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Researcher resources.

Systematic literature searching requires that you organise and perform the search process in a structured and pre-planned way. It necessitates careful consideration of your search terms, selection of resources (including databases), choice of search methods, and requires you to reflect on the search results obtained during the process.  

When you search the literature in a systematic way you have a greater chance of avoiding disparities and selection bias, and it enables you to identify gaps in the existing research. In this way you also minimise the risk of reproducing already existing research.  

Take a look at the Systematic Literature Research fact sheet series to find out more about constructing your search, choosing your databases and documenting the results.

The Pisa Declaration describes Grey Literature as:

"A wealth of knowledge and information is produced by organizations, governments and industry, covering a wide range of subject areas and professional fields, not controlled by commercial publishing. 

These publications, data and other materials known as grey literature, are an essential resource in scholarly communication, research, and policy making for business, industry, professional practice, and civil society.

Grey literature is recognized as a key source of evidence, argument, innovation, and understanding in many disciplines including science, engineering, health, social sciences, education, the arts and humanities." ( Source: Pisa Declaration on Policy Development for Grey Literature Resources ) 

Grey literature can include:

• Technical or research reports from government agencies
• Reports from scientific research groups
• Working papers from research groups or committees
• Conference and meeting proceedings/abstracts
• Dissertations and theses
• Archival materials
• Unpublished or ongoing studies
• Clinical practice guidelines not published in journals
• Informal communications with experts ... and so much more ...

What is a literature search?

Systematic literature searching requires that you to organise and perform the search process in a structured and pre-planned way. It necessitates careful consideration of your search terms, selection of resources (including databases), choice of search methods, and requires you to reflect on the search results obtained during the process.  

When you search the literature in a systematic way you have a greater chance of avoiding disparities and selection bias, and it enables you to identify gaps in the existing research. In this way you also minimise the risk of reproducing already existing research.

Documenting your searches during the process is key. Your aim is that your searches are, in principle, reproducible.

Some disciplines such as medicine have a strong history of producing systematic reviews. Systematic reviews are a formalised method of research output that aims to identify, select, critically appraise and synthesise all relevant research that answers a specific research question.

To search in a systematic fashion, it is not always necessary to be so rigorous as a formalised systematic review. You can follow and adapt the basic principles for the construction of structured and systematic searches and documentation of results.

In a nutshell:

• Pre-planned​ 
• Structured​ 
• Multiple resources searched​ 
• Documented​ 
• Theoretically reproduceable

What are the main concepts?

What is your research question?

Before you start it is crucial you define what you are looking for and for this you need a research question. Once you have clarified your research question you can construct your search to answer it.

Next you need to break your question down into its main concepts. There are many ways that you can identify what your concepts are in your question. Below are some mnemonic devices that can be used to identify your main concepts.

PICo (Qualitative Studies)

SPICE (Qualitative or Quantitative)

PICO (Quantitative Studies)

Finding your search terms

Your search terms are crucial for determining what you find. So it is worth spending some time working on them. It is up to you to find the best and most relevant keywords to cover the different aspects of the topic you are working with in your research.

List each of the concepts you identified in your research question. Now think of any other ways this concept could be expressed and list them below. This type of table is called a Logic Grid, it is an easy way of organising your search terms.

It's all about being creative  and considering all possible synonyms, close synonyms, related terms, narrower/broader terms, antonyms, abbreviations, grammatical or linguistic variations of your keywords.

You can refer to reference works, do a quick search on Google Scholar or a main database on your topic, or talk to your colleagues. Remember, you will likely add to this list as you start searching.

Example question​:  What are the barriers in implementing food policies in schools?

Within some fields of study terminologies can be inconsistent, and perhaps also changeable over time, so here you must be extra careful to build up a good pool of keywords which can be combined in different ways. This also applies to interdisciplinary topics and new areas of research that have not yet received a fixed terminology.

If your subject area has a relatively fixed and established terminology, it can often be helpful to check the thesauruses of the databases you are searching in, so you can verify that you are using the agreed form of your keywords.

Watch the video:  Search Smart – Fleshing out the search

Search syntax basics

There are some basic syntax that will work over most databases. Using them will help you finesse your search. These are:​

• Truncation & wildcards​ 
• Phrase searching​ 
• Proximity operators

Truncation - using wildcard symbols to replace one or more letters​

behavio* will find behavior, behavioral, behaviour, behavioural, etc.​

Some databases will allow wildcards within words or at the start of words. ​  Example:​  Organi*ation will find organi z ation or organi s ation 

Phrase search  is used when you want to ensure the database searches for precisely the text you have written.​ Phrase search is particularly good for composite terms​  Example:​  “gothic fiction” vs gothic OR fiction

NEAR , the  proximity operator . This specifies that two words must be within a certain distance of each other. ​It’s useful for when you need to contextualise your search, or if you’re looking for two keywords/topics that may sometimes appear in the same page but not in relation to each other.​  Example:​  Operating NEAR/2 system

Watch the video: Search Smart – Truncation, Wildcards & Phrase Searching

Boolean Operators 

Databases use Boolean operators to combine your search terms. They are used to broaden or narrow your searches. 

The Boolean operators are:  AND, OR, NOT.    

AND  narrows your search result. AND denotes the intersection - both your keywords must be present. Your search will become more precise than if you were to search for each keyword individually: 

NOT  limits your search. NOT denotes the set difference. Here the keyword that follows this Boolean operator must not be present in the results. NOT filters out unwanted search results (noise), but you must use it with care, it is easy to filter out relevant results: 

You can use multiple operators in the same search, but if you are using both AND and OR in the same search string, then it is important to place brackets around the words that belong together in an OR block.  Example:  (asthma OR allergy) AND children 

Watch the video: Search Smart – Boolean Operators  

Subject headings vs. textwords 

Text word searching 

All databases allow you to search using text words or keywords. You can often search for words in various fields such as titles, abstracts, notes and keywords, etc. 

