Content last reviewed:
How to write and conduct a literature review
SAGE Research Methods ( supports beginning and advanced researchers throughout a research project, from writing a research question, choosing a method, gathering and analyzing data, to writing up and publishing the findings)
- Conducting a Literature Review
- How to write a literature review (Concordia University Libraries)
- The literature review: a few tips on conducting it (U. of Toronto)
- Literature reviews (University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill)
- How to research
- Writing literature reviews : a guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences
Finding Literature reviews on your topic
Many dissertations and theses require a literature review. Most of these appear near the very beginning of the dissertation so that the writer can position their work relative to other relevant work in the field.
- CURVE - Carleton's institutional repository. Theses and Dissertations created by Carleton University students.
- Dissertations and Theses Global
- Other Dissertations/Theses databases
- Search OMNI or subject specific DATABASES and add the term "literature review" to your search terms.
Pick a research-tracking method
- Keep track of what you learn from the sources that you use for your writing assignments.
- The low-tech way to keep track of your research sources is to use 3x5 or 4x6 index cards. Use one card per source consulted.
- Note the source's bibliographic information on the top of the card so you'll have the information ready when you need to cite the source in your bibliography. Make your notes on the remaining space on the card.
An electronic form is another good way of keeping track provided by the following universities:
- Research Strategy Worksheet (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Scholarly Research Log (Capella University)
- Keeping Track of the Search (UCLA)
Research help
- Student guide to research in the digital age : how to locate and evaluate information sources ZA3075 .S74 2006
- Your research project: how to manage it
- The craft of research
- The essential guide : research writing across the disciplines LB2369.L399 2005
- Information skills : finding and using the right resources ZA3075.G75 2010
- Research and writing in international relations JZ1234 .S77 2012
- InterViews : learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing
- Research methods in critical security studies : an introduction JZ1251 .R48 2013
Suggested keywords
chatbots (or “bots”), phishing, malware, Spam email, computer virus, password protection, dual-factor authentication, password manager, ransomware, decryption tool, ReCAPTCHA, algorithm, unsupervised learning, cluster, hackers, scam, antivirus software, anti-malware software, artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, computer networks, cyberspace, cyber crime, cloud computing, anonymization, tokenization, encryption , cyber threat, cyber threat intelligence, cyber fusion, blockchain, cryptocurrency, bitcoin
Develop a search statement to search databases (including news databases), the catalogue, and other academic sources
A search statement includes a list of keywords, combined using Boolean Operators (AND; OR; NOT)
- AND - this will combine concepts, all of which must be found in your list of results
- Cloud computing AND cybersecurity
- OR - either this concept or that concept (or both). This is helpful for generating a list of synonyms. Use synonyms to anticipate the different ways different authors may refer to the same idea. A thesaurus can be helpful for this
- internet OR web OR online
- NOT - do not include this concept
- Mexico NOT city
- Quote marks - find a specific phrase
- "Anti-malware software" or "Cyber Threat Intelligence"
- Truncation - any other combination of letters to follow
- Canad* - will find Canada, Canadian, Canadian's, etc.
- cyber* - will find cybersecurity, cyberspace, cybercrime etc.
- Combine one or more of these operators
- Put a list of synonyms in brackets
For example:
(national security OR homeland security) AND (cyber safety OR cyber-safety )
TIP: To look for information a government department regulating an industry. Google the Industry + country + regulator
What is cited reference searching?
A simple and useful way of finding additional resources on your topic is to track citations backwards and forwards.
- Find a useful paper, check the reference list (these papers will have been published BEFORE your paper), AND
- Find the paper in one of the databases below, and check who has cited it (these papers will have been published AFTER your paper.
Cited reference searching, or citation analysis, also called citation tracking, is a way of measuring the relative importance or impact or an author, article, or publication, by counting the number of times that author, article, or publication has been cited by other works.
There are a number of tools available; however, no single database covers all works that cite other works. Searching across several databases is necessary to ensure complete coverage.
Why is this important?
- keeping track of how many times and where a publication is begin cited can help you gage the impact that article has in your discipline
- if the article has been cited, the database will provide a link to the citing article/author
- to locate current research based on earlier research
- to find out how a particular research topic is being used to support other research
- to track the history of a research idea
- to track the research history of a researcher
OMNI
Use our main search tool, OMNI to do cited reference searching. Click on these icons 
to either "find sources cited in this" OR "find sources citing this".
Use our Cited Reference Searching page to find out which of the big databases allow you to do this and how to do this.
Consult the News Guide for details of news sources.
Tips for searching newspaper databases.
Check publications by:
- IMF eLibrary
- World Bank -Open Knowledge Repository
- Unatied Nations e-library
- OECD iLibrary
- Country Reports on Terrorism
- Canadian Global Affairs Institute
- Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS)
- Homeland Security Digital Library
- NATO Multimedia Library
- The CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC)
- The FBI resources
- RAND: Terrorism Threat Assessment (RAND research and analysis has provided policymakers with objective guidance and recommendations to improve preparedness, international collaboration, response, and recovery to this global threat)
- National Research Council Canada
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
- National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
- Public Safety Canada
- National Cyber Security Centre (UK)
- Defense One
- Breaking Defense magazine
Policy Reports and Working Papers
- Policy Commons
- Conference Board of Canada e-Library Covers areas of Economic Trends, Organizational Performance, and Public Policy.
