Literature Review - 6 Steps to Find Quality Resources

A Google search can be a great source of information, but if you're looking specifically for academic resources, such as scholarly articles and books, you will also want to try library resources such as article databases. You can find selected library databases by subject listed on the OPWL research guide:

Revisit Videos to Help You Get Started under Using this Guide if you need help searching the library databases.

Depending on your topic, books will likely make up the smallest portion of your literature review, however they can be a good place to start as they may direct to you to other resources cited in their bibliographies.

To search for books, follow these steps:

1. Start at the Albertsons Library's website
2. Select the "Books, Videos, and More..." box.
3. Type your search in the search box and select the "Books" tab. This conducts a basic keyword search.
4. If the book is a print book, and you do not live in the Boise area but you live in the continental U.S., you can do an Interlibrary Loan request for it and have it mailed to you.
5. If the book is an ebook that says it is owned by "Boise State University Albertsons Library," you should be able to view the book online.

Since OPWL is a multi-disciplinary field, you will likely need to search several databases to complete a literature review.

For suggestions on databases revisit the OPWL subject guide linked at the top of the page.

When searching an article database, keep in mind: 

• Use two or three of the keywords you brainstormed to start
• Combine keywords using the operators you learned in Step 2
• Stay flexible!  You may need to try several keyword combinations before finding relevant results

If you don't see a link to the full text article, look for the blue "Find It" button.  The Find It button searches across databases to help save you time. The Find It button looks like this: 

It is expected you will use peer reviewed or refereed articles as much as possible.  See the Hint! on Peer-Reviewed articles for help.

Setting Your Library Links in Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a great resource for finding scholarly information, but it is a search engine, not a research database, which means you may not always be able to access the articles it finds.  If you have a current Boise State login and password, you can link to full text articles in the Library's databases and to books in WorldCat by setting your Library Links in Google Scholar. 

Visit this page to learn more:

Practice finding an article on a research topic. If you would like, you can use the keywords brainstormed in Step 2. Find at least one relevant article, and track down the complete article (not just the abstract) before moving on to Step 4.