A Suggested Approach
The literature search is a very personal experience which depends on many factors including your topic, your personal style and the type of literature review you choose to do. Thus, there are a range of approaches you can undertake for your literature search. The following diagram outlines one approach for conducting a comprehensive and/or systematic literature search at the HDR level.
Plan Your Search
Just like conducting a higher degree by research (HDR) project, a comprehensive and/or systematic literature search starts with effective planning. A literature search plan can:
1.1 Formulate Your Search Query
Before searching literature in databases, you need to formulate a search query based on your research topic. A search query is the translation of your research topic into searchable keywords that can be used in databases and Google to search for published literature.
Watch this video to learn how to formulate a search query:
Learn more about planning your search
1.2 Document Your Search Plan & Process
At the beginning of this guide, we talked about the importance and benefits of planning your literature search effectively (See Plan your search).
Documentation is a crucial element of your search plan. This means:
- Recording and documenting the key steps and activities you took in your literature search process
- Documenting the results you retrieved from those searches
There are many approaches you can undertake to document your literature search plan and process, depending on your personal preferences and learning styles.
Watch this video to learn more about documenting your search:
1.3 Draw on Different Resources
Depending on your research topic, you may need to consider using a wide variety of resources beyond journal articles and books, such as government reports/government statistics, news articles, and videos.
Find key discipline-specific resources for your research (such as key databases, journals, books etc., curated by your Scholarly Services Librarians):
Watch this video to learn more about using different types of resources for your thesis:
1.4 Search For Research Methods
There are many factors you need to take into account and evaluate when selecting appropriate research method(s) for your thesis.
A well developed literature review can:
- help you gain a deep understanding of different research paradigms and associated methods in your disciplines
- support you to make an informed decision on which research method(s) are most appropriate for your research
There are two types of literature that can help you learn about research methods: 
Watch this video to learn more about searching for research methods: