FAQs for Graduate Student Researchers
Finding Information Sources for a Literature Review

Finding the Right Information Sources For a Literature Review

Check here for answers to questions about how to:
  • start and perform comprehensive literature searches
  • manage your citations
  • obtain the documents you need
  • keep up to date with the latest research, and much else besides
Doing a Literature Review:
Selecting and Searching Databases on Your Research Topic:
Making the Most of Citation Indexing:
Managing Your Citations and Bibliographies:

Finding out Where Journals are Indexed:

Finding Book Reviews:
Finding Conference Proceedings, Theses, Government Documents, Archival Material:
Finding Journals:
Finding Newspapers and Microforms:
Abbreviations:
Obtaining Materials Not Available At UBC Library:
Keeping Up-To-Date With Published Research:
More Library Assistance:

Doing a Literature Review:

  • What is a literature review?

    "A literature review is an evaluative report of information found in the literature related to your selected area of study. The review should describe, summarise, evaluate and clarify this literature. It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you (the author) determine the nature of your research."
    What is a literature review? (from Central Queensland University Library).

  • Where can I find more information on literature reviews?

    Here are a few of the many web sites available on this topic:

    Some books available in the Library:

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    Selecting and Searching Databases on Your Research Topic:

  • How do I choose the right databases for my research?

    On the Library home page select Resources by Subject. The Subject Guides are arranged by Faculty or School, then by department. Each Guide lists article indexes and databases relevant to that subject area (and other information sources).

    For example, the Geography subject guide (see under 'Arts: Humanities and Social Sciences') lists some of the databases that may be useful to geographers, depending on the research focus (political, historical, economic, sociological, Canadian, etc).

    Decide on the focus of your research topic (ask yourself who would write about this topic, e.g. economists? historians?) and then consult the appropriate subject guide. You may need to look up more than one guide, for example: political science and women's studies; economics and environmental studies, etc.

    Example: you're a geography student researching women entrepreneurs in the Lower Mainland. Here are some potentially useful databases (listed alphabetically):

    ABI/Inform (business)
    Canadian Periodical Index
    Econlit (economics)
    Geobase (geography)
    PAIS (public policy)
    ProQuest Digital Dissertations FullText
    Web of Science (includes social sciences)

    And don't forget the library catalogue for books on your topic!

  • What terms do I use for subject and keyword searching?

    Start with keyword searching. Firstly, analyze your topic and make a list of all the different concepts or terms that occur to you. What's the terminology that writers in this discipline use? Write down synonyms for, and variants of, your selected terms.

    Example: you're researching women entrepreneurs in the Lower Mainland. Here's a sample concept analysis:

    CONCEPT 1

    CONCEPT 2

    CONCEPT 3

    female(s)

    entrepreneurs

    Lower Mainland

    women

    self-employed

    Vancouver

    woman

    managers

    British Columbia

    gender

    executives

    Canada

    women in business

    businesswomen

    (In addition, decide on the time period you want to cover, e.g. the last 10 years, the last 20 years? Online databases don't always go back far enough in time--you may have to use printed sources as well).

    Put your terms together in a coherent search strategy using Boolean operators, then do the search and check your results. If not satisfactory, refine and re-do the search as many times as necessary.

    Here's a sample search for books in the online library catalogue, using Keyword (USE and,or,not,"phrase"). Note the use of the truncation character ?:

    (women or female?) and (entrepreneur? or business?) and (vancouver or "british columbia" or canad?)

    To narrow down this search and retrieve fewer hits, omit (for example) or canad? from your search strategy:

    (women or female?) and (entrepreneur? or business?) and (vancouver or "british columbia")

    Don't be satisfied with your first search attempt. Look at your results, refine your search strategy, try and try again.

    Display the full records of relevant titles, and click on the RELATED ITEMS tab to find related information.

    Many article indexes and databases have a thesaurus, which is a structured subject index that lists the subject terms or descriptors used in this particular database. For example:

    The ABI/Inform database has a Topic Index.
    The PAIS database (for public policy) has a Thesaurus.

