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Researching Soures for a Literature Review

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By Lauren Dodd March 22, 2020 - 6:27am

When beginning a paper, I try to utilize as many search methods as possible in order to get an idea of what information is available on the topic that I have decided to research and write about. While a Google search doesn’t typically provide me with peer-reviewed academic articles, it can lead me towards some of those articles in an indirect way, or in the least gives me ideas of how to search when I conduct a literature search through the library. 

Library databases are an incredibly useful resource when writing any type of academic paper. The access to databases through the university libraries is vast and provides access to peer-reviewed journals and a wealth of research. I have found searching with many different keywords and word arrangements to be key in finding many different useful journals and research studies. If I only search once, I could think that there isn’t that much information available on it. However, by searching multiple times with different wording, I am able to find the sources that I need for my paper. Researching for a paper certainly takes time as finding reliable sources that assist with developing the research question is very important. Poor research on sources would put me in a difficult situation of being able to develop my literature review and using as many sources as required in the rubric. 

I think the key when researching for a literature review is taking the time required in order to do solid research and reviewing many articles before narrowing down to the ones that best develop the research question. This is what I have found to work for me!