Navigating The Scholarly Literature A Practical Guide To Searching

Leo Migdal

-Oct 27, 2025, 1:28 AM

navigating the scholarly literature a practical guide to searching

Effectively searching the scholarly literature is a fundamental academic skill. However, the process can be overwhelming due to the vast amount of available research and the complexity of academic databases. This overview article provides a practical guide to navigating the literature with confidence, outlining key strategies for identifying relevant sources, refining search queries, and troubleshooting common challenges. © 2025 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Keywords: database searching; information sources; research methodology; scholarly literature; search strategies.

© 2025 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. The author declares no conflict of interest. Purdue University Libraries is a congressionally designated depository for U.S. Government information. Access to the government information collection is open to the public.

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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 March 2018 Performing an effective literature search to obtain the best available evidence is the basis of any evidence-based discipline, in particular evidence-based medicine. However, with a vast and growing volume of published research available, searching the literature can be challenging. Even when journals are indexed in electronic databases, it can be difficult to identify all relevant studies without an effective search strategy. It is also important to search unpublished literature to reduce publication bias, which occurs from a tendency for authors and journals to preferentially publish statistically significant studies. This article is intended for clinicians and researchers who are approaching the field of evidence synthesis and would like to perform a literature search.

It aims to provide advice on how to develop the search protocol and the strategy to identify the most relevant evidence for a given research or clinical question. It will also focus on how to search not only the published but also the unpublished literature using a number of online resources. • Understand the purpose of conducting a literature search and its integral part of the literature review process • Become aware of the range of sources that are available, including electronic databases of published data and trial registries to identify unpublished data • Understand how to develop a search strategy and apply appropriate search terms to interrogate electronic databases or trial registries Exploratory Searching vs.

Literature Review Searching In most cases, identifying and writing about a topic requires an initial exploration of information sources. This process can be used to contextualize the research problem [i.e., obtain relevant background information that makes it easier to understand or explain the topic] and to help determine the study’s overall design and... Exploratory searching can also help establish where your ideas fit within what is already known about the problem. Sources may include reviewing the readings listed in the course syllabus and/or searching the Libraries’ catalog, Google Scholar, or general resources such as Wikipedia, government agencies or organizational websites, and national news outlets. However, an initial search for information differs significantly from the search process applied to writing the literature review section of your paper.

"Choosing a Topic." Online Writing Lab, Purdue University; Currie, Lea, Frances Devlin, Judith Emde, and Kathryn Graves. "Undergraduate Search Strategies and Evaluation Criteria: Searching for Credible Sources." New Library World 111 (2010): 113-124; Joo, Soohyung, and Namjoo Choi. "Factors Affecting Undergraduates’ Selection of Online Library Resources in Academic Tasks: Usefulness, Ease-of-use, Resource Quality, and Individual Differences." Library Hi Tech 33 (2015): 272-291; "Literature Reviews." The Writing Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel... "Millennial Undergraduate Research Strategies in Web and Library Information Retrieval Systems." Journal of Web Librarianship 5 (2011): 267-285. Effective Search Strategies for Literature Reviews An effective literature review is always built on the foundation of a high quality literature search, one that is comprehensive and systematic.

And for any new project, a literature search is a crucial early step in the research process. Finding literature on a question is usually easy; finding the right literature, and all of the most relevant literature for a solid literature review, is harder. Through explanatory notes and practical, step-by-step guidance, we've designed this guide to help you understand how to effectively plan and carry out your literature searches. Your Guide is simply superb. Many thanks for a great resource which I will be promoting with advanced stage degree students in food science agriculture and veterinary medicine here in UCD. It is the best guide I have come across in some time so many thanks for this "Toolkit".

This will be invaluable for UCD -Students, those new to research, and those who need a refresher in literature searching. Carmel Norris, College Liaison Librarian, School of Agriculture & Food Science, University College Dublin Literature searching can feel like hunting for needles in haystacks—plural. But with the right strategy, it becomes your research superpower. In this post, I’ll walk you through how to clarify your research topic, use smarter literature search techniques, and leverage both traditional databases and AI tools. The secret to a good literature search isn’t casting the widest net—it’s knowing exactly what you’re fishing for.

Begin with well-defined keywords that include aspects of the real-world problem: Instead of a broad term like social media effects, focus on the study context and participants. Example: How does Instagram use correlate with body image perception among college-aged women in the post-pandemic era? Clarity here drives your entire search. Ask a vague question, get a vague answer. Evaluating Resources with CRAAP Shake Library Shake Library

The appraisal methods refers to the systematic methodology that you are going to use to read, appraise, compare, and contrast the included evidence. Either by comparing the results of previously appraised evidence, for instance by comparing systematic literature reviews with or without meta-analysis and/or CPGs; or by critically appraising the not yet synthesized evidence using appraisal forms... Appraisal forms facilitate the process of assessment of the methodological quality of the found evidence. The goal is to systematically examine the research evidence to judge its applicability, validity, and quality of the evidence.

Navigating The Scholarly Literature A Practical Guide To Searching

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