    Sample research topic: Female entrepreneurs in the Lower Mainland. Here's the sample generic keyword search strategy that we used earlier (note how truncation/wildcards differ from those used in the online catalogue, though):

    (wom?n or female*) and (entrepreneur* or business* or self?employed or executive*) and (lower mainland or vancouver or british columbia or canad*)

    Sign on to the PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) database, and you'll see that keyword searches (like the one suggested above) often retrieve 'false' hits. In PAIS it's useful to search via the thesaurus on descriptors such as:

    Women-executives-Canada
    Business-and-professional-women-Canada

    You can find the PAIS Thesaurus by clicking the 'Search Tools' tab.

  • How do database search techniques compare across databases produced by different companies?

    There's really only one way to tell: read the online help screens for each database. Most databases use the Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT, and truncation and wildcard characters.

    Here is a comparative list of proximity operators and truncation symbols used by some major database providers:

    Quick Reference Search Operator Chart
  • How do I get hold of the full text of journal articles?

    In most databases, the list of citations that you retrieve will contain links to online full text, if available. Look for the link in each of your retrieved citations. In many cases, this link will consist of the UBC eLink icon which will lead you, if available, to online full text available through the library, or to the print journal, if the library subscribes to it.

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    Making Use of Citation Indexing:

  • What is citation indexing?

    Here is a description from Eugene Garfield, developer of citation indexing:

    The concept of citation indexing is simple. Almost all the papers, notes, reviews, corrections, and correspondence published in scientific journals contain citations. These cite--generally by title, author, and where and when published--documents that support, provide precedent for, illustrate, or elaborate on what the author has to say. Citations are the formal, explicit linkage between papers that have particular points in common. A citation index is built around these linkages [italics added]. It lists publications that have been cited and identifies the sources of the citations. Anyone conducting a literature search can find from one to dozens of additional papers on a subject just by knowing one that has been cited. And every paper that is found provides a list of new citations with which to continue the search.
    Citation indexing--its theory and application in science, technology, and humanities. (book by Eugene Garfield, p.1)

  • How can I use citation indexing?

    Cited reference searches can be performed in the Web of Science database produced by ISI (Institute for Scientific Information). See the following for more information:

    Cited reference searching: an introduction.

    Here is an example. Assume you've read the following article and found it particularly useful:

    Wu, R.S.S., Lam, K.S., Mackay, D.W., Lau, T.C., & Yam, V. (1994). Impact of marine fish farming on water-quality and bottom sediment: a case-study in the subtropical environment. Marine Environmental Research, 38(2), 115-145.

    How do you find related articles? Firstly, you can look at the bibliography at the end of the above article to find the sources used by the authors in writing this article (57 in this case). You can also find out who has cited this article since its publication by doing a cited reference search in the Web of Science database.

    Sign on to Web of Science and select CITED REFERENCE SEARCH. On the next screen, fill in the cited author, cited work, and cited year exactly as required, and click on SEARCH. On the following screen, select the required reference (sometimes there will be more than one), and click on FINISH SEARCH. The 37 (at time of writing) articles that have cited the article by Wu et al since its publication in 1994 are listed.

    When you do a keyword search using the GENERAL SEARCH option, display one record on your screen and select the FIND RELATED RECORDS option. This 'displays a list of articles whose cited reference lists include at least one of the sources cited by the original (parent) article, whose title appears at the top of the page. Articles that share the largest number of sources with the original article are listed first.' (from online 'Explanation').

    Articles indexed in the Web of Science database are linked together by a 'citation web' that you can follow in order to find related articles.

    Some other databases, for example PsycINFO, include lists of cited references for individual articles.

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    Managing Your Citations and Bibliographies:

  • How do I save and manage the references I find for my lit review?

    You can save hours of tedious work on footnotes and bibliographies by using RefWorks. RefWorks is a web based citation management program available for free to UBC students, faculty, and staff, thanks to a UBC Library sponsored site licence. The program keeps track of your references automatically, and formats in-text references/footnotes and bibliographies with a few keystrokes in the citation style of your choice. See:

    RefWorks at UBC Library

  • What citation style should I use?

