Literature search

Germane, good literature is essential for successfully writing a scientific paper. Such papers must rely on research already performed since it makes no sense to reinvent the wheel over and over again. We therefore recommend searching for literature in a systematically planned way. On the one hand, one limits the risk of only finding literature that is partial and hardly suitable; on the other hand, the expenditure of time is reduced or can at least be better estimated.

Especially when writing a bachelor's or master's thesis, it is worthwhile to first think about what exactly is searched for and how such a search can be structured. Searching in an uncoordinated, unfocused way only results in a loss of time and makes it difficult to get an overview of a new topic. Thanks to electronic journals and databases the days when one could say: «There is no literature available for my topic», are long gone.

How to search for literature

Defining a topic

Before really searching for literature (cf. Hart 2001: 23) you should determine the main range of topics although it won't be possible at this stage to estimate the literature's amount or quality. It is necessary to consider which disciplines are involved, which access is available, and which kind of specific literature should be used.

Considering a topic's limits

It is advisable to already take a topic's limits into consideration when searching for literature. Otherwise, you are confronted with a lot of unfocused, widespread material whose review will take too much time.

Identifying the most important references

Abstracts, bibliographies, and other sources are of avail (dictionaries, almanacs, catalogs, etc.). Libraries grant access to bibliographies and databases relating to a lot of topics (e.g. specific bibliographies). One should aim for being always up-to-date.

Managing literature

Before reviewing literature or references, you should consider how to archive such material. Especially when writing a longer paper, we recommend using your own management system. From the very beginning it is important to pay attention to the references' completeness, even if the sources' quality or importance cannot be evaluated at first. It is cumbersome to go and look again for complete specifications and should therefore be avoided.

Your management system for literature does not have to be based on electronic devices; it is also possible to use file cards, especially when writing a paper of just a few pages (cf. fig. 7). There are various electronic management applications available (commercial ones and open-source applications), such as Mendeley, Zotero, EndNote, Citavi, or BibTex.

Fig. 7: Example of a file card. Source: diagram by author. Draft: Helmut Flitter.

«Zotero» (‹https://www.zotero.org/›), for example, is a free add-on of the Firefox browser and can be used for managing bibliographic resources. Zotero is user-friendly and helps to collect, organize, and cite bibliographic sources while being integrated in a web browser. This application automatically finds bibliographical references on a lot of websites before transferring them to one's own literature collection by means of just one mouse click. If Zotero cannot find these references automatically, it is also possible to enter them manually («Mendeley», ‹https://www.mendeley.com›, works in a similar way).

Listing sources to be searched for

It is best to list sources to be searched for in full detail and according to their relevance. We recommend starting with searching in e.g. encyclopedias, library catalogs, and general databases before looking for specific literature.

Archiving search results

It is advisable to thoroughly keep an account of your review results, even if there are sources that seem to be less relevant at first. You can save time when making notes on related topics, theories, and important terms. In case these sources will be needed later on, all relevant details are already worked out.

Sources

There are a number of possibilities to get scientific literature. In the age of global information exchange the internet has gained in importance; internet search engines are getting more and more relevant. However, you start usually by going into a library.

Libraries

Almost all libraries are public domains without any costs involved. In order to get access to the libraries of IDS (Swiss-German information network) and NEBIS (Swiss library and information network), you either need an IDS or NEBIS library card, or a student ID, either issued by the Zurich University or the ETH Zurich.

In addition to books that can be borrowed, there are a lot of libraries that manage a reference collection for non-circulating items.

Many times libraries lack space; therefore, they can grant access to only a small part of their inventory (open stacks). The main part of their inventory will be stored in depots from which you can then order the media required (Baade et al. 2005: 66).

Works of reference

Reference works, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. refer to certain keywords and often cite «classics» dealing with specific topics. They are therefore good sources for introducing a new subject. As a start, internet dictionaries such as Wikipedia are also an option, although their content is neither reviewed nor validated. Many institutions don't accept Wikipedia as an adequate source for academic papers. A list of online dictionaries and reference works can be found here: ‹https://www.hbz.uzh.ch/de/literatur-finden-nutzen/e-medien-wichtigste-titel.html?Geographie&Studierende&Nachschlagewerk›.

Scientific journals

cientific journals often provide recent approaches and the latest results in a specific field of research. They document the current state of research while offering a forum for discussion. It is also possible to publish research results at an early stage of assessment. A lot of journals provide annual catalogs ordered by subject areas or keywords. You can either have a look at such journals in situ or via bibliographies and databases (Baade et al. 2005: 71).

Bibliographies

Bibliographies are «books about books». Their organization is similar to library catalogs; nowadays, they are generally databases to be found via publications (Baade et al. 2005: 69). Bibliographies contain information on certain subject areas, providing a quick overview of the literature already available.

Library catalogs

A catalog is indexed alphabetically or thematically and refers to a library's media inventory. Library catalogs can be files, microfilms, or DP datasets. Alphabetical catalogs (or nominal, formal, author catalogs) index their inventory alphabetically as regards its authors. Subject catalogs can either be ordered by keywords or subject matter (system catalog). Due to data processing, there are more and more catalogs combining author names, keyword (generic term, not necessarily part of a title), and catchword (main term, part of a title). These new database structures make a differentiation between author catalogs and subject catalogs more and more redundant (cf. «Searching in library catalogs»).

«Pyramid scheme»

When using this scheme in literature lists, you search the latest comprehensive publications for authors, books, journals, etc. regarding a certain topic. Those mentioned more often are likely to contain trend-setting ideas. However, when using the pyramid scheme, you run the risk of getting into a «citation circle»: authors keep on citing each other while others are being ignored because of their controversial or perhaps even better ideas.

Publication lists

Universities as well as archives and libraries regularly publish lists of their new acquisitions (recently published or not). They can also be available online.

Newspaper archives

Newspaper archives (e.g. the NZZ archive) can often provide recent articles as regards a certain topic—but not always based on facts. Using such archives most of the time costs time and money. However, online databases become more important since a lot of daily and weekly newspapers tend to offer their archives online as well. This makes it easier to search for articles regarding a certain keyword (cf. «Search options in libraries and databases»).

Experts

Experts can often give information on main works, special literature, or new publications as regards certain disciplines, provided that they want to and have enough time. However, such meetings with experts only make sense if you have already red about a subject in more detail and knows what to ask for.

Interest groups

There are a lot of interest groups as regards certain subject areas providing literature lists for free as part of their public relations work. Most of the time, they additionally own a specialist library open to the public (perhaps on appointment) or they have their own website.

Bookstores

We recommend buying books only if you plan to use these heavily (e.g. textbooks, reference books); it all depends on your budget and available space.