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Stage 10: Conducting a comprehensive literature review
Now that your project is defined and your research and writing are underway, it’s time to further develop your review of the literature relevant to your topic.
Why is this stage important?
A comprehensive literature review helps you build a case for your own research and helps you base your research on a strong scholarly foundation
Step 1: Review the materials that you used in your [See Stage $: Initial literature survey] and the feedback you received from your committee.
Step 2: Identify gaps in your research based on step 1 review.
Step 3: Conduct in-depth literature review.
- Review bibliographies/reference lists from sources you have already collected
- Use citation indexes to track landmark articles and find related articles
- Go to citation indexes
- Check out the online help pages for directions
- Scan the table of contents in current issues of key journals
- Set up automatic alerts for these key journals
- Check out the Ovid Auto Alert Service (Note: This is for a range of topics, not just health sciences as implied in the linked document)
- Locate additional dissertations
- Arrange access to special collections and archives
- Local collections and archives
- Identify other relevant collections and archives
- Find additional journal articles and books
- See Stage 4
Step 4: Formulate literature review.
- Consult with your advisor and subject librarian to determine when to stop researching
- Guide to literature reviews - from the University’s Online Writing Center
- Tips on writing literature reviews - from the University of Toronto
- UW-Madison’s Review of Literature guidelines
Developed collaboratively at the University of Minnesota with the University Libraries, Center for Teaching & Learning, Center for Writing, and the Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy.
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