Each database is different so take the time to see which field are searchable. Searching the “full text” directs the database to look at all fields in an article so your results would be very broad. Conversely if you search the title or abstract fields your results would be more focused. 

Field searches can also be used to scan through some very specific fields such as ”Geographic Terms”, ”CompanyEntity” or ”Conference location”, thus minimising non-relevant results in your search. 

Below is an example of the fields you can search in the database ProQuest:

Subject Headings

Some databases allow you to search using subject headings. These are common in health-related databases such as PubMed, Medline and CINAHL. 

Subject headings or controlled subject terms are the "pre-selected" keywords the database owners have attached to the individual references to denote what a document "is about".  

The subject headings are selected from a controlled vocabulary. They ensure that you can create consistent subject searches, as references on the same subject can then be found with the precise same keyword, irrespective of the wording in titles and abstracts. Subject headings vary from database to database, and you cannot expect a search term used as a subject heading in one database to be found as a subject heading in another database. The list of controlled subject terms may be hierarchically organised into a  thesaurus . Here you can choose between more generalized broader terms (BT) or more specific narrower terms (NT). Thesauri are mainly found in the fields of medicine, psychology and the natural sciences,  and education. 

Should I choose full-text search or use controlled subject terms?

If you need to find "everything" on a particular subject, for a systematic review for instance, then you will need to use both controlled subject terms and full-text search. But in other cases there may be a good argument for choosing one or the other approach, depending on what you are working with. Generally speaking, you can say: 

• A search on subject headings will give fewer, but much more precise results. 
• Text word searching will give many more search results, but also a lot of "noise" (i.e. non-relevant references). This can be controlled by limiting the field you search e.g.  title only 
• If you work within a field where the terminology is consistent, it may be a good idea to use the controlled subject term. 
• If you are working in a field with changeable or ambiguous terminology, or if your work is multidisciplinary in nature, it may be an advantage to carry out text word searches. 

Watch the video: Subject Headings vs Text Words (a brief and succinct video explaining the difference between database subject headings and textwords).

Translating your search

Depending on your subject you many need to search various databases. Each database will differ in their search interface and structure. Search syntax can also differ between different databases. 

Here is a guide to the differences in search command and syntax in some of the larger databases. 

Selecting relevant databases

When you have created your search strategy you then need to select which databases, you want to search in. There are differences in the various types of search tool and database. As a starting point it is always best to search in several databases that can supplement each other: 

• Bibliographical databases: record "everything" about a topic, a geographical area, a person, institution, etc. 
• Library databases: reflect what can be physically and electronically found via one or more libraries. 
• Journal databases: consist of journals from a specific supplier. 
• Specialised databases: e.g. databases that register grey literature, conference papers, OA repositories, radio/tv, GPS data, compositions, artefacts, etc.

The strength of the bibliographic databases is their focus on the subject area, rather than where it is physically located and what form it may have. You probably already know important databases within your subject area, but it can be a good idea to check the coverage provided by the individual databases, so that you are aware if the database has a bias towards, for example, American literature over European, or journal literature over monographs? 

Therefore check, for example: 

• Are there limitations in relation to the geographical area or languages covered? 
• Does the database go far enough back in time for your purposes? 
• How quickly is the database updated with regard to the registration of the most recent literature? 
• Does the database cover all the publication types, you need?

Multidisciplinary databases

• Google Scholar  ( database help )  Search across many disciplines and sources for scholarly literature including articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions.  Troubleshooting Google Scholar . 
• Informit Search   ( database help )  Multidisciplinary content including health, engineering, business, education, law, humanities and social sciences. Searches 95 databases covering a wide range of topics including health, engineering, business, education, law, humanities and social sciences.Sourced from publishers, associations and peak professional bodies and aggregated in full text, bibliographic and media databases. 
• ProQuest  ( database help )  A multidisciplinary database which includes coverage of arts, business, education, health, history, literature and language, science and technology and the social sciences. 
• Scopus  ( database help )  Scopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature including scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Focus is on the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities. 
• Web of Science  ( database help )  Web of Science is a multidisciplinary index to the journal literature of the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. Web of Science searches the following indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI), Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (CPCI-S), Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Current Chemical Reactions (CCR-EXPANDED), Index Chemicus (IC).

Key subject-specific databases

• Databases    The A-Z Database index hold all of the databases that Flinders subscribes to. It can be searched by topic or database type 
• AgeLine ( database help )   Focuses on the population aged 50+ and issues of aging. It is the premier source for the literature of social gerontology and includes aging-related content from the health sciences, psychology, sociology, social work, economics and public policy. 
• ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center)  ( database help ) 
• Covers educational-related literature from journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books and monographs. Includes adult, career & vocational education, counselling & personnel services, early childhood education, education management, handicapped & gifted children. Coverage: 1966-present. Database is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to education-related literature. 
• PsycINFO  ( database help ) 
• A bibliographic database providing abstracts and citations to the scholarly literature in the psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences. Coverage: 1806 to present. 
• Sociological Abstracts  ( database help )  Covers international literature of sociology and related disciplines in social and behavioral sciences. Can limit to peer reviewed.

