keywords1. What are you interested in? 2. What is your research

question?

Synonyms?Expert vocabulary?

Population?

Context? Outcomes?Locations?

Interventions?5. Generate some related words (broader, narrower)

4. Choose some keywords

Derived from: Thinking Tool: Choosing a Topic and Search Terms by Burks and Wolnick, University of Virginia Library

3. Concept cloudWrite down anything related to your

topic

Sample keywordsKeywords Related terms

Body image Related term: self imageNarrower terms: self esteem, confidence

Spinal cord injury

Broader term: musculoskeletal disorder, spinal cord diseasesNarrower terms: central cord syndrome

Getting started: background info

Image: 'untitled' http://www.flickr.com/photos/11797720@N00/8559607109Found on flickrcc.net

1. Find research guide relevant to your discipline > Research Guides by Program

www.brocku.ca/library/research-lib/research-guides

2. Use tabs for Find Books, Background info

OR3. Go right to SuperSearch

Succeed with SuperSearch: books

1. Refine your results: select “books & media @ Brock” Slide the Publication Date to adjust time period

2. Select “Subject” to find results focused on a specific aspect of your topic

3. Add another keyword to find results focused on a specific aspect of your topic

4. To get a book: note location in library (print books) OR click “read this online” (e-books)

Moving from background to foreground

Finding foreground infoSearch engines Databases/Indexese.g. Google, Google Scholar:-broad scope-can’t tell where you are searching

-few options for focused searching

e.g. OVID MEDLINE, SportDISCUS-defined/subject-specific scope-you can discover what journals are being searched-many options for focused searching e.g. by subject, age group, methodology, article type

Choose the best resource for your search

Which databases & journals are relevant? Tips:

•Search some keywords in SuperSearch, find relevant articles and see which databases & journals they’re from

•Ask your colleagues and supervisors

•Check a Library Research Guide in your topic area e.g. Kinesiology

•Ask your librarian

Search tips & tricks1. Use “quotes” to search for an exact phrase

2. Use * to search for variations of a word ending e.g. child*(child, children)

3. Use search operators: AND, OR• Distinct topics: use AND • Similar topics (synonyms): use OR

Search operators in action

How does body image affect the leisure activities of men with spinal cord injury?

Body image OR

Self image

Spinal cord injury OR

Spinal cord disease

Search operators in action

AND: I want articles with ALL my concepts OR: I want articles with ANY of my concepts

(body image OR self image) AND (spinal cord injury OR disease)

Database searching KEYWORD SEARCHING E.G. WEB OF SCIENCE

•Use as many related words as possible to ensure adequate coverage

•Combine synonyms with OR and distinct concepts with AND

•Look for pull down menus that allow you to focus your search e.g. abstracts

SUBJECT HEADING SEARCHING E.G. OVID MEDLINE

•Find the relevant subject headings for your topic: subject headings group all the articles on a specific topic together

•Usually, databases with subject headings also have the most sophisticated search filters e.g. research methodologies, articles types, etc.

Finding emerging research

brocku.ca/library/research-lib/theses-and-dissertations•Brock digital repository•Proquest Dissertations•Ask around!

Tracing scholarly conversations

Citation searching:

a) Backwards – via cited references

b) Forwards – via find citing references (MEDLINE, Web of Science)

Keeping current•Search alerts > in databases e.g. OVID MEDLINE, Web of Science, EBSCO products (SportDISCUS, CINAHL), search engines e.g. Google Scholar

•TOC alerts > via databases, journals

•RSS feeds > from journals, websites – set up via email e.g. Outlook, feedreaders e.g. NetVibes; your browser

Think, pair & share

What are some good strategies

for staying organized?

Citation management tools•Use to store and organize your search results

•Create in-text citations and reference lists automagically

•Save time!

Citation management tools

Free @ Brock

Getting Help @ the Library

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Contact me:eyates@brocku.ca

905-688-5550 x4469

Summing up

Resources Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2003). The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago press.

Ridley, D. (2012). The literature review : a step-by-step guide for students. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Russey, W. E., Ebel, H., & Bliefert, C. (2006). How to write a successful science thesis: the concise guide for students. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.

Fink, A. (2014). Conducting research literature reviews : from the internet to paper. Los Angeles: SAGE.