Your literature review should move beyond basic summarizing to focus on a critical analysis of the works you've reviewed and their relationship to your research question.
There are many ways for you to organize your literature review - chronologically, by thematic categories, methodological approach, major debates/conflict, or the position/argument of the author(s). Avoid simple lists and discussing each of your sources individually, and only use the chronological method if there is a clear chronological path of development in the research on your topic.
Practice synthesizing your sources thematically using the matrix below.
Depending on your topic and your angle, you may wish to search additional subject databases.
These e-journal collections provide access to many journals in GQS, but they are limited in scope and coverage compared to subject databases. In most cases, it's better to search subject databases to identify articles, and then use Primo Search to access the materials in these e-journal collections.
An interdisciplinary journal archive. It includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. Includes the Artstor image collections.
Google Scholar can help you find articles which have cited an article that you have found. Frequent citation is often (but not always!) a marker for a particularly influential scholarly work.
Step 1: When looking at search results, check for the 'Cited by X' link underneath each result. That will tell you how many subsequent articles (that Google Scholar is aware of) have cited this particular article or book.
Step 2: Click that link, and you will be taken to a new set of results, all of which have cited the original article, which will still be listed at the top of the page.
Try these strategies to become a better, more efficient searcher -- and help you find articles that you can actually use:
If your article is not available at Collins Library, you've got another option for getting it. Use Tipasa, our interlibrary loan service.
Tipasa is linked to your library account so you'll need to log in to use it.
Once you are logged in, either go directly to Tipasa and manually enter the information, or, if you're using a database, look for a shortcut link to automatically fill out the form:
Allow at least a week for the article to come. If your article is delivered in electronic format, you'll receive an email with a link to follow as soon as it's arrived.
