Literature Review: Search Strategy

This guide presents tools and advice for conducting a Literature Review.

Showcase the evidence

"For whatever kind of literature review you undertake, demonstrating that you have thoroughly searched for the evidence included in your review ultimately enhances the credibility of your review findings and conclusions."

(Booth, A., Papaioannou, D. & Sutton, A. 2012, Systematic approaches to a successful literature review, p. 70)

Building your search

A useful way to do this is by looking at the key concepts in your question and charting your search terms.

You can improve your search results by spending some time developing your search strategy:

Start by looking closely at your research question
Identify the concepts contained in the research question.
List keywords which authors would use to describe your topic concepts.
Don't just use one word for a concept, consider whether there are any synonyms, plurals, acronyms or alternative spellings that can be used.
Check to see if your database allows for thesaurus searching, i.e. MeSH in PubMed
Document the search process by keeping a research log
Try one of the worksheets below to help you explore your research question