Conducting a Literature Review

Using the sources you have already found:

1. Determine which of your questions this source may help answer. Do your sources address your questions or do you need to search for more?
   • What search strategies do you need to answer these questions? Changing your search terms, changing the resources you are searching within?
2. Mine for keywords & search terms. List, highlight or underline:
   • Words/Phrases that are defined within the article, that are links to more about the topic, you had to look up; synonyms of your brainstormed/searched keywords; and vocabulary, terminology or jargon newly added to, or under debate within, the field.
   • Names of researchers, essayists, bloggers, institutions, colleges, think tanks, organizations referred to, quoted or cited.
   • Dates that help you further understand a timeline of important events or changes to understanding within your topic or field.
3. Revise your questions. Do you have new questions or changes to your questions based on what you have read? Add to or update your questions to refine your main research question further.

Search again:

1. Fill in any gaps from your first search - revise your search strategies to find at least introductory information that responds to your questions.
2. Tackle your new questions or ideas.
3. Try new search strategies using the keywords and search terms you pulled from your resources.

Rinse. Repeat.

1. Find the Foundation: Review the references/bibliography of the articles you've found. Do certain authors, articles or other important works come up over and over again? Key works are important to include!

2. Follow the Story: Use the database "times cited in this database" or Google Scholar "cited by" to see where the field has gone since. Do many authors cite the articles you've found? Do they agree or disagree with the findings?

Or try: