Literature reviews are important component of most theses and dissertations. By searching for relevant information you build your own knowledge about the subject. Then in your literature review you synthesize, evaluate and compare the significant existing literature about a topic. Your literature review also identifies issues and gaps in the literature, which demonstrates the need for your own research.

This session will introduce a systematic approach to literature searching. You will learn how to identify the sources of relevant literature within your discipline. We’ll look at how to find sources that summarize the current state of knowledge about your topic, and how to identify key authors, titles, and journals. We’ll also touch on the importance of “grey” literature such as dissertations, government documents and reports by nonprofits and think tanks, and where to find these types of publications. We’ll introduce ‘citation mining’ as a technique that can help you trace the path of an idea. Then we’ll provide useful advice for searching efficiently to find the literature you need, and introduce tools for exporting your results for future use.

The session will run 1 hour, with at least 15 minutes dedicated to questions and hands-on exploration by participants.