    Check with your supervisor. Although RefWorks formats your footnotes and bibliographies in the citation style of your choice, you need to ensure that individual references are formatted correctly. Check out some of the more commonly used

    Citation Style Guides

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    Finding out Where Journals are Indexed:

  • I want to search through all the years of a particular journal. How do I do this?

    You need to identify a database that indexes your journal title. First, there are a couple of databases you can check to find out where a particular journal title is indexed:

    Ulrich's International Periodicals Database

    Search this database by journal title for currently published journals. Select the 'Advanced' search screen, type your title in the first search box, and select TITLE(TI) from the drop-down menu. Example: Journal of Canadian Studies.

    From your results screen, follow the link to the Complete Record, and scan down the page until you see the field ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING SERVICES. Here are listed the abbreviated titles of the databases or publications that index this journal. To find the full titles, select 'Database Guide' from the bar menu at the top of the screen, and check the appropriate section, e.g. 'SSCI' is Social Science Citation Index.

    Your next step is to identify which of the databases listed are available through the UBC Library, and then to search that database. Check Indexes & Databases from the Library home page. Most databases (try their Advanced Search screen, if available) allow you to type in the journal title--sometimes called journal name or source title--as one part of your search, thus enabling you to search for articles in that particular journal only.

    Jake: a Journal Title Reference Tool

    This database is maintained by volunteers, and is currently 2 years out of date. Do your journal title search, identify which of the databases listed is available through UBC, and search that database as noted in the previous paragraph.

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    Finding Book Reviews:

  • What's the best way to find book reviews?

    The Library has numerous book review indexes, some of them available only in printed format in the Koerner Library. From the Library home page, select 'Branches' (on blue menu bar at top of screen), followed by 'Humanities and Social Sciences Division'. From the 'Quick Start Guides' drop down menu, select:

    Book, Theatre, Film Reviews

    and click on GO.

    Many discipine-based databases index book reviews as well as journal articles etc. For example, for book reviews in North American history, try America: History and Life.

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    Finding Conference Proceedings, Theses, Government Documents, Archival Material:

  • How do I find conference proceedings, theses, and working papers that are not 'published' officially?

    Many of these are indexed in the subject-based article indexes or databases. The information resources page for each database lists the 'Formats indexed' in that database (you need to page down to see this). For example:

    EconLit indexes 'journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, book reviews, conference proceedings, working papers'.

    A good place to search for dissertations in general is the ProQuest Digital Dissertations Fulltext database, previously called Dissertation Abstracts :

    ProQuest Digital Dissertations Fulltext

    The full text (in PDF format) of all dissertations added to the database as of 1997 can be downloaded free-of-charge by UBC Library cardholders. From the Library home page select 'Indexes & Databases' followed by 'ProQuest Digital Dissertations Fulltext'. Scroll down this page and read the Notes field for information about downloading.

    You can also do subject and keyword searching in the ProQuest Digital Dissertations Fulltext database. Remember, though, that Masters theses are only included selectively, and only since 1988.

    To find UBC theses (PhDs and Masters) check the Library catalogue by author and by title. The library should have copies of all UBC theses and dissertations (on microfiche). For more information on how to find theses and dissertations in the catalogue (e.g. by department), see:

    The above FAQ also contains links to other databases of theses and dissertations.

  • Are there any databases that index government documents?

    From the Library home page select 'Branches', then 'Government Publications' (listed under 'Humanities and Social Sciences Division'):

    Government Publications

    Note: The left-hand column lists guides to Canada, International Agencies, United Nations, United States, and more. Also check out Statistics Online, and the Research Guides listed in the right-hand column.

    Lexis Nexis Statistical is an important resource for locating government statistics--all U.S. government statistical publications, as well as those of international intergovernmental organizations such as the U.N. system, European Union, OECD, IMF, Asian Development Bank, etc.:

    Lexis Nexis Statistical

    Another useful source is SourceOECD, which provides online access to books, journals, statistical series and databases originating from the OECD.

