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METHODS OF RESEARCH
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Prof. Ana L. Vargas

Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004
2006
What Is A Review of the
Literature?
Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004 Class 1 25.10.2006
2006
What Is A Review of the Literature?
 classification and evaluation of what accredited

scholars and researchers have written on a topic,
organized according to a guiding concept such as
your research objective, thesis, or the problem/issue
you wish to address.
• recognize relevant information
• synthesize and evaluate it according to
• the guiding concept
• what literature exists,and
• your informed evaluation of the literature.
2006
Skills
 information seeking:
the ability to scan the
literature efficiently using
manual or computerized
methods to identify a set
of potentially useful
articles and books.
2006
Skills
 critical appraisal: the

ability to apply principles
of analysis to identify
those studies which are
unbiased and valid.
Your readers want more
just than a descriptive
list of articles and
books.
2006
A literature review must...
 organize information and relate it to the thesis or

research question you are developing
 synthesize results into a summary of what is and
isn't known
 identify controversy when it appears in the
literature
 develop questions for further research
The value of your review does not simply depend

on how many sources you find
2006
Questions to Ask Yourself
 Do I have a specific question which my literature
review helps to define?
 What type of literature review am I conducting?
 What is the scope of my literature review?
 How good are my information seeking skills?
 Is there a specific relationship between the literature
I've chosen to review and the problem I've
formulated?
 Have I critically analyzed the literature I use?
 Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my
perspective?
 Will the reader find my literature review relevant,
appropriate, and useful?
2006
Questions to Ask Yourself
 What were the authors trying to discover?

 Why is this piece of research important?
 What was measured?
 What information do you have on the sample?
 How was the data collected?
 What were the results?
 What do the authors conclude and to what do
they attribute their findings?
 Can you accept the findings as true?
 How can you apply these findings to your
own work?
2006
Tools available
 Library
 Citation Index
 Current Contents
 WWW engines
2006
Google Scholar
Tools, Tips, and Tricks
1
0
Outline
 What’s in Google Scholar (GS)?

 What are the pros and cons of using it?
 How do I search GS?
 How do I narrow my results?
 How do I link to Library Resources?
 How do I find related results?
 How does reference management software
work with GS?
 What else can I do with it?
2006
What’s in Google Scholar?
 Articles
 Theses
 Books and book chapters
 Abstracts
 Court opinions
 Technical reports
 Conference papers
 …and much more
2006
What’s in Google Scholar?
 These resources are gathered from “academic

publishers, professional societies, online repositories,
universities and other web sites.”1
 A 2009 study found Google Scholar, on average, 17.6
percent more scholarly than materials found only in
library databases.
 This is a relevant tool that should be understood.

2006
Pros and Cons
The Good The Bad

• High number of journals • Full coverage unknown, as
• Keyword searching in GS doesn’t publish a list of
many articles sources
• Broad array of resources, • Few search options—can’t

with comparable limit by source type
“scholarliness” to • Peer-review indeterminate
subscription databases
• Limited information about
• Powerful “cited by” tool articles (metadata)
• Citations from non-journals
Project Thesis
2006
Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004
may skew “cited” counts
“Advanced” Searching
 Google has made a

name for themselves
with intelligent search
results – a keyword
search gets you far.
 Click the down arrow
from the search box to
see advanced options.
More tips:
http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/refinesearch.html

2006
“Advanced” Searching
 You can use these

search boxes to get to
a specific article, to find
articles published in the
last five years, or to
make a subject search
more exact.
More tips:
http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/refinesearch.html

2006
Narrowing Results
A results page looks like this:
There are not many “limiters,” but limiting by date is very useful.
You can remove patents or citation-only results from your list.
If you see many irrelevant articles, use a “-” sign before a term in your
search to remove results that contain that keyword.
Example: [potter –harry]
You can set up an email “alert” for new articles published about your
Project Thesis
2006 search
Adapted topic
from Flor right
Siperstein from
Lecture 2004this screen
Full-text and Library Links
 For many “open access” resources in Google Scholar,

clicking the title will get you to full-text.
 If there’s no full-text, or if a site asks you to pay for
access, look for access elsewhere through open
access sources or Library Links.
 If not, there may be a PDF link on the right.
 Otherwise, use a Library Link!

2006
Full-text and Library Links
• The library link, labeled “Get it @ Fisher,” should display
automatically if you’re in a campus academic building.
• If you’re off-campus or in a dorm, you may need to set up a
library link – click the icon to add a library link.
• In this screen, search for St. John Fisher College, select the
Get it @ Fisher option, and click Save.
• Detailed instructions to set this up are at
http://libguides.sjfc.edu/googlescholar
2006
Finding “Related” Results
• In a results screen, you can click “Cited by” to see
articles in the future that cite the article you’re looking
at.
• The “Related articles” link is a little
1
less clear:
“It finds documents similar to the given search result.”
• This appears to find articles with similar keywords

and cited references – but Google doesn’t say what it
is.

