How to get started with systematic literature searching

A comprehensive and systematic literature search will underpin your literature review and, by extension, your entire dissertation project. So, it’s important to construct one which appropriately reflects your topic. Developments in technology have improved accessibility of research, but you still must apply a rigorous, structured, effective, repeatable, and achievable methodology.

Whether you are an experienced research or completely new to the systematic search process, this guide will be an invaluable introduction to the process.

This guide will take a deep dive into the process of constructing a comprehensive search strategy to support your literature review. It will explore developing a search strategy, identifying suitable keywords and indexing headings, resources to search, running your searches, and successfully managing your results, including information on:

• Approach a UWS librarian who will help you identify evidence for your work.
• Develop a search strategy for your research question and select the appropriate terms based on your chosen topic.
• Select appropriate resources (books, bibliographic databases and indexes, supplementary resources).

Cooper, C., Booth, A., Varley-Campbell, J., Britten, N. and Garside, R. (2018) 'Defining the process to literature searching in systematic reviews: a literature review of guidance and supporting studies', BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), pp. 85. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0545-3 (Accessed: 23 January 2024).

Contact a trained Librarian/Information Specialist to assist you. Involving a specialist early can significantly enhance the quality of your search strategy. Book an appointment with one of the Academic Librarian team to help you get started!

Conduct some scoping/ reconnaissance searches to help establish your question within a research context and whether or not it’s worth pursuing this line of enquiry. Scoping searches are crucial for defining the scope of your research. It's a good practice to evaluate the feasibility and relevance of your research question. Start your scoping searches in One Search and click on Advanced Search.

Create and maintain a log document (Word, .txt, notebook) throughout the project. Keeping a log is essential for documenting your search process, troubleshooting, and ensuring transparency in your methods. This will be invaluable during your final write-up and an iterative record of your progress.

Choose an appropriate database to start constructing your initial draft/protocol search and which additional databases to include in your search methods. Selecting the right databases is a key decision. This is where you will begin to construct and test your search strategy before you use it in additional databases. Be sure to consider the databases that are most relevant to your research topic.

Collect potential search terms and test run your draft; do you need to revise your search? Troubleshooting/ debugging. Testing your draft search is crucial to identifying and resolving issues. Regularly revising and improving your search strategy and keeping a log document of your searches is a good practice. 

'Translate' your protocol strategy for use in other databases (double-check the logic of each search) and run your searches. You will need to search multiple sources for your literature search. Adapting your search strategy for different databases is a valuable step to broaden your coverage. Double-checking the logic an ensuring all the lines add up (and that there are no lines missing from your final tally) is important to ensure consistency.

Downloading results files for storage, processing (deduplication and screening), and recording your results. Proper data management is vital. Storing, deduplicating, and recording results in a structured manner will make screening your results much easier. Use a bibliographic reference management tool such as Endnote and attend one of our  Library Skills Online sessions on how to use it.

Evaluate the success of your search. Evaluating your search is necessary to determine its effectiveness. This step helps you refine your strategy for future searches. Refer back to your log document to review your work and progress. Consider having your search peer reviewed by an expert to add an extra level of quality assurance to your work. Remember, search is an iterative process and can be complex. This is why it's important to get help when you need it.

Sharing your Search Strategy for Reuse: Include your finalised search strategy as an appendix in your completed review or published as a separate document. This enables other researchers to build upon and learn from your work, fostering transparency and efficiency in evidence synthesis.

Searching as an iterative process

A well-constructed search should strike an appropriate balance between sensitivity and specificity when searching for literature and often involves iterative refinement and testing. Taking the time to do this at the beginning of your work will pay dividends later on.

Your search strategy is subject to frequent modifications during the searching process. Searching typically follows a non-linear path, characterised by a continuous cycle of refinement and enhancement until the desired results are achieved. For instance, as you engage in your search, you may:

• Discover fresh keywords, synonyms, or substitutes.

• Encounter situations where your results are excessively abundant or insufficient, prompting adjustments to your search strategy or the choice of search sources.

• Realise that your obtained results lack the desired relevance, necessitating the fine-tuning of your search criteria.

• Need to tailor your search approach to accommodate the unique characteristics and constraints of different databases or search engines.

What's the difference between Search Methods and a Search Strategy

In the context of research, 'search methods' and 'search strategy' are contiguous, but have slightly different meanings.

Your Search Methods are where you look (databases you choose to search) and how you plan to do it. 'Search Methods' refer to the overall approach or techniques used to conduct a search for useful information. It encompasses the broader process of information gather reconnaissance searches and citation searching, which may involve various sources, databases, search engines, and techniques. It also includes:

• Scope and objectives of the search,
• Selecting appropriate databases or resources,
• Formulating an answerable research question,
• Any limits that will be applied,
• retrieving and evaluating search results,
• How the results will be managed.

Search strategy is a more specific term which focuses on the detailed and logical sequence of steps you will follow to execute a search. It involves the specific techniques employed to retrieve relevant information from databases or other sources (lines of keyword terms and indexing headings you use for the resources you’ve elected to search).

A search strategy typically includes a combination of indexing headings, keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), truncation, proximity operators, and other search techniques used to build effective search queries. It also involves decisions about the inclusion and exclusion criteria, search filters, date limits, and other parameters applied to refine the search results which you will have already dealt with in your Search Methods.

'How to get started with literature searching' delivered by Joshua Cheyne, the Academic Librarian of the School of Business and Creative Industries at UWS on the 3rd of May 2023.