Overview
This tutorial explains how to conduct a literature search and write three article summaries for a research assignment, focusing on finding and summarizing relevant peer-reviewed journal articles.
Purpose of a Literature Search
- A literature search helps you understand what has already been studied about your research topic.
- It prevents repeating research or proposing disproven hypotheses.
- Multiple studies on the same topic are valuable for establishing scientific consensus and exploring nuances.
Finding Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Use academic journals, not sources like Wikipedia, blogs, or news articles.
- Recommended tools include university library databases and Google Scholar.
- Google Scholar allows keyword searches to locate relevant academic articles.
Search Strategies and Tips
- Start with broad keywords and refine with more specific terms as needed.
- Use different related terms (e.g., "exercise," "fitness," "well-being," "mental health") to find varied studies.
- Review articles summarize findings from many studies and can provide useful overviews.
- Prefer more recent articles (published within the last 10–20 years) for up-to-date findings.
Selecting and Summarizing Articles
- Choose three of the most relevant articles to your topic.
- For each article, provide the title, link, authors, and journal name (do your best to identify these).
- Write a 5-sentence summary in your own words, covering the topic, methods, participants, findings, and any limitations.
- Summaries should capture differences between studies, not just similarities.
Writing Your Summaries
- Include how the research relates to your question, even if findings contradict each other.
- Summaries will become part of your research paper introduction.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Literature Search — Process of finding existing research on a specific topic.
- Peer-Reviewed Article — Scholarly article evaluated by experts before publication.
- Google Scholar — A specialized search engine for academic publications.
- Review Article — An article summarizing results from multiple studies.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Search for three relevant peer-reviewed articles on your research topic.
- Summarize each article in five sentences following the outlined criteria.
- Prepare to use these summaries in your upcoming research paper introduction.