Health databases

• ATSIHealth - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Bibliography (Informit)  ( database help )  A bibliographic database that indexes published and unpublished material on Australian Indigenous health. Includes theses, government reports, conference papers, abstracts, books, statistical documents. Coverage: 1990 – present. 
• CINAHL  ( database help )  CINAHL is the authoritative resource for nursing and allied health professionals. This database indexes journals from the fields of nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines. & consumer health . It also indexes healthcare books and dissertations. 
• Health and Society (Informit)  ( database help )  A bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from published and unpublished material on research, policy and practice issues about, or of relevance to, Australian families. Coverage: 1980-present. Subject coverage includes: the health and well being of families and individuals; health policy; health services; quality of life, morbidity, mortality and life expectancy; mental health and illness; health issues of particular concern to the aged, children and youth; Aboriginal health; pregnancy, birth; ethical aspects of health such as those surrounding abortion, euthanasia and reproductive technologies; health education and promotion; health administration; and economic issues. 
• MEDLINE (via Ovid)  ( database help )  Provides access to citations from the international biomedicine & life sciences literature. In addition to content indexed with NLM’s Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), this version of Medline includes recently published content with the following NLM statuses: Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Daily, Versions(R) 
• Emcare (via Ovid)  ( database help )  Emcare provides evidence-based literature and the latest scientific advancements that support patient treatment in a wide variety of healthcare settings. Core topics include: nursing, nutrition & dietetics, physiotherapy & rehabilitation, critical & intensive care, geriatrics & palliative care, dermatology & wound care, healthcare management, obstetrics & gynaecology, public & occupational health. 
• PubMed  ( database help )  Biomedical and health citations from MEDLINE, life science journals, and e-books. May include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publishers. Coverage: 1946 to present.

Beyond databases

In addition to searching databases, consider trying the following approaches to identifying studies: 

• Looking for grey (unpublished literature) 
• Checking reference lists of relevant articles for other relevant studies (snowballing) 
• Google searching using the  Google Advanced search  option for better results. Limit to filetype PDF to restrict results to documents, reports etc. rather than blogs and websites. 
• Handsearching a select range of specialist journals and conference proceedings closely aligned with your topic of interest. 
• Identifying experts in the field and contacting them for information about other studies or data.

Why handsearch?

Handsearching is the process of manually checking the contents pages of journals, conference proceedings, and meeting abstracts for relevant studies. The main reasons for handsearching are: 

• Some journal titles are not indexed in the major databases 
• Some sections of journals (e.g. meeting abstracts) are not indexed 
• Indexing is a fallible process. Citations can have the wrong subject headings assigned or relevant subject headings can be missed rendering a citation difficult to find via an electronic database search.   
• To avoid relying completely on your search strategy. 

Selecting which journals to handsearch can be done by analysing the results of the database searches to identify the journals that contain the largest number of relevant studies. 

For more information on specific journals: 

• JCR (Journal Citation Reports)    Bibliometric citation data (inc. no. of articles, citations & impact factor) for more than 12,000 scholarly and technical journals and conference proceedings from more than 3,300 publishers in over 60 countries. Includes virtually all specialties in the areas of science, technology, and social sciences. 
• Ulrichsweb.com    Bibliographic and descriptive information on periodicals of all types: academic and scholarly journals, e-journals, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines, newspapers and newsletters.

Database tutorials

• CINAHL: basic searching tutorial   
• CINAHL: advanced searching tutorial   
• Cochrane Library: an introduction  and search manual  
• Cochrane Library: searching and using MeSH   
• Informit Search Hints   
• Introduction to Medline   
• Introduction to PsycINFO   
• How to use PubMed  (brief animated tutorials with audio for using PubMed) 
• Use MeSH to build a better PubMed query  (animated tutorial on using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in PubMed - 3mins)  
• Scopus tutorial: basic search   
• Web of Science quick reference card   
• Web of Science: video tutorials   

Documenting your searches 

How much detail you should use when documenting your searches can vary. Generally speaking, we recommend that the documentation, as a minimum, includes: 

Name of resource searched 

Record all detail e.g. not just Cochrane but Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Issue 12 of 12, December 2017. Include database platforms too, e.g., not just Medline but Medline (Ovid). Date search was executed 

Important as databases/web resources are dynamic. Search strategy 

This should incorporate terms used and how they were combined (e.g. AND, OR, ADJ). Copying and pasting the search history into a Word document is the easiest way to do this.   

Number of results retrieved by the search 

Record the numbers of citations retrieved for each database. Creating account in databases is another way of saving your results. 

In most databases you can create a profile and save your searches. You can also set up alerts on searches that will alert you to new results that meet your search criteria. 

Systematic literature search - Workshop activity

Contact the Library Research Engagement team for support with systematic reviews and literature searching.

Library research query

Sturt Rd, Bedford Park South Australia 5042

Ph: 1300 354 633  (Select 3) Email:  [email protected]

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WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW - Flinders University

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STUDENT<br />

Learning<br />

Centre<br />

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY<br />

1. WHAT IS A <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong>?<br />

CRICOS Registered Provider: The <strong>Flinders</strong> <strong>University</strong> of South Australia<br />

CRICOS Provider Number: 00114A<br />

<strong>WRITING</strong> A <strong>LITERATURE</strong><br />

<strong>REVIEW</strong><br />

A literature review is an evaluative comparison of various pieces of research. It is not just a set of<br />

summaries or a descriptive list of material. It shows the reader what previous research has been done<br />

in your field, critiques previous methodology, and evaluates prior studies to show an information gap<br />

which your own research will fill. The information which follows is particularly relevant to a thesis<br />

literature review, but can be applied to shorter reviews and thesis proposals.<br />

