Literature Search Tips

Literature (Lit) searches are a very important part of the research process.  Lit searches summarize previous research on a topic and are necessary to inform us about all the progress in a specific area.  Lit searching is an invaluable skill, especially if you are interested in graduate school.

You will be assigned a topic (e.g. electronic performance monitoring) that has probably, but not necessarily, been searched before.  Your topic will relate to an area that our Lab is deeply interested in, an area related to Social, Industrial/Organizational (I/O) and/or Environmental Psychology. 

You will be the team expert on your assigned topic.   Your literature search is a list of scientific articles (empirical articles), popular press articles, websites, books, etc. that you find on your topic. You do not have to read all the materials you find.  However, you should be aware of important findings/procedures, and trends in the field, which you will report on every 2 weeks through your executive summary.   

Some of the issues to think about as you develop your literature search are:

• What is known about the subject (i.e., what are the major findings in this area)?
• Are there any gaps in the knowledge of the subject?
• Who are the significant researchers in this area?
• Is there consensus about the topic?
• What aspects have generated significant debate on the topic?
• What methods or problems were identified by others working in the field and how might they impact our research?
• What is the most productive methodology for the research based on the literature you have reviewed?
• What is the current status of research in this area?

You are also required to look back at what has been found in the past and not to “reinvent the wheel” or to find materials that have already been found.  Most likely, there will be a large bibliography which has been put together in past semesters, which you will be working from.  Your goal will be to find the newest and most relevant material on the subject that is out there.  This search is not restricted to scholarly journals.  You should seek out content from the popular press, books, and recent “cutting edge” research, which can be found on websites with a simple Google search. 

You will be assigned a literature search liaison to help you with your lit search.  He/She will give you feedback every few weeks and help you come up with search words/directions on your topic.  When you report lit searching in your journal entries, you should list in the “what I accomplished” section very specifically what you searched, what search vehicle(s) you used, and what you found.