    SourceOECD

    Canadian Government Publications:

    The UBC Library is a depository for Canadian government publications. For more information, browse around the Government Publications web pages noted above, including:

    Government of Canada: Sources of Information
    About Government Publications: Services and Collections

    Also check out the Canadian Research Index which indexes many Canadian government publications, and Statistics Canada materials:

    Canadian Research Index: Microlog
    Statistics Canada.
    Statistics Canada electronic publications

  • Are there any databases for manuscript/unpublished documents archives?

    From the Library home page select 'Branches' (blue menu bar at top of screen), followed by 'Rare Books & Special Collections' alternatively 'University Archives'. Browsing through these pages will give you a sense of the rich and diverse archival and special collections materials available at UBC. Your best bet is to visit Rare Books & Special Collections and the University Archives, especially if your research is on a topic related to British Columbia or Canada. You can then talk to their specialist staff and browse through their printed archival guides and inventories.

    For information on searching for archival material in Canada, with an emphasis on British Columbia, check out Archival research.

    Also check out the following:

    ArchiVIA on CD-ROM (holdings of the National Archives of Canada; available for use in Koerner Library--ask at the Reference Desk on level 2)

    Columbia University Library's guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the US and elsewhere.

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    Finding Journals:

  • What ejournals and print journals are available in the Library?

    Search for individual journal titles in the online catalogue. Type in the journal title and make sure to select the 'JOURNAL/EJournal Title' radio button before you hit GO! For example, a JOURNAL/Ejournal Title search for Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences shows that the library has this title both as an ejournal and as a print journal. Information next to the ejournal title shows source and date range(s) of the Library's ejournal subscription.

    For print journals, display the complete record for the print journal (click on the ISSN). Look for the holdings information at the end of the record to find out exactly what volumes and issues are available and in which library.

    You can also check ejournal titles by selecting 'EJOURNALS' on the Library home page (blue menu bars at the top of the screen). However, your search results will not include print journals.

    Is there an easy way to find ejournal articles?

    The Library's UBC eLink service allows you to link directly to the full text of articles from within many databases by clicking on the UBC eLink icon next to any citation. For more information see UBC eLink.

    If you have a specific citation, you can check to see whether the Library has the full text by using the UBC eLink Citation Linker.

    How do I identify important journals in my discipline?

    One way of identifying the top journals in a field is by using the Institute for Scientific Information's (ISI) Journal Citation Reports (JCR). JCR 'provides the impact factor (the relative importance of journals within a given field) and other citation data for 8,400 scholarly and technical journals worldwide.'

    When you're in the JCR database, please read the 'Information for New Users', in particular the section on 'Using the JCR Wisely' (it includes a definition of 'impact factor'). JCR ratings should not replace informed peer review.

    Example: What are the top journals in Cell Biology as identified by the JCR impact factor?

    Follow the links to the JCR database.
    Select 'View a group of journals by Subject Category'. Note that the default JCR edition is the 'JCR Science Edition'. Click on SUBMIT.
    On the next screen, select 'Cell Biology', and Sort journals by 'impact factor'. Click on SUBMIT.
    You'll see that JCR includes 155 cell biology journals (for 2004). Of these, the one with the highest impact factor is Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, followed by 'Nature Medicine' and 'Cell', etc.

    Example: What are the top journals in Anthropology as identified by the JCR impact factor?

    Follow the links to the JCR database.
    Select, first, 'JCR Social Sciences Edition' then 'View a group of journals by Subject Category'. Click on SUBMIT.
    Follow the steps as outlined in previous example.

    See also What is citation indexing?

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    Finding Newspapers and Microforms:

  • What newspapers are available in the Library?

    For an overview of newspapers and newspaper indexes available through the Library, check out:

    Newspapers and News Sources

    Search for individual newspaper titles in the online catalogue (Journal/Ejournal title search). The following list is also useful:

    Current Newspapers on Microfilm

    For more information on microfilm or microfiche, see How do I find and use microforms?

