What is a literature search?
- A thorough search of the available literature (books, journal articles and reports) on a topic beyond your reading list.
- A valuable skill to aid your studies; it can also help with job applications and holiday plans as you get better at researching companies, people and locations.
Read more about ‘’ in a research project in (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ students and staff only).
Watch our screencast:
Video 1.
The steps to carry out an effective literature search
1. Define your search question.
2. Identify your search terms.
3. Decide where to search.
4. Run the search.
5. Evaluate the results and refine.
6. Save the results.
Read our slide presentations on and (used in health research) in ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ LIFE on Moodle to get the processes explained.
Watch our screencasts:
Video 2.
Video 3.
Where to search for your literature
- – the gateway to Library resources. Access to online material requires your ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ login.
- Social science journal article databases – we provide access to thousands of journal articles on subjects across the social sciences through subscriptions to major databases.
- – searches scholarly papers and is good for finding recent publications however it offers no index of what is included on its database! Many of the items provided by ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Library are not included on Google Scholar.
Whenever using Google Scholar do it alongside Library databases to make sure your searches are more comprehensive. See for tips on using Google more efficiently and make Google recognise ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ subscriptions.
Other sources to use for your literature search
Our Library resources guide also highlights specific databases that focus on topics such as:
Law
News services
Data and statistics
Historical primary resources
Watch our screencast:
Video 4.
Saving your search and keeping up to date
- Keep a record of where you searched, your search terms and search results to save time when tracking references to your data.
- Most databases allow you to create your own account enabling you to save your searches, re-run them and set up alerts when new items are added.
- Search results can usually be printed, emailed or exported.
- Search results can be exported directly to reference management software eg, and .
- You can use to access articles on the go and keep up to date.
Getting further help
Doing a literature search: screencasts
Video 1: .
Video 2: .
Video 3: .
Video 4: .
Guidance and workshops
provides additional materials and guidance on and .
ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ LIFE Workshop – – sign up to one for practical tips for your online research
Contact us
If you have any questions related to your literature search get in touch with your to discuss.