Bodleian Social Science Library
Turning a research question
into an effective search strategy
into a comprehensive literature review
Jo Gardner, Bodleian Social Science Librarian
Ian Chilvers, Senior Library Assistant
Part 1:
The literature
review process
Part 2: Searching
Keywords
Thesaurus
Citation
chaining
Natural
language
Crosssearching
Boolean
Pearlgrowing
Relevant scholarly research
Part 3:
Search tools
Internet
search
engines
Full-text
databases
Abstracting and
indexing services
Part 4: Alerts
Tables of
contents from
selected
journals
New articles
matching
search terms
RSS /
email
New citations
referencing
‘parent
article’
Learning outcomes
By the end of the session, you should:
Understand the literature review process;
Be able to plan an effective and structured search for
your thesis;
Know where to look for different types of information;
Have evaluated different methods of searching;
Have developed search skills that can be applied across
different resources;
Know where to come for future help.
Part 1:
The literature
review process
Developing your literature search
1. Preliminary searching and browsing
– Scan abstracts and skim-read papers
– Identify current directions of research
– How will you contribute new knowledge?
2. Structured searching with appropriate syntax
– Identify the key articles and heavily-cited papers
– Establish key authors, organizations and sources
– Commit to in-depth consideration and re-reading of papers
3. Develop search
– Track citations to follow research connections
– “Cast net more widely” in terms of resources searched
– Set up alerts for new content
• Stay focused on the research question and keep a search log
Literature review discussion groups
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why is the literature review important?
Why be methodical?
How do you choose your search terms?
Where do you plan to search for the
literature?
5. What sources are you trying to find?
Sources
• In general a primary source
is a work not based on or
derived from another source
(e.g. contemporary records,
data & statistics, conference
papers, photographs,
working papers, etc.)
• Secondary sources include
the use / analysis /
interpretation of primary
(and other) sources
LOMBARD, E. 2010. Primary and Secondary Sources.
The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36, 3, pp. 250-253.
Examples of sources
Primary Source
Suffragette posters and pamphlets
Secondary Source
Book about female emancipation in Britain
Tertiary Source
Dictionary of feminism
Primary sources
• News
– e.g. Nexus UK, Factiva, Russian Central
Newspapers, FT
• Data & Statistics
– e.g. IMF, Eurostat, Indiastat
• Official Papers
– e.g. Hansard, Declassified Documents US, House
of Commons Parliamentary Papers
Grey Literature
• Grey literature refers to material not easily found
through conventional publishing channels
• Produced by government agencies, NGOs, IGOs,
academic departments and research groups
• Includes working papers, policy documents,
occasional papers, briefings, conference papers,
newsletters, etc.
• Produced in print and electronic formats
• Ephemeral nature has implications for
dissemination, identification and access – it is out
there but may be hard to find
Sources of grey literature
• Conference Papers & Proceedings
– e.g. Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings, ZETOC
• Discussion & Working Papers
– e.g. SSRN, RePEc
– Also found on institution/organization websites. e.g.
World Bank, CEPR, IFS
• Theses & Dissertations
– e.g. Proquest Dissertations & Theses, EThOS, Index to
Theses
More sources of grey literature
• Subject-specific websites, portals and current
awareness services
– e.g. ELDIS, Social Policy Digest
• Academic institutions
• Governmental and Inter-Governmental
Organisations
• NGO and campaigning sites
• Other access points
– e.g. SCOPUS, ZETOC, OpenGrey
Part 2: Searching
Keywords
Thesaurus
Citation
chaining
Natural
language
Crosssearching
Boolean
Pearlgrowing
Relevant scholarly research
Start with a clear research question
Start with a clear research question
e.g.
What is being done to help prevent
AIDS in Zimbabwe?
Search method 1:
Natural language searching
Search method 1:
Google Scholar Library Links
Search method 2:
Keyword searching
Search question: Main concepts
What is being done
to help prevent
AIDS
in Zimbabwe?