- NBER (National Bureau of Economics Research) Working Papers
- Canadian Public Documents Collection
- Policy File Index Indexes research on U.S. public policy with content from public policy think tanks, university research programs, research organizations, etc.
- Find policy
- Think tanks
- Harvard Library focused on think tanks
- Google's Custom Search engine
- Google custom searches for climate, economy, development, foreign policy, public policy, geographic pages and more.
- Alternative words to use instead of "policy": guideline, initiative, strategy, framework
- For the fullest information on government policy, it is often necessary to search across the full range of government publications.
- The Debates cover arguments for and against policies
- Statutes codify policies
- The Budget sets out fiscal policy
- The Public Accounts track the money spent to realize the policies
- Annual reports (of departments, of programs, on acts) track implementation of policies
- Statistics measure the impact of policies
- Audit reports evaluate policy effectiveness
- News releases announce new directions in policy
- Check the division of powers and responsibilities for different levels of government
Country Information
- Business Source Complete – look for a PESTLE report.
Select Country Reports from the menu on the right hand margin
Key in a country name to the search box
Look for a Country Profile or Country Review and open the most recent year - EIU.com - provides tables and charting of economic indicators, including disposal income, for all countries.
- globalEdge - user friendly site from Michigan State University providing statistical data and information on 202 countries worldwide
Search engine OMNI located on the library home page, allows you to search across many of the library's collections simultaneously. Including books, ebooks, journal titles, games, music, videos, government information, maps, and more.
Define and get an overview of your topic or find definitions of key terms and concepts:
- The Insider Threat: Assessment and Mitigation of Risks
- Trusted Cloud Computing
- Understanding Cybersecurity Management in FinTech: Challenges, Strategies, and Trends
- The Evolution of Cyber War International Norms for Emerging-Technology Weapons
- Cyber-Development, Cyber-Democracy and Cyber-Defense Challenges, Opportunities and Implications for Theory, Policy and Practice
- Insider Threats in Cyber Security
- Managing risk and information security : protect to enable
- Insider threat : a guide to understanding, detecting, and defending against the enemy from within
- The Commodification of Academic Research Science and the Modern University
See also our list of recommended databases on the International Affairs subject guide, which includes:
- Dissertations and Theses Global
- Factiva
- IEEE
- International Political Science Abstracts
- Janes
- JSTOR
- PAIS Index
- Scholars Portal Journals
- Science Direct
- Scopus
- Taylor & Francis Journals Online
- Techstreet Enterprise
- Web of Science
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
- Ulrichsweb
Selected Journals
Ebooks Collections
Industry Research Databases
-
Bloomberg - Search under BI for aggregate data
-
Business Source Complete - Start here for industry analyses. Select Industry Profiles from the Publication Type list located within the Search Options under the search box. Enter the industry and country of interest into the search box.
-
Conference Board of Canada - Under Browse by, select Topic. Then select Industry Sector Economics for industry profiles or enter the industry name in the search box.
-
Factiva - Mouse over Companies/Markets from the menu bar at the top of the page and select Industry. Select the industry from the list provided.
Specialized reports from reputable sources
- World Energy Outlook from the OECD
- Global Auto Report from Scotiabank
- J.D Power offers some info on ratings and customer satisfaction surveys for free.
- Look to investment and consulting firms for research on industries:
- PWC Research & Insights by Industry
- BMO News & Insights
- J.P. Morgan Research & Markets
Government Resources (Canada)
- Accenture Cyber Fusion Centers
- Bill C-26
- Canadian Center for Cyber Security
- Canada Energy Regulator
- Communications Research Centre Canada
- Communications Security Establishment
- Dept. Of National Defense, Cybersecurity
- Government of Canada cyber security event management plan
- Government of Canada Publications
- Industry Canada
- Industry Sector Intelligence
- International Cyber Policy
- International Cyberspace Law
- North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2017 - Classifies industries into codes that can be used to help you find information on your industry.
- Public Safety Canada - Fundamentals of Cyber Security
- Public Safety Canada - National Cyber Security Action Plan
- Small and Medium Enterprises Research and Statistics
- The Canadian Securities Administrators
Government Resources (International)
- Center for Internet Security Case Studies
- Internet Security Alliance Publications
- ISO International Standards for information Security
- National Council of Information and Analysis Centers Publications
- National Institute of Standards and Technology Publications
- National Vulnerability Database
- Network Computing White Papers
- SANS Technology Institute White Papers
- US Securities and Exchange Commission
- World Privacy Forum
Data and Statistical Resources:
- Borealis Dataverse search
- Canadian Government Information and Statistics
- Canadian Industry Statistics
- Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR)
- Google Dataset Search
- Harvard Dataverse Search
- ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) Dataset Search
- McAfee Threat Report and Statistics
- Norton Cyber Security Statistics
- Statista
- Statistics Canada - Canada's federal statistical agency presents reports and data on many aspects of life in Canada including health, education, household finances, household spending and much more.
- Browse by Subject - Find reports and manipulatable data tables
- Search Data - Find manipulatable data tables
- Search Analysis - Find statistical analysis and reports
- World Bank Data and Statistics
Related Surveys:
- Canadian Internet Use Survey, 2020
- Canadian Perspectives Survey Series: Technology Use and Cyber Security During the Pandemic
- ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) Survey Search
Further Resources:
- Statistical Consulting (Excel, SPSS, Stata, Qualtrics)
- How to make a data dictionary
- Readme, Data Dictionaries and Codebook reference guide
Social Media Data Scraping Resources:
