Literature Review Essentials

Magazines available in physical copies, delivered to homes and libraries.

Magazines available online; access to older articles may require a subscription.

Library resources containing full-text articles from magazines.

Articles found in printed or online newspapers, covering current events and editorials, often published within a day.

Digital repositories of newspaper articles, accessible through libraries.

Scholarly research books, often 2-3 years old, covering a large topic.

Primarily available through academic libraries, some in print, some as e-books.

Books with non-scholarly information, opinions, and varying timeliness of publication.

Found in bookstores and public libraries, and often available as e-books for consumers.

Critically examining the existing research on a topic to understand current knowledge, identify gaps, and inform research questions.

Evaluating the methods, samples, and variables used in a study to determine if it's sound and reliable.

Judging the thoroughness and all-inclusiveness of a study in a given field.

Evaluating how well the methods of a study aligns with the principles of sound research.

Identifying discrepancies in research findings on a similar topic.

Identifying gaps that can lead to new research questions as a result of critical review and analysis of existing research.

Analyzing how a study has been used and discussed in subsequent research efforts.

A peer-reviewed article containing original research in a field.

Materials providing information, classified as physical (print) or online (digital), textual (articles) or audio-visual (videos), among other formats.

Assessing the reputation and standing of authors in the field.

Ascertaining how current information contained in the source—especially journal articles—is.

A research platform combining a social network, reference manager, and article visualization tools. It allows saving and storing articles, seamlessly adding citations to documents, and collaborating on research.

A program for managing and annotating research papers. Provides an interactive PDF reading experience with features for citations, author information, supplementary data and related articles.

Citation management software popular with researchers. It allows creating, organizing references, and formatting citations in various styles.

Resources providing summaries and synthesis of established knowledge; often include facts, figures, dates, names, and more.

Print resources are typically updated annually; online resources may be updated continuously. Statistical resources have older data due to organization complexities.

Textbooks provide organized knowledge of a topic, designed for systematic learning and are complete in their coverage; may include supplementary materials.

Textbook update frequency varies greatly; some are updated annually others contain more historical information.

Reference resources exist in various formats like books, maps, and online, with online resources becoming more dynamic and interactive.

Reference resources can be found in libraries (print), online databases, and the internet (free or subscription-based).

Textbooks are intended for structured learning within a course, or for independent study.

Software and databases that help researchers find relevant academic articles.

A popular search engine for scholarly articles across various disciplines.

A search engine recommending important articles in biology and medical research, selected by leading scientists.

A platform to search publications and offer feedback on articles anonymously, using DOI, PMID, or keywords.

A tool for biomedical researchers using PubMed to find and bookmark research articles and generate recommendations based on a user's library of articles.

Software for collecting, organizing, citing, and sharing research sources. Automatically downloads articles and extracts bibliographic information.

A summary and analysis of existing research on a specific topic, providing background and connecting it to a research question.

To understand existing knowledge, spot gaps in research, and guide the design of a new study.

Deciding how broad or narrow, how recent or old, and how many studies are included in a literature review.

Organized collections of scholarly articles, studies, and other resources used to find relevant evidence.

Specific phrases and words, including synonyms, used to find relevant research in databases.

Using software to organize and track citations, saving and formatting them.

The specific methods a study used to collect and analyze data.

The entity supporting a research project, which can potentially influence the outcome.

Determining the question a study was designed to answer.

Thorough examination of a research study. Including aspects like research methodology, funding, and conclusions.