THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, THE
UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN
LEABHARLANN CHOLÁISTE NA TRÍONÓIDE,
OLLSCOIL ÁTHA CLIATH
Library Services for Literature Reviews
SESSION OVERVIEW
• Definition of a literature review
• Challenges in conducting a literature review
• Disassembling a research question prior to searching
• Search strategies
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Identifying
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• Evaluating the data
• Recording and citing sources
• Library supports
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
LITERATURE REVIEW: A DEFINITION
“A formal, reflective survey of the most significant and relevant works of
published and peer-reviewed academic research on a particular topic,
summarizing and discussing their findings and methodologies in order to
reflect the current state of knowledge in the field and the key questions
raised.”
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The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
LITERATURE REVIEW
Your Literature Review:
 Aim: to show your supervisor that you have a good
understanding of what has been published on the topic.
 Analysis of existing research & not a list of summaries.
A discursive prose that displays critical discussion,
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subtitle style of differing arguments and
insight
understanding
theories.
 Consider your structure. E.g. theme, theory, focus
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
THE RESEARCH PROCESS
Research question
Review/Evaluation
Concepts
Search
Keywords/phrases
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Which databases/
search engines?
Alternative terms
AND, OR, NOT
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
CONDUCTING RESEARCH
• Identify your topic/research question & define
search terms/keywords/synonyms
• Identify Tools & Resources
• Evaluate Sources
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• Formulate your paper
• Record & Cite your sources
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
CHALLENGES IN CONDUCTING A LITERATURE REVIEW
• Knowing where to start, (e.g. wide then
narrow, or narrow then wide?)
• Knowing what to include
• Knowing when to stop literature searching
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•ClickKnowing
how
far style
to venture into the literature
of associated domains
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
LITERATURE REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS
• Databases Searched
• Inclusion / Exclusion Criteria
• Keywords Applied
• Forward and Backward Tracing
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The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
IDENTIFY YOUR TOPIC/RESEARCH QUESTION
Success Factors in Innovation
Decide on your keywords and search for one
concept (not necessarily one word) at a time
Phrase search: “success factors”
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Synonyms
for innovation?
Truncation (factor*) to find factor, factors etc.
Combine terms with AND
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
DISASSEMBLING THE QUESTION
Prior to searching any resource, look at your topic
and decide:
• What are the primary keywords/phrases in my
topic?
Make a list of the primary keywords including the
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synonyms
• What alternative keywords or synonyms
represent each of these key topics?
Use a thesaurus or ask a friend!
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
SYNONYMS
• Searches for well-defined terms – medical conditions, for instance –
are normally quite simple. They generally have a standardised index
term, and only a few synonyms
• But searches for “softer” terms are much more difficult, as there
are often so many variations of the idea it could be
I’m looking for “people’s experiences of…”
• Most searchers will only search for the exact word
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“experiences”
But what words could it be?
Have a think, write them down
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
SYNONYMS
As well as “experiences”, ANY of the below
could be used instead in an article:
experience OR experiences OR experienced
OR view OR views OR viewpoint OR
viewpoints
OR
perception
OR
perceptions
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OR perceive OR attitude OR attitudes OR
belief OR beliefs
…you can probably think of more
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
BOOLEAN OPERATORS
AND
OR
NOT (use with caution)
These three Boolean operators allow you to
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combine
terms to narrow or broaden your
search
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
TIPS TO BROADEN A SEARCH
• Use the operator OR to combine synonyms, variant spellings etc.:
• back pain OR back ache
• Truncate your search term using an asterisk:
• therap* = therapy; therapies; therapeutic; therapeutics
• Think of alternative spellings:
• Organisation OR organization
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• Behaviour OR behavior
• Consider abbreviations (eg HSE/Health Service Executive)
• Remove some search terms, or use more general terms
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
TIPS TO NARROW A SEARCH
• Use the operator AND:
• library AND database
• Phrase searching - usually by putting your phrase in
quotation marks:
• “back pain” AND “back ache”
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subtitle
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Limit
your
search
by style
• Language
• Date range
• Type of publication etc.
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
TYPES OF LITERATURE
Types of Literature
Journal Articles - Research Papers
Journal Articles - Review Papers
Conference Proceedings
Books/Edited Volumes
Patents
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Standards
Technical Reports
Government Publications
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
TYPES OF LITERATURE
Research Paper V. Review Article
Research Paper:
 Primary Source
 reports results of an original study, conducted by
the authors of the paper (e.g experiments,
interviews, surveys).
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 Data from results are collected and analysed by the
authors.
 Format usually consists of Abstract, Introduction,
Methods, Results and Bibliography.
