Before the search
A literature review is an important step in the process of writing a term paper, thesis or dissertation. Your instructor, advisor or committee will be your primary resource for guidance and direction. This guide will help with a basic understanding of the process and suggest possible answers to some common questions.
A literature review is done by searching for and selecting works published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Depending on the topic, primary resources may also be important. The UW Madison Libraries provide many tools to help locate and obtain relevant resources.
The review process continues by reading the selected works. They are then described, analysed and synthesized to convey what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, what needs further study, and how new or proposed research fits.
Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation
Tips on " crafting, implementing and defending a thesis or dissertation" from a Michigan State faculty member.
What you're looking for
- seminal papers and key journals and resources such as annual reviews and handbooks
- prominent researchers/authorities in the area
- state of current research in related areas
- methodology being used - for example study design, selection of subjects, methods
- relevant theoretical framework that relates to the problem
- historical perspective - how does your research question fit in?
- associated primary resources
Where to look
- Journal and information databases
in the E-Resource Gateway can be searched to find
- research articles
- dissertations
- conference proceedings
- government documents
- reports and regional publications
- book chapters
- book reviews
- references that cite key articles and books (use Web of Knowledge) and more...
- Library catalogs
(MadCat, UW-System, WorldCat) can be searched to find
- books
- dissertations and theses
- handbooks
- annual reviews
- conference proceedings and more...
- Key literature
can be browsed to find
- references cited in key articles and books
- contents of key journals
- handbooks, annual reviews relevant to the discipline and more..
- Archival materials
- University Archives - MadCat, Resources and Collections
- Wisconsin State Historical Society - ArCat , Archival Finding Aids
- UW Digital Collections
Sample books on literature reviews and thesis writing at UW Madison.
Search MadCat for other titles.
- Theses and dissertations : a guide to writing in the social
and physical sciences / Isadore Newman ... [et al.].
Publisher: Lanham, Md. : University Press of America, c1997.
CIMC Professional Stacks : LB2369 T44 1997
Memorial Library Reference Stacks Room 262 (non-circulating): LB2369 T44 1997 - Cone, John D. Dissertations and theses from start to finish : psychology
and related fields / John D. Cone and Sharon L. Foster. Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, c1993.
Business Library : BF76.5 C645 1993
Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving : BF76.5 C645 1993 - Hart, Chris. Doing a literature review : releasing the social science
research imagination / Chris Hart.
Publisher: London : Sage Publications, 1998.
Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving : H62 H2566 1998 - Madsen, David. Successful dissertations and theses : a guide to graduate
student research from proposal to completion / David
Madsen.
San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, 1992.
Memorial Library Reference Stacks Room 262 (non-circulating) : LB2369 M32 1992
Memorial Library Stacks Regular Size Shelving : LB2369 M32 1992 - Slade, Carole. Form and style : research papers, reports, theses / Carole
Slade.
Edition: 11th ed.
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., c2000
College Library Main Collection, 3rd Floor, Room 3191: LB2369 C3 2000 - Teitelbaum, Harry. How to write a thesis : a guide to the research paper /
Harry Teitelbaum.
Edition: 3rd ed.
New York : Macmillan, c1994.
Memorial Library Reference Stacks Room 262 (non-circulating) : LB2369 T36 1994