    Also check out the following pages for more information:

    Newspapers, theses, & college calendars
    Finding journals and newspapers in the Koerner Library

    The full text of selected newspapers is available in the following databases (read the information resources pages all the way down):

    Canadian Newsstand
    CBCA Complete (Canadian Business and Current Affairs)
    Lexis Nexis Academic
    ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Includes: The New York Times, 1851-2001; The Wall Street Journal, 1889-1987; The Washington Post, 1877-1988; The Christian Science Monitor, 1908-1991)
    The Times Digital Archive (1785-1985)

    For additional information on full text newspapers, as well as online and print indexes for newspapers, check out the following subject guide:

    Subject Resources for Journalism

  • How do I find and use microforms?

    When you look up a title in the online catalogue and find that it's a microform, take down the call number (which will start with AW) and ask for assistance at the Journals and Microforms Desk in Koerner Library (on level two, behind the Reference Desk). See, for example:

    Le Devoir

    The Library has many microform collections of which the individual titles are not listed in the catalogue. See the Guide to Microform Collections.

    For more information, check out the Journals and Microforms page.

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    Abbreviations:

  • How do I find journal and author abbreviations?

    For journal title abbreviations, try:

    All that JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources
    Jake - a journal title reference tool

    For scholarly authors, try:

    Community of Science, then select 'COS Expertise'. COS lists more than 480,000 scholars in the sciences, social sciences and humanities from over 1600 institutions world-wide.

    Also check out:

    Biographical Sources in the Humanities & Social Sciences

    Koerner Library has large numbers of biographical dictionaries, who's who, etc. in print. Ask at the Reference Desk on level 2, or do a Subject Heading search in the online catalogue for 'biography--dictionaries'.

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    Obtaining Material Not Available at UBC Library:

  • How do I get hold of journals that UBC does not subscribe to?

    If you're looking for articles from scientific journals, try the CISTI Interlibrary Loan Service first (a do-it-yourself online ordering service for documents in science, engineering, medicine, and some social sciences that are not in the UBC Library's collection).

    If you cannot find the material you need in the UBC Library or CISTI catalogues, you can submit an ILL (InterLibrary Loan) request online. Library staff will then locate a library which holds the requested journal title and will obtain a photocopy of the article from that library.

    To place your ILL request, go to the Library home page and select 'How To ...'. Under 'Get Library Materials From Other Libraries' select 'Request InterLibrary Loan (ILL)' and follow the online instructions. Please provide full details about the article you need: author, article title, journal title, date, volume, number, page reference and, if possible, the ISSN of the journal. For currently published journal titles, you can search for the ISSN in the database Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory.

    The CISTI and ILL services are free-of-charge to UBC students, faculty, and staff.

  • How do I get hold of theses/dissertations?

    The full text (in PDF format) of large numbers of dissertations from 1997 onwards can be downloaded free-of-charge by UBC Library cardholders from the ProQuest Digital Dissertations Fulltext database.

    To find copies at UBC, check the Library catalogue by author and by title. The library should have copies of all UBC theses and dissertations (on microfiche). Note the library location and call number.

    Check out FAQ: Dissertations & Theses for tips on searching the UBC library catalogue for dissertations presented in your department, and for answers to the question Can I borrow non-UBC theses via Interlibrary Loan or must I purchase them?

    You can place all ILL requests online. From the Library home page select 'How To ...'. Under 'Get Library Materials From Other Libraries' select 'Request InterLibrary Loan (ILL)' and follow the online instructions.

    See also How do I find conference proceedings, theses ... ?

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    Keeping Up-To-Date With Published Research:

  • How can I get the table-of-contents of new journal issues sent to my email address?

    Check the following guide for detailed information:
    Current Awareness Tools

    More Library Assistance

  • Where can I get more help with my research in the library?

    Contact your subject librarian:
    From the Library home page select 'Resources by Subject' followed by Subject Librarians.
    Ask online:
    Need help from home or office? Make use of our online chat reference service, AskAway.
    Ask at your library:
    If you're on campus, ask for assistance at the Reference Desk in your campus library.

    Also check out the Library's extensive teaching and instruction schedule. You can reach this page from the Library's home page by selecting 'Instruction' from the blue menu bar at the top of the screen.

    Please contact us--we're here to help you!

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    • Library Contact: Hilde Colenbrander Last Updated: 28-Jun-2007

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