Responsible Literature Searches
Locate primary literature from peer-reviewed journals and critically evaluate the information to answer your research or clinical question. Performing a comprehensive, systematic literature search as well as proper documentation is essential.
Checklist for responsible literature searching:
A quality literature search requires a systematic and comprehensive search of the literature.
- Identify key concepts for your search.
- Choose databases to search and familiarize yourself with structure, function, and limitations of each.
- Choose controlled vocabulary, if available, as well as key words.
Guidelines for Searching
- Search appropriate databases. It may be necessary to search several major databases to complete a responsible search.
- Search each subject term individually, then combine with Boolean operators. (AND, OR, NOT)
- Create search queries using relevant vocabulary
- Use appropriate search limits or filters
- Use primary sources, especially peer-reviewed materials
- Use secondary sources, including unpublished materials
Appraisal and Documentation
- Review results, appraise for quality and relevance. Eliminate those that do not meet your criteria.
- Check for errata or retraction of publication
- Document the resources consulted, search strategies and search questions
- Document findings, important for proper attribution.
Type of Source Material
|Original source material, not previously published.||
Materials that evaluate primary sources
|Sources that review secondary sources, may overlap with Secondary||Published outside of usual publication routes|
|Journals, primarily peer-reviewed||Books||Almanacs||Bulletins|
|Meeting Abstracts||Encyclopedias||Directories||Government Documents|
|Patents||Journals, especially review articles||Encyclopedias||Conference Abstracts|
- Last Updated: Aug 27, 2018 4:21 PM
- URL: https://libguides.siumed.edu/responsiblesearch
- Print Page