4. Literature Search for Undergrduate Medical Students

Literature search for research students

1. Literature Search Dr. Aman Ullah B.Sc. Medical Lab. Technology Ph.D. Microbiology Lecturer of Laboratory Science, Khyber Medical University, Pakistan

2. Introduction A literature search is a systematic, thorough search of all types of literature (e.g. books, peer reviewed articles, etc.) in your topic A  literature search   involves searching and compiling all the literature (books, journals, and more) available on a specific topic It is carried out to identify knowledge gaps in a particular topic , which will then guide further research in that topic It is also carried out to provide background in a study, support methodologies, provide context or comparisons for discussions, and more

3. Introduction One of the most important reasons to do a literature search is to have enough information to formulate a valid research question It's important before undertaking any research to fully understand the shape of the literature in the area Literature searching can be broken down into a series of literative steps

4. Why literature search is important A literature search can be a daunting, tiring and time-consuming task Since this activity forms the foundation for future research, it is essential for it to be absolutely comprehensive and accurate Errors in a literature search could mean loss of precious time, resources and energy You could be carrying out research which has already been done before, using redundant, outdated methodologies, or designing experiments that have shown to be ineffective in the past

5. Literature Search: Process Flow   Develop a research question in a specific subject area Make a list of relevant databases and texts you will search Make a list of relevant keywords and phrases Start searching and make notes from each database to keep track of your search Review the literature and compile all the results into a report Revise your original research question if necessary

6. Develop a well-defined question Starting off a literature review without an clear and focused research question will mean that you will dig up a lot of literature not relevant to what you actually want. So, develop a research question that is: Focused Not too broad and not too narrow in scope Complex enough to allow for research and analysis

7. Sources A primary source is published, peer-reviewed research available in the form of books and journals Online databases provide access to published works available on the web Examples: Pubmed , which has more than 27 million citations for biomedical literature PsycINFO has more than 3 million records on psychology topics Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) has over 1.5 million records of literature related to education research

8. Choose the right keywords Overlooking the importance of using the right keywords and phrases relevant to the topic means that you could miss important information due to a weak search query. Read papers from different publications to familiarize yourself with the writing style and keywords . Build a concept map of related keywords and phrases that might be related to your research Example, the related keywords to ‘literature search’ are ‘secondary research’ and ‘systematic review’

9. Evaluate literature for quality You’ve got all the literature in place, but how do you know if it’s reliable? Since you’re going to be building your research on this information you need to have some quality control and make sure that sources are credible. Evaluate the credibility of the source by asking these questions: Where was the research published? When was it published? Has it been peer-reviewed? Does the author have good credentials? Is the article free from bias?

10. Redefine your question Now that the literature search is completed, you might be raring to go But wait! It’s not over yet At the end of your search, you have to go back to square one: the research question Is it still relevant and valid? Does it have to be revised?