Introduction to Literature Review

Study Notes

Literature review means revisiting previous research on a topic similar, but not identical, to your own.
It helps researchers understand the current state of knowledge about their topic.
Key benefit is identifying if other researchers have already addressed your research problem.
Discovering new ideas, perspectives, and approaches to your research is another benefit.
Literature reviews can be a source of expert advice and identify controversial issues in the field.
Help understand methodological and design issues found in previous research.
Literature reviews can expose researchers to new data sources and measurement tools.
They help interpret findings and connect your research with previous work.
Enhance confidence in the topic by finding evidence of others' involvement in related research.
The more we know about existing research, the more effectively we can address our research problem.

Use keywords to search for relevant resources.
Identify keywords from the statement of your research problem.
Resources to consider include: library catalog, online databases, reference librarians, the internet, and citations from other researchers.
Library catalogs were traditionally physical card systems for finding books, but most are now digital.
Online databases provide access to thousands of journals, books, dissertations, government documents, and other sources.
Databases allow for searches based on keywords, title, author, year, source, language, etc.