2. WHY DO A <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong>?<br />

There are many reasons why you should write a literature review. Swales and Feak (1994,<br />

pp. 180 – 181) suggest the following (using the word 'citation' to mean 'reference to another author'):<br />

1. Citations recognise and acknowledge the intellectual property rights of authors. They are a<br />

matter of ethics and a defence against plagiarism. (General theory)<br />

2. Citations are used to show respect to previous scholars. (General theory)<br />

3. Citations operate a kind of mutual reward system. Writers ‘pay’ other authors in citations.<br />

(Ravetz 1971)<br />

4. Citations are tools of persuasion; writers use citations to give their statements greater<br />

authority. (Gilbert 1977)<br />

5. Citations are used to demonstrate familiarity with the field. (Bavelas 1978)<br />

6. Citations are used to create a research space. (Swales 1990)<br />

Here are some more reasons for writing a review:<br />

• to avoid making the same mistakes as other people<br />

• to carry on from where others have reached<br />

• to increase your breadth of knowledge in your subject area<br />

• to identify key works, information and needs in your area<br />

• to identify and learn terminology<br />

• to position your own work in context<br />

• to identify opposing views<br />

• to demonstrate that you can access research in the field<br />

• to identify methods relevant to your project<br />

• to identify studies that are worth replicating or improving<br />

• to find experts in your field whom you could contact<br />

(Adapted from Littrell 2003, Roberts & Taylor 2002 and LSU RMIT 2004.)<br />

STUDY SKILLS BROCHURE SLC/06/2006

3. WHAT <strong>LITERATURE</strong> SHOULD BE INCLUDED?<br />

Use only what is relevant to your research project. Primary sources are preferable, rather than material<br />

you have found in another person's study. You should always justify why you have included some works<br />

and not others. Maybe the earlier studies have been disproved, for example, or are now out of date.<br />

Information sources may include:<br />

• Books<br />

• Journals<br />

• Research papers<br />

• Theses<br />

• Databases<br />

• Internet<br />

• Bibliographies and reference lists<br />

• Encyclopaedias<br />

• Handbooks<br />

• Maps<br />

• Newspapers<br />

• Government publications<br />

• Statistics<br />

• Conference proceedings<br />

(Adapted from Central Queensland <strong>University</strong> Library 2000.)<br />

Although you should consider many sources of information, the literature you review will normally be<br />

academic. The following checklist gives you an indication as to whether a piece of writing is academic or<br />

not. The more ticks you can put in the ‘Yes’ column, the more likely the writing is to be acceptable for<br />

academic purposes.<br />

Source Yes No<br />

Is the article peer reviewed/refereed? (ie Has it been read and accepted by<br />

other scholars in that field?) You can tell if an article is refereed because the<br />

journal or conference proceedings will mention the fact.<br />

Are in-text references used?<br />

Is there an abstract (for a journal article) and a bibliography?<br />

Is the bibliography complete?<br />

Is the author affiliated to a university?<br />

What does the text look like? Is advertising limited to academic products or<br />

services (such as conferences, books, etc.)?<br />

Is the writing divided into sections (with or without headings), such as<br />

introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion and<br />

reference list?<br />

Does the writer use technical language and discuss research that has been<br />

done?<br />

Is the article of reasonable length? (Academic articles are usually at least 8<br />

pages long.)<br />

Is the publisher a recognised academic publisher?<br />

Does the website have an author and/or a date?<br />

Was the piece of writing recommended by another researcher?<br />

4. HOW SHOULD I DO A <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong>?<br />

(The following information is adapted from Central Queensland <strong>University</strong> Library 2000.)<br />

STAGES<br />

4.1 Select the topic<br />

4.2 Set the topic in context<br />

4.3 Search for information sources<br />

Define the information need you have, and state it as a question.<br />

eg What do I want to know about . . . ?<br />

(Based on Monash <strong>University</strong> 1994-2004)<br />

Break the need into its component parts. Identify concepts, keywords and synonyms.<br />

Select an information source that matches your information need.<br />

4.4 Evaluate your information sources<br />

Evaluate the information. Read the abstract. Note everything which may be<br />

important.<br />

Evaluate the search process. Have you got too little information? Maybe you need to<br />

broaden the scope of your search, try different types of sources or explore other<br />

disciplines. Have you got too much information? Narrow your search. Look for key<br />

words and authors. Define your question more.<br />

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN EVALUATING A REFERENCE<br />

Content Good arguments<br />

Context in<br />

discipline<br />

Shows evidence for claims<br />

Reliable<br />

Shows limitations<br />

Biased<br />

Strong content<br />

Weak content<br />

Landmark article<br />

Useful contribution to field<br />

Agrees with current thought<br />

Contradicts current thought<br />

Good introduction to field<br />

Yes No<br />

Methodology Strong reasoning<br />

Replication possible<br />

Adequate sample size<br />

Author Good academic standing<br />

Refers to other authors<br />

Writing easy to understand<br />

Relevance Recent publication<br />

Reliable source<br />

Same purpose as your own research<br />

Relevant to your study<br />

4.5 Extract the information from your sources<br />

Country where research was conducted<br />

relates to your own research<br />

Making a summary table will help you to see common threads in your literature.<br />

Roberts and Taylor (2002) give the following headings as an example:<br />

Author Type of study Sample Design Data collection<br />

approach<br />

eg quantitative<br />

eg qualitative<br />

You could also include headings such as 'type of work', 'source of material', 'problems' or<br />

'relevance to my study'.<br />

Key findings<br />

Keep a list of all items ordered via document delivery, so that you don’t order the<br />

same item twice.<br />

4.6 Organise the information<br />

Keep careful notes about the source of the information. Use the reference system<br />

you intend to use for your thesis. You may want to use the computer program<br />