2006
Reference Management
 Zotero users can gather basic citation data from a result
list using the Firefox, Chrome or Safari addons.
 EndNote or RefWorks users can set an option by clicking
the Settings “gear” and selecting a Bibliography Manager
option. You’ll then see an “Import into” link in your results
list.
 The automatically-generated citation data may be very

inaccurate: please review your bibliography data to ensure it’s
consistent with citation standards.3
2006
There’s More?
 Google Scholar, thanks to its citation index, has become a
powerful tool for academics to track their publications.
More information about Google Scholar’s author and journal

metrics, check out
http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/metrics.html
2006
Let’s dive right
in
Because it’s Google, after

all… Image:
http://www.flickr.com/pho
tos/nagy/195726977/
CC-SA License

2006
Resources
More info on Google Scholar and Open Access

Sources:
1. Research Guide:
http://libguides.sjfc.edu/googlescholar
2. PowerPoint on Open Access Resources:
http://citadel.sjfc.edu/staff/bhockenberry/document
s/OA_Resources_and_Search.pptx
(linked at the above Research Guide)
2
4
2006
References
1. http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/about.html
2. Howland, J. L., Wright, T. C., Boughan, R. A., & Roberts, B. C.
(2009). How scholarly Is Google Scholar? A comparison to
library databases. College & Research Libraries, 70(3), 227–
234.
3. Jacsó, P. (2010). Metadata mega mess in Google
Scholar. Online Information Review, 34(1), 175-191. doi:
10.1108/14684521011024191
2
5
2006
SCOPUS
2
6
2006
SCOPUS
(http://www.scopus.com/scopus/home.url)
2006
SCOPUS
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SCOPUS
2006
Scopus
2006
Scopus
2006
Scopus
2006
Tools available
2006
Tools available
2006
Tools available
2006
Tools available
2006
Tools available
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Tools available
2006
ISI Web of Knowledge
2006
High impact
journals
2006
Bibliographic
information
2006
Conference proceedings
2006
Patent resource
2006
Impact factor
2006
Rankings
2006
Email alerts!!!
2006
Tools available
2006
Current Contents
2006
Current Contents
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Current Contents
2006
Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
2006
Current Contents
2006
Current Contents
2006
Current Contents
2006
Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
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Current Contents
2006
Endnote – Bibliography Database
2006
2006
2006
2006
Current Contents
2006
Procite
2006
Procite
2006
Scopus
2006
Scopus
2006
Scopus
2006
Endnote
2006
Endnote
2006
Endnote
2006
Current Contents
2006
Current Contents
2006
Procite
2006
Procite
2006
Procite
2006
2006
2006
2006
2006
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Endnote Tutorial
2006
Endnote Tutorial
2006
Installing Endnote into WORD
2006
Installing Endnote into WORD
2006
What is next?
 synthesize results
 identify controversy
 develop questions
The final product will be a unique and appopriate

integration of evidence you have located outside
yourself and personal insights.
2006
Final Checklist
Selection of Sources
 Have you indicated the purpose of the review?
 Are the parameters of the review reasonable?
 Why did you include some of the literature and exclude
others?
 Which years did you exclude?
 Have you emphasised recent developments?
 Have you focussed on primary sources with only selective
use of secondary sources?
 Is the literature you have selected relevant?
 Is your bibliographic data complete?
2006
Final Checklist
Critical Evaluation of the Literature

 Have you organised your material according to issues?
 Is there a logic to the way you organised the material?
 Does the amount of detail included on an issue relate to its
importance?
 Have you been sufficiently critical of design and
methodological issues?
 Have you indicated when results were conflicting or
inconclusive and discussed possible reasons?
 Have you indicated the relevance of each reference to your
research?
2006
Final Checklist
Interpretation
 Has your summary of the current literature
contributed to the reader's understanding of
the problems?
 Does the design of your research reflect the
methodological implications of the literature
review?
The review provides a rationale for your research.
2006
Homework
 Identification of research themes
 Carry out literature review using ISI/SCOPUS and
using trial version of ENDNOTE, create organized
database.
 Using ISI, choose 5 of the articles found and make a
table listing journal, impact factor, aggregate impact
factor, no. of citations of paper
 Short summary of literature review
 Identification of novelty of research to be carried out,
contribution that will be made and where results could
be published
2006

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METHODS OF RESEARCH

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Prof. Ana L. Vargas

 classification and evaluation of what accredited

 critical appraisal: the

 organize information and relate it to the thesis or

The value of your review does not simply depend

 What were the authors trying to discover?

 What’s in Google Scholar (GS)?

 These resources are gathered from “academic

Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004

The Good The Bad

• Broad array of resources, • Few search options—can’t

 Google has made a

Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004

 You can use these

Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004

A results page looks like this:

 For many “open access” resources in Google Scholar,

Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004

• This appears to find articles with similar keywords

Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004

 The automatically-generated citation data may be very

More information about Google Scholar’s author and journal

Because it’s Google, after

Project Thesis Adapted from Flor Siperstein Lecture 2004

More info on Google Scholar and Open Access

The final product will be a unique and appopriate

Critical Evaluation of the Literature

The review provides a rationale for your research.

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