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How to find lit­er­at­ure re­view art­icles

Start­ing on a brand-new top­ic can feel over­whelm­ing. You know you need strong aca­dem­ic art­icles and books, but it is dif­fi­cult to de­cide where to be­gin, which au­thors mat­ter and which texts are worth your time.

Learning

Many students recognise this situation, whether they are writing an assignment at CBS or working on a project in upper secondary school. The good news is that there is a shortcut that quickly gives you clarity: literature reviews.

A literature review does the initial groundwork for you. Researchers have already read a lot of articles and compiled the key insights in one structured overview. In just a few minutes, you can see:

  • which scholars shape the field
  • the texts you should start with
  • how the topic is usually approached
  • where gaps in the research create opportunities for new angles

In practice, a literature review works like a personal guide to your topic. When you find a strong review, you suddenly have a goldmine of sources to build on – and you save both time and frustration.

How to find literature reviews

Several library databases include literature reviews. The best places to begin are Social Science Citation Index (Web of Science) and Scopus. They work in similar ways but cover different subject areas.

Here is a simple way to get started.

1. Add your keywords

  • Write the keywords that describe your topic.
  • Set the search field to include the full record, abstract, title and so on. In Web of Science, this is the Topic field.

2. Add an extra search field

  • Scopus: Add search field
  • Web of Science: Add row

Set this field in the same way as your first one.

3. Insert this search string

Copy and paste this 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 want to understand how search strings work, for example, why AND, OR, NOT and proximity operators make your results more precise, you can read our guide to search with keywords. It shows you step by step how to structure your keywords and refine your results.

What to do when you find a review article

A literature review gives you a strong starting point for your assignment. You can:

  • use the reference list as a checklist of essential sources
  • identify the theories and perspectives that dominate the field
  • find newer articles that build on classic studies
  • spot new angles or unanswered questions

This makes your work both easier and more focused setting a clear direction from the start.

 

What would you like to do next?

See how the search works in Scopus?
See how the search works in Web of Science?
Do you want help with your keywords?

Writ­ing a lit­er­at­ure re­view?

If you are writ­ing a lit­er­at­ure re­view, the lib­rary has sev­er­al re­sources that can help you get star­ted:

Books on how to write lit­er­at­ure re­views

If you are considering writing a literature review yourself, or if your assignment requires a review of the existing literature, the library offers several texts that can help you get started.

Here are a few books on how to write literature reviews:

Sup­port for search­ing

Visit the library and talk to a librarian. We can help you find inspiration for your literature searches.

 

Tools that show who cites whom

  • Prøv Scopus, hvis du vil have et hurtigt overblik over forskere, artikler og citationer på tværs af fag.
     
  • Prøv Social Science Citation Index, hvis du arbejder inden for samfundsvidenskab.
     
  • Prøv Web of Science, inkluderer Social Science Citation Index samt mange flere fagområder og dækker derfor bredere.