‘Endnote’, if you have access to it.<br />

There are different ways to group your literature in the review. Here are some suggestions:<br />

• Group related studies together.<br />

• Review briefly any weaker studies or studies that share similar methods. Devote more<br />

attention to groundbreaking, stronger studies.<br />

• Organise studies by findings.<br />

• Organise by methodology.<br />

• Organise by theory.<br />

Imagine you have to write about the six reasons for writing a literature review given on page 1.<br />

How would you group them? What reasons can you give for this grouping? There are many<br />

possibilities.<br />

Swales and Feak (1994, p. 182) group the theories from page 1 of the handout in the following way:<br />

Theory 1<br />

Theory 2<br />

Rhetorical Theories 4 and 6<br />

Economic Theory 3<br />

Sociological Theory 5<br />

Established major theories<br />

4.7 Position the literature review in your discipline<br />

How does it match previous research?<br />

Where does it fit in your discipline?<br />

4.8 Write the literature review<br />

Theories associated with individual authors<br />

“Help. There is no literature to review!” Show the gaps in the current literature. Review<br />

literature which justifies your choice of topic. Search other people's bibliographies for<br />

ideas, or join an email discussion list.<br />

“When should I write it?” Before the rest of your thesis, to identify the gaps and focus<br />

your own thoughts.<br />

“Can I use I/we?” Check with your department.<br />

Active/passive – too much passive is boring.<br />

Tenses – use present tense to describe general principles or results (“These results<br />

indicate that . . .”); past tense to describe past findings<br />

(Smith’s 1999 study found that . . ).<br />

Format and length – could be one or two chapters, or integrated in other chapters.<br />

Position in thesis – usually after the introduction; literature reviews for science subjects<br />

may be part of the introduction, identifying work previously done in the field.<br />

Headings – usage depends on your department.<br />

Authority – develop a theme and use the work of relevant authors to support your<br />

argument; paraphrase rather than quote, if you can.<br />

Layout – introduction, body and conclusion.<br />

5. CAN YOU SHOW ME AN EXAMPLE OF A <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong>?<br />

Ask your supervisor or lecturer, or look in the Special Collections area in the library (try asking your<br />

supervisor for some recommendations). Here are a few suggestions from the Central Library:<br />

Science<br />

Zeegers, PJ 1992, Aromatic substitution reactions, PhD thesis, <strong>Flinders</strong> <strong>University</strong> of South Australia.<br />

[3 separate sections, each with a literature review in the introductory paragraphs.]<br />

Social sciences<br />

Tilt, CA 1998, An exploration of Australian corporate environmental policies, PhD thesis, <strong>Flinders</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong> of South Australia. [Literature is reviewed in chapters two and three.]<br />

Languages<br />

Miller, J 2001, An investigation into the use of anglicisms in European Portuguese, 1974 – 2000, MA<br />

thesis, <strong>Flinders</strong> <strong>University</strong> of South Australia. [Literature is reviewed in chapters one and two.]<br />

6. WHAT DO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS EXPECT IN A RESEARCH HIGHER DEGREE<br />

<strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong>?<br />

Archaeology<br />

A literature review is required, but it may not be called “Chapter x – literature review”.<br />

Australian Studies<br />

Inclusion of a separate literature review depends on the collaborating discipline (social sciences or<br />

humanities)<br />

Cultural Tourism<br />

There is no standardised format. It could be a separate chapter or it could be incorporated at a suitable<br />

place in the thesis.<br />

Education<br />

APA referencing is used. See Anderson and Poole 2001, Assignment and Thesis Writing.<br />

Geography<br />

A literature review chapter would be required in just about all geography theses.<br />

History<br />

A literature review is integral to postgraduate work. It does not necessarily require a separate chapter,<br />

but it needs to be built in to the thesis and addressed in the research proposal.<br />

Humanities (general)<br />

No formal literature review is required for many humanities subjects, but you may need to write an<br />

annotated bibliography for your research proposal.<br />

Labour Studies<br />

A review would be expected in all MAs and PhDs. It could be a separate chapter, or might be<br />

embedded in the early part of the thesis.<br />

Law<br />

No formal literature review is required, but you should show you are familiar with present knowledge,<br />

so that you can then make an original contribution to it.<br />

Medical Biotechnology<br />

The literature review comes in the introduction and describes information or research relevant to the<br />

thesis research or experiment.<br />

Nursing students will find an excellent chapter on literature reviews in Roberts, KL & Taylor, BJ 2002,<br />

Nursing research processes: an Australian perspective, Nelson, South Melbourne.<br />

Public Policy<br />

For coursework Masters students, a separate 6000 word research paper is required, which is actually a<br />

literature review. Literature should be divided by theme. A larger thesis would have divisions such as<br />

introduction, methodology, and a discussion of literature by theme.<br />

Theology<br />

It is unusual to include a formal review, but you should demonstrate throughout the thesis that you are<br />

familiar with all relevant literature.<br />

7. WHAT DO THE EXAMINERS LOOK FOR?<br />

Examiners want to see that you can:<br />

set up a theoretical framework for your research, with the goals clearly set out in the<br />

introduction and summarised in the conclusion<br />

show your reader that you have a clear understanding of the key<br />

concepts/ideas/studies/ models related to your topic<br />

talk about the history of your research area and any related controversies<br />

discuss these ideas in a context appropriate for your own investigation<br />

evaluate the work of others<br />

clarify important definitions and terminology<br />

develop the research space you will also indicate in the introduction and abstract<br />

