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Literature Reviews

From definitions to the process -- we've got the resources you need.

General strategy

Search Differences for Review Types

For all literature reviews, start out with interative searching (see image at right) -- review and refine results as you develop your topic and research question. Search strategy process ring from Madonna University Library

For narrative literature reviews, balance relevance and comprehensiveness.

Evidence synthesis reviews, such as scoping and systematic reviews assume comprehensiveness, so make sure your search is broad and makes use of Boolean OR groups to avoid missing synonyms and closely related terms. 

Database fields effect search strategy

Example (lower right): In PsycINFO, you can narrow to population group because that field is there for all records.

Most databases don't have a population group field in their records, so you might have to search for "human" or "animal study" in the Abstract, where the population group is most likely to be discussed.

  • Combine controlled language with synonyms and phrase searching. Controlled language (subjects or descriptors in databases) takes time to form, so phrases researchers use don't always show up in subject searches. Boolean OR searching these terms creates large pools of information.
  • Find words and phrases that are unique to your discipline.
  • Words that take their context from other words, may need proximity or phrase searching. A word like "development" is a good example. It has many meanings that depend on the words around it -- "social development," early development stage," "Research and Development."
  • Determine the importance of variables to your searching. Does the age groupof a population studied matter? Only need human studies and not animal studies? If so, check to see if you can use limiters. Limiters are most precise, but you can use field searching if needed.

Boolean basics

Boolean searching uses specific commands called operators (AND, OR, NOT) to broaden or narrow searches. Click on a blue operator link above to shift to a different tab and learn more.

The Boolean AND command combines concepts to find an area of overlap. This creates a smaller set of results - more narrow searches, as illustrated with the image on the right. The image on the left shows Boolean AND in a Venn diagram.

Boolean AND search - area of overlap between artificial sweetner and headaches          

Boolean searching uses specific commands called operators (AND, OR, NOT) to broaden or narrow searches. Click on a blue operator link to shift to a different tab and learn more.

The Boolean OR command creates a union search - all terms join to form one group. This makes a larger set of results for broader searches illustrated by the animated images on the right.

  • OR searches work well for different terms or examples of the same concept, or searching closely related topics in one group.
  • While you can use OR with dissimilar concepts, it often produces too many results unless narrowed with another concept. Click the multi-line searching tab for an example.

Boolean union search combinining types (sucralose OR aspartame OR saccharin)

  • Is an exclusionary search that can be extremely effective when combined with a field search
  • Good for eliminating false hits
  • Good for eliminating terms that may broaden the search
  • Good for eliminating the wrong types of articles

In the following example, I want to look at different types of therapy that cats and dogs are used for, but I'm not interested in therapy to remove phobias about dogs or cats. Also, I happen to know that authors Samuel and Elizabeth Corson do research on drug therapy used for aggressive animals. That would be the wrong direction, so I want to exclude their articles.

Same of Boolean searching combined with fields (subject and author)

Search Builder Tool

Search Strategy Builder

The Search Strategy Builder is a tool designed to teach you how to create a search string using Boolean logic. While it is not a database and is not designed to input a search, you should be able to cut and paste the results into most databases' search boxes.

  Concept 1 and Concept 2 and Concept 3
Name your concepts here    
Search terms Search terms Search terms
List alternate terms for each concept.

These can be synonyms, or they can be specific examples of the concept.

Use single words, or "short phrases" in quotes

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

SSB created by University of Arizona Libraries and located at GitHub

Syntax basics (wildcards and more)

In the context of library databases, syntax refers to the command language or symbols used in a search. Boolean commands are a type of syntax that remains constant whatever database you use. Other syntax may change depending on the database.

Parentheses
  • An alternative to a database's Advanced Search
  • Allows you to construct complex searches combining AND, OR, NOT by grouping search terms appropriately
    • Example: (Teenagers OR Juveniles) AND Violence
Truncation
  • Expands the search to locate all words beginning with the same root 
  • Symbol to truncate is usually an asterisk (*)
    • Example: teen* will return teen, teens, teenage, teenager, etc.
  • Useful to include any variants authors might use to describe their research
  • Not all words can effectively be truncated
    • Example: Trying to truncate woman as wom* will return wombat, womb, as well as woman and women. 
Wildcard
  • Used in the middle of a word to match usually known variants of a term.
  • A wildcard usually represents a single character
  • Symbol to represent the single character is usually a question mark (?) but this can vary by database. 
    • Example: wom?n will return woman, women, and womyn.
Proximity

 

Guides to database specific syntax

Clarivate Searching Guide

  • Web of Science
    • Core collection: Social Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index, and more

EBSCO Quick Start "How to" information

  • Mutlisearch
  • Subject databases, including (but not limited to) Academic Search Complete, ATLA, Business Source Complete, CINHAL, ERIC, PsycINFO, 

ProQuest Search Tips

  • ProQuest Central (30 databases combined)
  • Subject databases, including (but not limited to) Psychology 

 

Set searching

Set searching allows you to break apart sections of a Boolean search and recombine them. In most databases, check off a box to combine lines by a Boolean command.

Pros: Saves a lot of time because you can quickly combine and recombine searches. Allows you to easily apply the same terms to different fields on the fly. Help you to see which concept in your search is too broad or to narrow. Method frequently used by librarians in systematic review searching which review comprehensive searches.

Con: Most databases require an individual account for you to save set searches, and the links to the saved search may only work from your account, making it a bit harder to share a set with a group. 

Example in a ProQuest database.