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Lecture Deliveredto Research Students (M. Phil) Dept of Political Science University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 December 14, 2015 By Dr. Nirmal Kumar Swain Associate ProfessorDept of Lib & Inf. ScienceMaharshi Dayanand University Rohtak 124001 (Haryana)

Ph: 01262-393017 (O) M: 9416516771 E-Mail: drnkswain@gmail.com

Literature Search

Literature Search

What is Literature What is Literature Search Why carry out Literature Search How to carry out Literature Search

what is literature search A literature search is a well thought out and organized search for all of the literature published on a desired topic. A well-structured literature search is the most effective and efficient way to locate sound evidence on the areas you are researching. Evidence may be found in books, journals, government documents , internet and other sources. 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain3

why carry out a literature search

Review existing critical opinions/theoriesIdentify current research findings on a topic if any lapse or missing areas Identify potential research methods or models you could useHaving carried out research, enabling comparison with your own research findings14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain4

how to carry out (steps of ) literature search

Background reading and preparationWorking with your title: identify search termsIdentify the resources to search Search using search techniquesCollate your results14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain5

background reading and preparation

start by doing some background reading of textbooks, subject encyclopaedias, etc., to get a grasp of the context of the topic and the terminology used in its discussion. 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain6

working with your titles: identify search terms

Theories / conceptsImportant authorsKey research reports Major genres / movementsThe simplest starting point for identifying such terms is to spend some time thinking about the wording you are considering for the draft title of your research.

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example of research title

The changing image of women voters in 20th Century India this title therefore has the following key elements:Portrayal of women voters (the particular angle of our research)India (all the states ) (our locational focus)20th Century (our time period of interest)

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alternative words alternative terms (synonyms) words used interchangeably to mean the same thing e.g. a synonym of political scientists is political guru ------------------------------------------------related terms / concepts e.g. related words such asWomanFemalesGirlsLadies

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warningRemember, no search engine, whether in a database of journals or an Internet search engine, is intuitive. They are merely computer programmes designed to match on the exact words you entre.14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain10

identify the resources to searchBASICSBooks: authored and edited Encyclopedia: General & Subject Dictionary: General & Subject Glossary : Subject dictionary 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain11

ONLINE LIBRARY Onlibrary can give you access to the holdings of both printed and online resources. This helps you as you are bonafide user of that university. Example:DELHI UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SYSTEMS (DULS). Easier to access, time saving etc.

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Different types of databasesMultidisciplinary journal databasesResources such as Academic Search Complete, Academic OneFile and JSTOR contain journal content across a large range of academic subjects

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Subject specific databases

Contain journal articles and/or other types of content relevant to a specific PsycArticlesEducation Research CompleteWestlaw International Index to Performing Arts.Political Science Complete (EBSCO) 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain14

Publishers databases

Science Direct, Sage Journals and Emerald Contain journal content published by a particular publishing company. Such resources may also have a subject focus or may be multi-disciplinary

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BLOGS Blogs are defined as personal website. Scholars maintain their blogs and updates with their latest scholarly writings. One has to identify scholars who often writes matching similar to your areas of expertise. This has become a trend , may be a fashion or bringing notice of others. 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain16

Institutional repositories Universities are coming up with institutional repositories with the help of the libraries. It is a common platform of the publications of all the faculties and students for sharing with university fraternity. Though the trend is not set in Indian context but soon it will be a trend. 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain17

search technique 1 if you are first timer or novice then begin searching with own terms known to you like child game. In course of time once can learn. This will help you how information in bulk , most often redundant are hit. 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain18

search techniques 2Often with databases of journal articles if you insert an asterisk * at the end of the stem of the word it will automatically search for all the endings for that word stem.Example: Politic* = politics, political, politically etc

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Boolean Search Linking terms togetherORANDNOT

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c)Variant spellings

Colour / color14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain21

d)Finding phrases

if your search terms are expressed as a phrase i.e. more than one word appearing immediately next to another, insert your search terms in quotation marks ....Example: bihar politics 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain22

collating your results

Analyze the material you find and group it in some order of priority. Filter out any peripheral materials and consider storing them separately from your core references.

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THANK YOU

See you sometime at some place. Bye for now 14/12/2015Nirmal Kumar Swain24