narrow the problem down; make the study feasible<br />

structure the review, using headings as appropriate<br />

use good expression and punctuation<br />

use your referencing system correctly<br />

use current literature as well as older sources<br />

identify the range of resources you have used<br />

write in an interesting way<br />

(Adapted from Clerehan 1999, p. 2 and Bruce 2002.)<br />

8. WHAT CRITICISMS DO EXAMINERS MAKE?<br />

According to Afolabi (1992, cited in Bruce 2002) and Hansford and Maxwell (1993, cited in Bruce 2002),<br />

literature reviews are often criticised because:<br />

Criticism Have I avoided this?<br />

Landmark studies are not included<br />

Outdated material is given too prominent a place<br />

Recent literature is not included<br />

The perspective is not wide enough<br />

The review is not sufficiently analytical<br />

The writer has not discriminated between relevant and<br />

irrelevant material<br />

There is no coherence<br />

The literature is not related to the research question or<br />

hypotheses<br />

Sources are not correctly interpreted<br />

9. QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR OWN <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong><br />

What are the keywords for your topic/thesis?<br />

What sources will you use?<br />

Who are the major authors in your area?<br />

Who are the minor authors?<br />

What information gap are you trying to fill?<br />

How will you divide the literature? By ideas, methodology, chronology, major/minor authors, or<br />

another arrangement?<br />

What are the goals of your review?<br />

What literature will you include?<br />

What is your perspective on the literature?<br />

What will your review focus on?<br />

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING<br />

Bieber, M & Smith, M J 2001, Article review guidelines, viewed 21 January 2003,<br />

.<br />

Central Queensland <strong>University</strong> Library 2000, The literature review, viewed 27 February 2003,<br />

Clerehan, R 1999, Reviewing the literature, Monash <strong>University</strong>, Melbourne. Available online<br />

www.monash.edu.au, but you have to have a password to access the site.<br />

Conducting a critical review of the literature, 29 June 2001 (last update), viewed 17 July 2002,<br />

Cone, JD & Foster, SL 1993, Dissertations and theses from start to finish, American<br />

Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.<br />

Fenton, P 2002, Literature reviews & thesis structure: for Masters and doctoral students, viewed<br />

18 March 2003, .<br />

Learning Skills Unit, RMIT 2004, Writing a literature review, viewed 31 March 2005,<br />

Littrell, RF (working paper) The literature review: critically analysing information sources, viewed<br />

10 October 2003, .<br />

Monash <strong>University</strong> 1994-2004, How to identify academic resources, viewed 20 May 2004,<br />

Roberts, KL & Taylor, BJ 2002, Nursing research processes: an Australian perspective, Nelson,<br />

South Melbourne.<br />

Rudestam, KE & Newton, RR 2001, Surviving your dissertation, 2 nd edn, Sage Publications, Inc.,<br />

London.<br />

Swales, JM & Feak, CB 1994, Academic writing for graduate students, <strong>University</strong> of Michigan<br />

Press, Ann Arbor.<br />

Winkel, A & Hart, B 1996, Report writing style guide for engineering students, 3 rd edn, <strong>University</strong><br />

of South Australia, The Levels, Adelaide.<br />

STUDENT LEARNING CENTRE<br />

STUDENT CENTRE, LEVEL ONE<br />

TELEPHONE: 61-8-8201 2518<br />

FAX: 61-8-8201 3839<br />

E-MAIL<br />

[email protected]<br />

INTERNET<br />

http://www.flinders.edu.au/SLC<br />

POSTAL<br />

PO BOX 2100, ADELAIDE, SA 5001<br />

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STUDENT Learning Centre FLINDERS UNIVERSITY 1. WHAT IS A <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong>? CRICOS Registered Provider: The <strong>Flinders</strong> <strong>University</strong> of South Australia CRICOS Provider Number: 00114A <strong>WRITING</strong> A <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong> A literature review is an evaluative comparison of various pieces of research. It is not just a set of summaries or a descriptive list of material. It shows the reader what previous research has been done in your field, critiques previous methodology, and evaluates prior studies to show an information gap which your own research will fill. The information which follows is particularly relevant to a thesis literature review, but can be applied to shorter reviews and thesis proposals. 2. WHY DO A <strong>LITERATURE</strong> <strong>REVIEW</strong>? There are many reasons why you should write a literature review. Swales and Feak (1994, pp. 180 – 181) suggest the following (using the word 'citation' to mean 'reference to another author'): 1. Citations recognise and acknowledge the intellectual property rights of authors. They are a matter of ethics and a defence against plagiarism. (General theory) 2. Citations are used to show respect to previous scholars. (General theory) 3. Citations operate a kind of mutual reward system. Writers ‘pay’ other authors in citations. (Ravetz 1971) 4. Citations are tools of persuasion; writers use citations to give their statements greater authority. (Gilbert 1977) 5. Citations are used to demonstrate familiarity with the field. (Bavelas 1978) 6. Citations are used to create a research space. (Swales 1990) Here are some more reasons for writing a review: • to avoid making the same mistakes as other people • to carry on from where others have reached • to increase your breadth of knowledge in your subject area • to identify key works, information and needs in your area • to identify and learn terminology • to position your own work in context • to identify opposing views • to demonstrate that you can access research in the field • to identify methods relevant to your project • to identify studies that are worth replicating or improving • to find experts in your field whom you could contact (Adapted from Littrell 2003, Roberts & Taylor 2002 and LSU RMIT 2004.) STUDY SKILLS BROCHURE SLC/06/2006