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
TYPES OF LITERATURE
Research Paper V. Review Article
Review Article:
 Secondary Source
 Paper that reviews other papers
 Does not contain original research
 Overview of current research:
• Identify current trends and back up existing theories
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• Expose existing gaps in the literature
• Conclusions and further research
In the databases: add “REVIEW” to your search terms, or look out for
“LITERATURE REVIEW” as a limit option in the facets
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
IDENTIFYING THE DATA: LIBRARY RESOURCES
The Library of Trinity College Dublin gives you:
• Stella Search and other catalogues
• Quality assured databases
• Bibliographies of existing reviews and eligible studies
• “Grey literature” (internal documents, reports,
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conference proceedings)
• Theses
• Key journals for hand searching
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
STELLA SEARCH FOR BOOKS
Basic Search terms Success, Factor, Innovation
Refine by: Library Catalogue Only
Examples of printed books, e-books and e-books on
Electronic Legal Deposit
To broaden
the
search,
omit
Factor
and
just
search
for
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Success, Innovation
Advanced Search to narrow by Subject, Title or Keyword
Don’t forget your synonyms!
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
MORE ABOUT STELLA SEARCH
• Works like a search engine
• Includes printed and electronic resources
• Most relevant results can be retrieved and then refined
• Gives direct links to articles (where available)
Click on Library Catalogue Only to find titles of
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printed/electronic
books and journals held in the Library
Tip: Do not rely on Stella Search for database searching as
currently Stella Search does not index all our databases:
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
DATABASES NOT CURRENTLY IN STELLA SEARCH
Including but not limited to:
American Chemical Society: SciFinder (Chemical Abstracts)
American Mathematical Society: MathSciNet
Brepols Publisher: International Medieval Bibliography, Library of Latin
Texts, etc. *
Elsevier: Compendex, EMBASE
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subtitlePassport
style
Euromonitor:
Euromonitor
ProQuest: Dissertations, Archives, Newspapers, Periodical Databases,
etc.
Thomson: BIOSIS Previews, Zoological Record
Westlaw
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
DATABASES
Library subscribes to 350+
databases
Identify databases relevant to your
subject
area.
You
can
search
by
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subject and by name of database
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
KEY DATABASES
General Databases
 ScienceDirect
 SpringerLink
 Scopus
 Web of Science
 Academic Search Complete
 JSTOR
Business/Management Databases
 ABI/Inform Global
 Academic Search Complete
 EconLit
 Emerald 175
 FT Archive
 Passport
Click to edit Master subtitle style Lexis Nexis News & Business
Computer Science Databases
 ACM Digital Library
 Engineering Village 2
 IEEE Xplore digital library
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
USING DATABASES EFFECTIVELY
Controlled vocabulary (standardised subject terms assigned
to units of information) vs keyword searching (your own
words)
• Controlled vocabulary (where available, eg. Thesaurus
in ABI/Inform Global and Engineering Village 2)
retrieves all items indexed under a particular topic but
can miss out on jargon, slang, newer terms and the
Click very
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Masterarticles
subtitle if
style
subject terms have not yet been
assigned
• Keyword searching ensures you don’t miss these but it
can lead to a lot of irrelevant results
To get the best of both worlds use a combination of the two.
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
LIBRARY COLLECTIONS AND RESOURCES
Locating Full Text
Check for:
TCD link resolver
Print Copy (on shelf or request using call
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slip)
Inter Library Loan
Visit other Libraries
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
IDENTIFYING THE DATA: OTHER RESOURCES
• Institutional repositories
• Wikipedia
• Google
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•ClickOther
libraries
• Other scholars working in the
area
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORIES
• Forms a permanent record of all digital
output from an institution
• Enables a university to compile a
complete record of its intellectual effort
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Fulfils
a university’s
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encourage and disseminate scholarly work
• Marketing tool for a university
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
TARA
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The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
WIKIPEDIA
Useful for some
disciplines as a starting
point but double check
any references you find
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The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
GOOGLE AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR
• Both are good to get you started
• Google Scholar is useful for finding a particular article you
already know about, or others that cite it
BUT CONSIDER:
• No-one outside Google really knows how Google assigns
relevancy
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• It’s very likely articles you want but don’t know about are
listed in Google Scholar but finding them is another matter
• The ability to search Google Scholar like other databases
just isn’t there at present
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
EVALUATING SOURCES
The 6 criteria for evaluation:
1. Relevance
2. Authority
3. Methods
4. Objectivity
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5. Presentation
6. Currency
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Relevance
– “Does the publication help me answer my research question?”
– Criteria
– Level: is its detail appropriate to your needs?
– Geography: does it concern only countries or regions not related to
your research?
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Context:
doessubtitle
it relatestyle
to the “body of knowledge” in your field?
Unique insights? Confirmed/refuted by other research?
– Emphasis: does it approach the topic from an appropriate angle?
Relevant methodology?
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Authority
– Author - established expert?
