This guide has 11 sections to get you started with your library research for your Literature Review assessment.
Before you start, it is strongly recommended that you:
Helpful Libguide resources for this assessment include:
A literature review is a critical and in depth evaluation of previous research on a topic. Through your literature review, you can find what research, knowledge and practice have been developed in the area; the strength, weakness, trends or gaps of the research; and how the research is closely related to your project.
Watch the video by Krueger Library WSU below on what is a literature review.
The Library Literature Review Guide is an introduction to the Literature Review process. It covers:
Click the following image to visit the Literature Review Guide.
Before you start looking for information for your systematic review, it is important to analyse your topic and plan for your research. Think about:
Identifying key concepts and keywords in your topic will help you to locate relevant information more effectively. Also think about similar concepts and alternative terms e.g. sport OR exercise, aboriginal OR indigenous.
These key concepts and keywords will form the basis of your initial search strategy.
Watch the videos below on topic analysis. What are your key concepts and keywords?
Once you have identified the keywords included in your assignment question, you can think about how to use these keywords to conduct your search.
Using appropriate search techniques such as Boolean Operators, phrase search, and truncation can make your search more effective.
Watch the videos below and try the Library Search to find books and articles
Using Library Search to find books and articles
Information or literature can be found in a variety of sources such as Library Search, Databases, and on the Internet.
Library journal databases are collections of journal articles. You can find the best databases for your topic on the Subject Resource Guides to
Not sure how to use them? Watch the following videos for using the following databases
EBSCO Megafile Ultimate covering SPORTDiscus and CINAHL
Medline 1946- (OVID) and Embase (OVID) and PsycINFO (OVID)
Snowball search is a search method that uses a key document on your topic as a starting point to find more other relevant publications by tracking down the citations.
Watch the video below and try a snowball search in Google Scholar on your key article. You can find your key article in Google Scholar quickly by author, title or DOI. See the following for examples.
Watch the following video on evaluating your sources with the TRAAP method.
A systematic review requires searching multiple resources on your topic. A good way to manage all your search results is to use a Citation Management Tool.
The library supports the use of EndNote for you to save, manage, and review the literature you have found for your literature review. EndNote can also create in-text citations and bibliography in Word automatically for you.
From the library EndNote Guide, you can:
For a quick overview, watch the following video on how to use EndNote.
For Windows Users
For Mac Users
The Library has created style guides for most referencing styles used at UON such as APA 7th, Vancouver Style and other styles.
APA Style
Vancouver Style
You won’t be able to read everything on your topic and you don’t need to read a source from cover to cover, you need to read effectively.
Watch the video below on reading and note making for your research
Writing your report is an ongoing process of writing and re-writing. See the UON Academic Support Team’s Guide to Report Writing for detailed instructions on report writing, and always follow your lecturer’s instructions for what elements you are required to include.
Watch the video below on Report Writing. Contact academic support for more help.