How to find literature reviews
It can be hard to find good academic articles and books when you are at the beginning of a new project.
So how do you find good and important articles and books in an area you do not know already? Read more about what literature reviews are and how they can be a huge help when searching for literature for your assignments.
Literature reviews examine a topic
When diving into a new topic, a good idea is to search for a literature review.
A literature review is a text in which one or more researchers have read a lot of articles and books. Subsequently, they have written a summary article about the research that already exists in the literature. They point to the most significant authors and texts within the subject. Often there is also a section on where research is lacking within the field.
Once you find a literature review dealing with your subject area, you have found a gold mine of references and authors to search for. Additionally, you get suggestions for areas not yet thoroughly examined. These areas not already covered by others are obvious possibilities for you to research and write about.
How to find literature reviews
Several databases on the CBS Library website are excellent choices when searching for literature reviews.
We recommend that you try the Social Science Citation Index (Web of Science) and Scopus. They work roughly the same, but have different subject strengths.
The searches look similar in the two databases.
- Add the keywords that cover your topic. Choose to search for the words throughout the reference, title, abstract, etc.
In Web of Science Topic cover the relevant parts
- Then add an extra search row (Scopus: "Add search field") (Web of Science: "Add row". The new field should search similar to the row with subject terms.
- Copy/paste the below search into the new field.
Scopus: (literature OR research) W/2 (analy* OR synth* OR review*)
Web of Science: (literature OR research) NEAR/2 (analy* OR synth* OR review*)
If you wish to know more about constructing a search like the one above, go to our page about Information Retrieval on my.cbs.dk. On it, we explain how to organise search terms, and use boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and proximity operators (w/ and NEAR/ ) to make your searches more precise.
Example of search in Scopus
A search for literature reviews on female entrepreneurs in the Scopus database is shown here. The first line contains keywords about the topic. The second line has words to find the particular type of articles that contain literature reviews.
Click on the image to see the result of the search in Scopus.
Example of search in Web of Science
A search for literature reviews on female entrepreneurs in the Web of Science database is shown here. The first line contains keywords about the topic. The second line has words to find the particular type of articles that contain literature reviews.
Click on the image to see the result of the search in Web of Science.
Writing literature reviews yourself
If you are considering doing a literature review yourself, or if a review of the literature is required in an assignment you have to do, CBS Library has several texts on doing literature reviews.
Here are a few books on doing literature reviews:
- Ridley, D. (2012). The literature review : a step-by-step guide for students (2. ed.). SAGE.
- Reardon, D. F. (2006). The literature review. In Reardon, D. F. (ed.), Doing your undergraduate project. SAGE Publications. (Choose the chapter “The literature review”)
If you need help
Please visit CBS Library and talk to a librarian if you need help or inspiration for your literature searches.
You can also sign up for one of our courses in the CBS Library Calendar.