• Academic or professional qualifications, institutional affiliation(s), endorsements by
other experts, subjects of other publications
• Known for a particular perspective, mission or bias?
• Citation analysis: has their research been frequently cited? What is their ‘h index’?
Where published? Peer-reviewed? Impact factor?
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– Publisher – known for publishing experts?
• Type: commercial, non-profit, government, research, educational?
• Vested interest? Contactable?
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Methods
– (Method of Production and Methodology)
Traditional publications
Academic journals, trade journals, magazines, newspapers,
monographs (“books”), conference proceedings, (systematic) reviews
formats
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Blogs, wikis, discussion lists, open access journals, open (institutional)
repositories. Anyone can publish on the Web...but not necessarily
inferior quality; requires particularly careful (2. Authority) check
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Type of publication
Things to check!
–
“About” information (e.g. About the BMJ)
–
Editorial policy, board (e.g. BMJ Ed. Advisory Board)
–
Author guidelines (e.g. BMJ Resources for Authors)
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Peerto
reviewed?
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–
Peer-review: process by which an academic journal passes a paper submitted for
publication to independent experts for comments on its suitability and worth;
refereeing.
Useful resource:
–
• Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Objectivity
– Vested interests, personal or organisational objectives ought to be disclosed.
– Check sponsors; be extra careful in case of controversial topics (e.g. GM
foods, climate change)
– Check the evidence – would you come to the same conclusions as the
author(s)?
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– Check the literature review and references – are all relevant points of view
considered?
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Presentation
– How is the information presented?
Consider:
• Colour & font, general appearance
• Language, grammar, writing style: meaning clear?
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style
• Structure
and layout:
logical?
• Use of diagrams and images
• Quality of reproduction
• Advertising: intrusive?
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
Currency
– How up to date is the research?
• Consider:
‒ Is it clear when the information was produced?
» Publication sometimes years after research
» Newer not necessarily better
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‒ Does the date of the information meet your requirements?
‒ Is it obsolete or has it been superseded?
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
EVALUATING SOURCES
Citation Analysis = Bibliometrics
– How many times a paper or researcher is cited by other scholars in the field;
assumes influential researchers/authors and important works cited more
often than others.
Some Databases with Analytical Tools - there are many more!
– Web of Science: Essential Science Indicators, InCites and Journal Citation
Reports (Thomson Reuters) Covers 9,000+ peer reviewed journals
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styleof Science; covers 16,000+ peer-reviewed
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Scopus
(Elsevier)
Similar
to Web
journals; more than 4,000 international publishers; 1996 on.
– Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory (ProQuest) An international directory of
serial publications. It covers periodicals (journals, magazines) and
monographic series such as research reports.
– Google Scholar provides links to ‘cited by’ information.
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
MAINTAINING ACCURATE RECORDS
It is vital to maintain accurate records of your sources, in
order to be able to properly attribute the phrasing and
ideas you draw from them and so avoid plagiarism
For example, you might keep full handwritten or word
processed notes detailing each reference
Another way would be to save particular searches or
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records
(e.g. by marking those records) in individual
databases by creating a personal account
Stella will allow you to mark records in a similar way and
save or e-mail the results to your PC
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is using another’s work without giving him or her credit
It is the act of plagiarism rather than the intent to deceive that will be
punished
In Irish academic institutions such behaviour, without properly
acknowledging the original author, will (in nearly all cases) be
construed as plagiarism
Further
is available
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styleat Trinity’s Avoiding Plagiarism
website - http://tcd-ie.libguides.com/plagiarism
All students should complete the Ready Steady Write plagiarism
tutorial on this page and sign the Declaration
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
REFERENCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
The easiest way to bring together references from all
sources is to use bibliographic reference management
software
These programmes allow you to import records from
multiple databases, library catalogues and to also manually
enter citations and save them as a database in one location
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Free
software includes Zotero, Colwiz, EndNote Online and
Mendeley - there are many more
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
ENDNOTE
EndNote
 a reference software tool for
publishing and managing
bibliographies.
 It holds your references in one
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central
library.
 Consists of Desktop and Online
versions
 TCD EndNote Tutorial
http://www.tcd.ie/library/support/endnote
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
ABI/INFORM GLOBAL AND SCOPUS
DEMONSTRATION
Sample search keywords Success Factors,
Innovation
Controlled Vocabulary v Keyword Search
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The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
LIBRARY SUPPORTS
Subject Librarian: [email protected]
Duty Librarian: [email protected]
Library website: www.tcd.ie/library
Online tutorials:
http://www.tcd.ie/library/support/tutorials/
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Library HITS
EndNote
The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, THE
UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN
LEABHARLANN CHOLÁISTE NA TRÍONÓIDE,
OLLSCOIL ÁTHA CLIATH
Thank You!