Biology and Environmental Science: Literature study

A systematic literature search (i.e. a search for a literature study) is somewhat different from a 'regular' literature search. These are its general attributes:

Comprehensive

A systematic literature study should capture all relevant material. Ideally your search will find all relevant sources and at the same time capture as few non-relevant sources as possible. In practice, it is a tricky balance act. Start with a broad search to capture all relevant sources. Even if the search will be gradually narrowed down to be more specific it is unavoidable that some non-relevant sources will remain. These can be sorted out manually in the final stages.

Repeatable, transparent and non-partial

You need to thoroughly present how you ended up with the sources that you choose to analyze and summarize. The reader must understand exactly how you did your search and be able to repeat it. In the method section you therefore need to include:

• Search terms (keywords and how they were combined with e.g. AND/OR/NOT)
  • Here you can make use of the controlled vocabulary (sometimes called 'thesaurus') in the database of choice
  • Don't forget the possibilities of truncation (*) and phrase search (" ")
  • Also, don't forget to include synonyms, plural forms and alternative spellings with OR
  • Have a look in our search guide for tips on how to improve your search
• Which databases you did your search in and when
• Delimitation/filter (publication period, language, document type, method etc.)
• Selection criteria for the sources you choose to analyze