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BHS 520: Research Theory, Methods, and Practice (Wade): Literature Review Searching

Literature Review Searching

We are striving to locate different types of articles: qualitative, quantitative, review, and classic article/study.

Guides that include search tips for the databases of Web of Science, PubMed, and the EbscoHost databases.

  • Web of Science Guide - science, social sciences, and arts and humanities citation indexes.
  • PubMed Guide - from the National Library of Medicine, a large health, nursing and medicine article database
  • EbscoHost Databases -  tutorials and instructions on how to search across all of the 75+ EbscoHost databases as the same time.

Impact Factors:

  • Impact Factors Guide - from the UW Libraries. Includes info about the journal impact factor, author impact factor, article impact, documenting your research impact, and a glossary. 7 Reasons of why impact factors are controversial are listed on the Intro page.
  • From the guide: " An Impact Factor is a quantitative measure of the relative importance of a journal, individual article or scientist to science and social science literature and research. Each index or database used to create an impact factor uses a different methodology and produces slightly different results.  This is why it is important to use several sources to gauge the true impact of a journal's or scientist’s work."  Included on this page is information on Journal Impact Factor, Author Impact Factor, and Article Impact.

Search Tips

  • To conduct a comprehensive search:
    • Use a variety of search words to retrieve different results in the databases. To accomplish this: brainstorm synonyms before you search, use subject headings, scan for words in your search results to either add to or replace your search words. Use different combinations of search words to retrieve different results.
    • If you find articles you like, make sure to take advantage of the reference lists in them. These can refer you to other articles, authors, journals, reports, web sites, etc. We call this "Reference List Mining."
    • Search in both Academic Search Complete and PubMed/MedLine. You can also search in other databases, depending on your topic: Education Source & ERIC for education, PsycINFO for psychology, Business Source Complete for leadership/management, etc. (Directions online - Select Databases Feature - EbscoHost).
    • Take advantage of the citation tracking feature in databases. These tools allow you to see what articles have cited the one you are viewing. These database features are titled in PubMed "Cited By;" Web of Science "Citations" or "Citation Network;" Academic Search Complete "Related items," and Google Scholar "Cited By." 
    • Keep a list of words and subject headings you used in your searches. Title the list with the name of the database used (such as Academic Search Complete or PubMed), and the date. If you keep track of what you have already searched for, you don't have to repeat searches, unless you want to. This is called a "Research Journal." You can also include favorite searches with the number of results, citations, permalinks, etc. 
      • You can create a Research Journal Google Doc to revisit throughout your MS program, and share with others, if needed.
    • You can also take a screen shot and/or copy and paste your search history to these lists to keep track of what you have already searched for, and how many results you received. Academic Search Complete has a "Recent Activity" link on the left, in PubMed click on the Advanced link below the search box to view or download the “History and Search Details” table, and in Web of Science click on "View your search history" clock image on the left side of the search results page.
    • After you have searched and read some articles, if you continue to search with new search words you have discovered you are likely to start recognizing articles, authors, and journal titles. We call this "reaching saturation," where you are starting to see repeats of what you have already found. This is a good sign that you have done a comprehensive search.
  • Go broad with your topic if you are not finding enough articles
  • Be a detective and hunt for parts of articles that you may find helpful
  • Use and (either lower case or all caps) to connect search words
  • Use the Help features in the databases
  • International research is respected by the faculty in this program

Contacting Julie for assistance:

  • For help from on this assignment email Alyssa at berg31@uw.edu, or call Alyssa (425) 352-5346, with your topic, where you have already searched, and what you typed in when searching.
  • Julie is available for individual or small group appointments. Email Alyssa at berg31@uw.edu to set-up dates and times. These can be face-to-face, virtual, or by phone. Zoom appointments are available on weekdays.