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Engineering: The Literature Review Process

How to do a thorough literature review for a dissertation, thesis, applied project or grant application.

Have you completed each step in the process?

___ 1.  Equipped my "tool box" with the following:  (Chapter 3)

___ a. My library account is active and clear of fines/fees

___ b. I have registered for an ILLiad account so I can obtain materials not owned by the ASU Library

___ c. I am using a software package to manage my citations

___ d. I have devised a way to keep a record of what databases I've searched and how I've searched them.

 

___ 2. Composed a simple sentence or a PICO statement/question that describes my information need. (Chapter 4)

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___ 3. Determined which publications types will contain the information I need: (Chapter 5)

___ a. Background Information

___ b. Articles

___ c. Books

___ d. Conference Proceedings

___ e. Dissertations/Theses

___ f.  Patents

___ g. Standards

___ h. Technical Reports

___ i. U.S. or International Government/Agency Documents
 

____ 4. Determined which resources/databases to use to find those publication types: (Chapter 5)

___ a.  ABI/Inform

___ b. ACM Digital Library/Guide to Computing Literature

___ c. Compendex 

___ d. Dissertations & Theses

​___ e. Google Scholar

___ f. Inspec

___ g. Knovel

___ h. Library One Search

___ i. Patent databases 

___ j. Science.gov

___ k. SciFinder

___ l. Sci-Tech Connect

___ m. Scopus

___ n. Synthesis

___ o. USA.gov

___ p. Worldcat

___ q. WorldwideScience.org

___ r. Other: 

 

___ 5. Used different search strategies to retrieve information from the above resources/databases:  (Chapter 6 )

___ a. Searched keywords using:  

___ i. How I describe the concept(s)

___ ii. How authors in the field describe the concept(s)

___ iii. How the database describes the concept(s)

___ b.  Re-searched resources/databases whenever new words/terminology were found

___ c. Searched for articles written by prominent authors in the field

___ d. Searched the citations, backwards and forwards, for the major articles in the field

___ e. Kept a record of what search strategies/words were used in each database and when

 

___ 6. Set up current alerting services for the major resources, databases, and journals in the field. (Chapter 7)

List which resources and what type of alert: 

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___ 7. Created a matrix for the important points mentioned in your readings.  (Chapter 8)

___ a.  Sorted matrix by each column to find patterns and commonalities 

___ b. Decided on the groupings to use in the review

 

___ 8. Created an outline for the review containing:  (Chapter 9)

___ a. Introduction 

___ b. Groupings

___ c. Conclusion 

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.