• Page 2 and 3: 3. WHAT LITERATURE SHOULD BE INCLUD
• Page 4 and 5: Methodology Strong reasoning Replic
• Page 6 and 7: 5. CAN YOU SHOW ME AN EXAMPLE OF A
• Page 8 and 9: 8. WHAT CRITICISMS DO EXAMINERS MAK
• Page 10: CRICOS Registered Provider: The Fli

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Understanding & Implementing a Client-Directed Approach to Service Delivery: Literature Review

• Centre for Social Impact

Research output : Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review

Fingerprint

• Comprehension Medicine and Dentistry 100%
• Client Medicine and Dentistry 100%
• Health Care Delivery Nursing and Health Professions 100%
• Literature Review Nursing and Health Professions 100%
• Consumer Medicine and Dentistry 50%
• Element Medicine and Dentistry 25%

T1 - Understanding & Implementing a Client-Directed Approach to Service Delivery

T2 - Literature Review

AU - Iannos, Marie

AU - Goodwin-Smith, Ian

N2 - The primary aim of this literature review and environmental scan was to assist AnglicareSA define the key elements and components of their ‘Client-Directed’ approach to service delivery, and to examine how other organisations have understood, developed, implemented and embedded a client directed approach to their services. The term ‘Client-Directed’ is unique to AnglicareSA and is more commonly referred to in the literature as a ‘Consumer-Directed Care’ (CDC), so for consistency the term Consumer-Directed Care was used throughout the review.

AB - The primary aim of this literature review and environmental scan was to assist AnglicareSA define the key elements and components of their ‘Client-Directed’ approach to service delivery, and to examine how other organisations have understood, developed, implemented and embedded a client directed approach to their services. The term ‘Client-Directed’ is unique to AnglicareSA and is more commonly referred to in the literature as a ‘Consumer-Directed Care’ (CDC), so for consistency the term Consumer-Directed Care was used throughout the review.

M3 - Commissioned report

BT - Understanding & Implementing a Client-Directed Approach to Service Delivery

PB - Flinders University

CY - Adelaide

University of Tasmania, Australia

Systematic reviews for health: grey literature.

• Handbooks / Guidelines for Systematic Reviews
• Standards for Reporting
• Registering a Protocol
• Tools for Systematic Review
• Online Tutorials & Courses
• Books and Articles about Systematic Reviews
• Finding Systematic Reviews
• Critical Appraisal
• Library Help
• Bibliographic Databases

Grey Literature

• Handsearching
• Citation Searching
• 1. Formulate the Research Question
• 2. Identify the Key Concepts
• 3. Develop Search Terms - Free-Text
• 4. Develop Search Terms - Controlled Vocabulary
• 5. Search Fields
• 6. Phrase Searching, Wildcards and Proximity Operators
• 7. Boolean Operators
• 8. Search Limits
• 9. Pilot Search Strategy & Monitor Its Development
• 10. Final Search Strategy
• 11. Adapt Search Syntax
• Documenting Search Strategies
• Handling Results & Storing Papers

Grey literature is the "wealth of knowledge and information produced by organizations, governments and industry, covering a wide range of subject areas and professional fields, not controlled by commercial publishing ." ( Pisa Declaration 2014 )

When conducting a systematic review it is important to include literature that has not formally been published in sources as it helps to prevent publication bias. Searching grey literature is supported/mandated by the Cochrane Collaboration, the Campbell Collaboration, JBI and the Institute of Medicine (U.S.).

Grey Literature Searching Approach

Scope for key systematic reviews on your topic and explore what grey literature options are mentioned in Methods section.

Search relevant bibliographic databases that contain grey literature material, particularly dissertations & theses and conference papers .

Explore grey databases .

Consult trials registers to detect ongoing and unpublished studies.

Find publications on web sites of key organisations, professional associations, government departments/services and key authors.

Search Google Advanced /Google Scholar.

TIP!   Conduct broad searches and document which resources you search.

Grey Literature Guides

These guides may help you decide which grey literature to search:

Dissertations & Theses

There are dissertations/theses specific databases such as ProQuest Dissertations & Theses .

The Theses subject guide contains information on how to search for UTAS theses , Australian theses and International theses .

Google Scholar includes dissertations/theses.

Some bibliographic databases include dissertations/theses:  CINAHL ,  PsycINFO  and  SportDiscus .

Conference Abstracts & Proceedings

Google Scholar  includes conference papers.

Various bibliographic databases also include conference papers: CINAHL , Scopus , SportDiscus  and Web of Science .

Relevant key organisations may hold conferences and make their proceedings available. Examples:

• National Rural Health Alliance
• Health InfoNet   (good for Australian Indigenous Health)

Review publications on websites of relevant government departments, organisations and foundations as well as professional associations:

• Government services
• Professional associations
• Organisations
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
• Department of Health
• Therapeutic Goods Administration​ (TGA)
• Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (PHCRIS)
• HealthDirect - Information partners
• Australian Medical Association (AMA)
• Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM)
• Emergency Nurses Association (ENA)
• World Health Organization (WHO)

Appraising Grey Literature

The Flinders University developed a useful tool for evaluating grey literature:

• AACODS Checklist Tyndall, J 2010. Guidance on how to evaluate and critically appraise grey literature, Flinders University.

Types of Grey Literature

Grey databases and directories, trial registers.

Many clinical trials are grey or unpublished. When appropriate, it's important to include unpublished and ongoing studies to minimise bias ( Cochrane Handbook, 4.3.3 ).

