“I like to browse
in occult bookshops if for no other reason than to refresh my
commitment to science.” -- Dr. Heinz R. Pagels, a physicist and
popularizer of science and executive director of the New York Academy of
Sciences (1939-1988)
A literature search is the starting point of any serious research project. Before you spend valuable time and money on
physical research, you will want to determine who has already spent their own
valuable time and money researching the same topic.
This is the first post in a series designed to serve as a refresher on how to conduct a
literature search.
“A Systems
Approach to Conduct an Effective Literature Review in Support of Information
Systems Research,” by Yair Levy and Timothy J. Ellis, provides “a
framework for conducting and writing an effective literature review.” Don’t be
misled by the title. While the authors focus on information systems, the
approach is equally valid for any area of scientific or technical research. We
will use the article as a framework for this series of posts. Incidentally,
while it is 32 pages long, it is well worth the time it takes to read it. And, amazingly, it is available at no cost
at:
According to Levy and Ellis, a good literature search …
1. Delineates
the existing body of knowledge, including where excess research exists and
where new research is needed
2. Provides a theoretical foundation for the
proposed study
3. Substantiates the presence of the research
problem
4. Justifies the proposed study as one that
contributes something new to the body of knowledge
5. Frames the valid research methodologies,
approach, goals, and research questions for the proposed study
The steps in a literature search include …
- Identifying key words
- Searching using those key words
- Identifying new key words, based on the results of the initial key word search
- Conducting backward reference searches
- Conducting forward reference searchers
- Processing search results to relate them to your research topic
The posts that follow will address each of these points.
To illustrate the points, we will use the following article as a starting
point:
Mohebali, G., & Ball, A. S. (2008). Biocatalytic desulfurization (BDS) of
petrodiesel fuels. Microbiology (Reading, England), 154(Pt 8), 2169–2183.
doi:10.1099/mic.0.2008/017608-0phene; 4, cis-4-[2-(3 ... Rhodococcus sp ...
Cited by 46
Free Full Text Source: http://mic.sgmjournals.org/content/154/8/2169.short
The next post will cover the key word search process.
Visit www.JeanSteinhardtConsulting.com
for more tips and tricks.
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