If you're already comfortable coming up with search terms and filters, or if you've tried searching and you're just not coming up with anything, there are some additional tips and tricks you can use to find additional research! First, you can modify your search to find articles that are more relevant to your research question - depending on what sort of results you've found so far, you may find it useful to either broaden or narrow your search. You can also use literature reviews and bibliographies to get a sense for what research has already been conducted on your topic, and mine them for additional sources.
The words and terms that you use while searching can affect the results that you get (whether you're searching a library database or Google!). When you group these terms together, it's called a search string. This can be something as simple as "literacy instruction" or as complicated as "literacy instruction AND (elementary OR early childhood) NOT english language learner".
Unfortunately, you'll very rarely find all of the articles you need during your very first search - half of the research process is being able to modify your search as you go. If you're having trouble finding relevant results, you may want to modify your search string. How you modify your search will depend on your results – sometimes you get too many results (see "Narrow Your Search"), or too few (see "Broaden Your Search"). If you find your results are completely off base, you may need to re-think your key words and start from scratch.
Here are a few general tips for modifying your search string:
If you've tried searching and you aren't getting enough results, you may need to broaden your search. (If you still aren't finding relevant results, you may need to re-think your key words or search terms. If you need help, you can always email us at library@relay.edu!).
If you've tried searching and you're getting too many results (or your results are too broad), you may need to narrow your search. (If you still aren't finding relevant results, you may need to re-think your key words or search terms. If you need help, you can always email us at library@relay.edu!).
A literature review is a systematic analysis of published research - 'literature' - on a specific topic or research question. They typically provide a description, brief summary, and critical evaluation of works that address the topic or question, and often give a perspective of the state of the field and where it is heading.
Literature reviews (also frequently titled 'systematic reviews') can be published as works in and of themselves, but many papers - particularly theses and dissertations - have a literature review section where the authors identify and acknowledge key works in the field.
Literature reviews can be exceptionally helpful as you begin your research! First, a literature review is a great place to start if you want to get a feel for what sort of work has already been done in the field. They're useful for providing a general overview of a particular topic.
Literature reviews can also be a great place to look for additional sources to back up your argument. If you're looking for research to justify your research question, skimming a literature review (and its bibliography) can be a great 'one-stop-shopping' resource to find new articles and research on a particular topic.
Skimming a paper's bibliography can be useful in a number of different ways! First, skimming a bibliography can give you an idea of what sort of research the author has done. Has this author done their research? What sources are they citing? Do you notice any gaps in their research?
Bibliographies can also be a great place to find additional sources! This is particularly helpful if you've found the perfect article and you want to find something similar to it; or if you've found an article that's really close to what you want, but just not quite perfect. If you've found the perfect article, looking through the bibliography may help you to find similar articles on the same topic. If your article is close, but not quite what you're looking for, checking the bibliography might highlight similar articles that are more in line with the research you are doing. (This works in reverse, too! Some websites and databases, including Google Scholar, offer a 'Cited By' feature that shows what other articles have cited a particular resource. This can be a useful way to find more recently published articles on a similar topic.)