• International, national and regional
• Subject-specific

Alphabetical listing of clinical trials registers , York Health Economics Consortium

Examples of national and international trials registers , Cochrane Handbook, 4.3.3

• WHO's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) Central database that harvests 16 primary clinical trial registries, including ANZCTR, ClinicalTrials.gov, EU Clinical Trials Register, and ISRCTN
• Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry
• ClinicalTrials.gov
• Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials
• International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) Registry
• UK Clinical Trials Gateway
• Alphabetical listing of disease and other specific trials registers , York Health Economics Consortium
• National Cancer Institute clinical trials
• The Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive (VISTA)
• Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI)
• Alphabetical listing of pharmaceutical and industry registers ,   York Health Economics Consortium
• GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Clinical Study Register

Google Advanced

Limit searches by site/domain or filetype, e.g.

• site:.tas.gov.au
• filetype:pdf

Resources From Other Universities

• Grey Literature for the Health Sciences (University of Melbourne)
• What is grey literature? (University of Newcastle)
• Systematic Searches #10: Finding Gray Literature (Medical Library, Yale University)

Source Information

Information on this page is mainly drawn from:

Tyndall, J 2016, Systematic review searching: Grey literature, Australian Evidence Based Practice Librarians’ Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, 9 December 2016.

Need More Help? Book a consultation with a  Learning and Research Librarian  or contact  [email protected] .

• << Previous: Bibliographic Databases
• Next: Handsearching >>
• Last Updated: May 27, 2024 11:04 AM
• URL: https://utas.libguides.com/SystematicReviews

• UC Library Guides
• Library Guides

Grey Literature in Health

• Appraisal (The AACODS Checklist)
• Introduction
• Conference Papers
• Institutional & Subject Repositories
• Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Clinical Trials
• Search Engines
• Online Sources & Directories
• Statistics and Datasets

Critical Appraisal

Once information from grey literature sources is obtained, an additional challenge for the researcher is to determine the quality of that information.

Ideally, grey literature (especially unpublished Randomised Controlled Trials) should be appraised to the same standard, and using the same Critical Appraisal Tools as those used to evaluate black literature.

AACODS Checklist

Jess Tyndall, Medical Librarian and Head of the Gus Fraenkel Medical Library at Flinders University, developed the AACODS checklist (Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance) as an evaluation and Critical Appraisal Tool specifically for use with grey literature sources. 1

Follow this link to the comprehensive  AACODS checklist . tool

         1.  Tyndall, J. AACODS Checklist.  Flinders University, 2010.  Available from http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/dspace/

• << Previous: Statistics and Datasets

Grey Literature for Health Research: a Vital Resource (slides)

Presentation by Jess Tyndall on grey literature and health research at the Where is the evidence conference 2013 held at the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, 11/11/13

• Last Updated: Jan 15, 2024 12:12 PM
• URL: https://canberra.libguides.com/greyliterature

Coorong freshwater soaks project: a collaborative success story

The Coorong Freshwater Soaks project is leading the way in connecting First Nation’s cultural knowledge and values with contemporary scientific research.

Led by Traditional Owners of the Coorong region, Ngarrindjeri and First Nations of the South East, the Coorong Freshwater Soaks project addresses critical knowledge gaps in the condition and status of the region’s freshwater soaks.

The project was developed in collaboration with the Department for Environment and Water’s (DEW) Aboriginal Partnerships team and Freshwater, River Murray and Coorong Science team. The Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and groundwater researchers from Flinders University also provided support to facilitate and assist with monitoring and research.

Freshwater soaks were identified as a key area of interest for future research during consultation with First Nations groups on the draft Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin (HCHB) Coorong Restoration Roadmap . To date, the Coorong Freshwater Soaks Project team has installed monitoring equipment, including groundwater loggers and fixed cameras, at carefully selected soaks study sites, with recent observations revealing that fresh groundwater in the area is inconsistent and hard to find but sometimes present during summer in certain areas.

Freshwater soaks are a crucial resource for native wildlife in the Coorong region and several native species, including swamp wallabies, common wombats, emus, spotted marsh frogs and herons, have been captured by fixed cameras feeding, wallowing and foraging in the soaks. Unfortunately, these soaks also attract the attention of introduced species like feral cats and fallow deer, highlighting one of the many ecological challenges facing the region.

With a strong focus on integrating First Nation’s knowledge with contemporary scientific methods, project workshops and field studies have facilitated a rich exchange of cultural insights and values. The project also builds on knowledge gained through the Ngarrindjeri Knowledge Research project, which was conducted by the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation during the HCHB Trials and Investigations project (2019-22).

Incorporating scientific knowledge from research undertaken in the early 1980’s and 2000’s, the project is combining a mix of desktop literature reviews, cultural assessments, citizen science, and ecological and geohydrological evaluations to assess the current state of Coorong freshwater soaks.

Knowledge gained through this project will be critical in informing the ongoing management of ecological and culturally significant features of the Coorong region. Additionally, the Coorong Freshwater Soaks project is providing a framework for future collaborative research projects to support the ongoing management of the Coorong. As the project progresses, there are plans to expand the number of monitoring sites and to continue data collection.

This project is being delivered as part of the Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin program, which is jointly funded by the Australian Government and the Government of South Australia.

Acknowledgement of Country

Aboriginal people are the First Peoples and Nations of South Australia. The Coorong connected waters and surrounding lands have sustained unique First Nations cultures since time immemorial. The Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin program acknowledges the range of Ngarrindjeri and First Nations of South East rights, interests and obligations for the Coorong and connected waterways and the cultural connections that exist between Ngarrindjeri and First Nations of South East across the region and seeks to support their equitable engagement. Ngarrindjeri and First Nations of South East spiritual, social, cultural and economic practices come from their lands and waters, and they continue to maintain their lore, cultural heritage, economies and languages, which are of ongoing importance.

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