Search preparation: Keywords
AIDS
Help prevent
Zimbabwe
AIDS
Prevent(ion)
Zimbabwe
HIV
Intervention
Rhodesia
Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome
Awareness
Harare
Human Immunodeficiency
Virus
Educat(ion)
Exercise: Search preparation
1. Write a short sentence about your
research interest
2. Underline key concepts
3. Write down alternative words/phrases for
each concept
4. Discuss with your neighbour.
Search syntax: Boolean logic
AND
AIDS and Zimbabwe
NARROWS
SEARCH
OR
HIV or AIDS
BROADENS
SEARCH
NOT
prevention not treatment
NARROWS
SEARCH
Further search syntax
Truncation and wildcards
e.g. feminis*, wom?n
Search for a phrase by using quote marks
e.g. “graduate students”
Parentheses
e.g. (academic OR educational) AND achievement
Limit to particular fields
e.g. title, abstract, keywords
Apply search filters
e.g. date, format
Example: Combine 3 searches
• Search 1: AIDS
aids OR “acquired immune deficiency syndrome” OR
hiv OR “human immunodeficiency virus”
• Search 2: Help prevent
prevent* OR interven* OR aware* OR educat*
• Search 3: Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe OR Rhodesia
• Final Search: Search 1 AND Search 2 AND Search 3
DEMO - ASSIA
Exercise: Run your search
1. Create a structured search from
your keywords
2. Apply the search to one of the following:
ASSIA - http://search.proquest.com/assia
IBSS - http://search.proquest.com/ibss
3. Explore the database search functionality
4. Refine your search
Search Method 3:
Database subject headings
• Use database subject headings to identify new and
useful search terms
• Terms are assigned by the database editors from a set
of controlled vocabulary (thesaurus)
• Sensitivity (broad) – brings together synonyms and
related terms under one heading
• Specificity (focused) – looks for articles about your
topic, not just with your keywords in the title and
abstract
Subject Heading example – ERIC
• Academic Achievement
– Use for: Academic Performance : Academic
Progress : Academic Success : Educational
Achievement : Educational Level : Scholastic
Achievement : Student Achievement
• Narrower terms: Educational Attainment
• Broader terms: Achievement
• Related terms: Academic Failure : Instructional
Effectiveness
• http://search.proquest.com/professional/eric/index
Search examples - ERIC
Search term
Free text search
“Academic Success”
3,276
Academic Success
16,506
Academic NEAR/6 Success
5,449
Search term
Free text search
Subject heading
“Academic Achievement”
62,935
59,970
Search method 4:
Cross - searching
• SOLO Journal Articles Search
– Rough and ready
– Produces poor results in many cases
Searching for authors
• Use truncation to find all forms of an author’s name
– To find articles by J.R.W. Yates search for yates j*
• For common names try entering the initials instead
– yates jrw or yates j r w
• Compound names may be fused together or separated –
punctuation may be replaced with a space
– To find articles by M. D’Angelo search for
d’angelo m* OR dangelo m* OR d angelo m*
• Database tools can help you identify authors
– Author index
– Author search (SCOPUS) / Author finder (Web of Science) for including
information about their subject and institution
Part 3:
Search tools
Internet
search
engines
Full-text
databases
Abstracting and
indexing services
Access online resources provided
by the Bodleian Libraries
• SOLO http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
• OxLIP+ http://oxlip-plus.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
• E-Journals http://ejournals.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
• LibGuides http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Selecting databases for a literature review
Tolan, P., Henry, D., Schoeny, M., Bass, A. & Tolan, P. 2008,
"Mentoring interventions to affect juvenile delinquency and
associated problems", Campbell Systematic Reviews, vol. 16.
Exercise: Select databases
1. Ask yourself two questions:
-
-
Which subjects are pertinent to my topic?
(sociology, health, public policy, education..)
Which formats might contain relevant research?
(journal articles, working papers, books, datasets)
2. Explore the subject tab on OxLIP+
http://oxlip-plus.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
3. Explore the LibGuides for more resources
http://ox.libguides.com
Part 4: Alerts
Table of
Contents
Alerts
Search
Alerts
Citation
Alerts
RSS /
email
Search Alerts
• Create and save sophisticated searches
• Receive alerts when new publications match your
search
– Newly published material
– Material newly added to the database
• Saves you having to re-visit databases and
running your searches again manually
• Can receive alerts via:
– Email
– RSS
Bodleian Social Science Library
Thank you for your attention.
This presentation will be available at
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ssl
Subject Consultants page:
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ssl/contact