Literature Review
There are many excellent online guides to doing a lilterature review. Samples include:
- The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It - Univeristy of Toronto
- Conducting a Literature Review - Georgetown University Medical Centre
- Literature Review - Deakin University Library
- Learn to Write a Review of Literature - University of Wisconsin - Madison
- Guidelines for Writing a Literature Review - University of Minnesota, Duluth
Introducing Summon
The library's search tool, Summon, allows you to search for books, journal articles, media, and more with a single search. You can access Summon from the library's homepage. Also try the Advanced Search.
Because there will be many results, it is important to narrow your search using the filters offered along the left hand side.
However, Summon doesn't search everything that the library owns so you will still need to search other resources to find everything that you need. Summon also doesn't let you do sophisticated searches that you may be used to doing in specific databases or the library catalogue.
Use Summon when starting research on a topic or when you are not sure which databases to use.
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries & Handbooks
- Bilingual vocabulary for governance, public policy & administration
- Encyclopedia of Globalization
- International dictionary of public management and governance
- International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
- Language of Canadian politics
- Oxford Scholarship Online Limit search to economics, management, political science, etc.
- Sage Knowledge
- Canadian Encyclopedia
- The Oxford handbook of Canadian politics
- The handbook of Canadian public administration
- Handbook of globalization, governance, and public administration
- Routledge handbook of political management
- The SAGE handbook of governance
Consult other library subject guides for additional sources.
Key Databases for Journal Articles:
Additional Databases:
- Business Source Complete
- Canadian Business & Current Affairs
- Scopus
- Web of Science
- World Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Abstracts
- Political Science Database
- PubMed
Good to know:
- Within a database, limit your search to scholarly articles when it is appropriate to disregard other resources.
- Never limit to full-text only as we may subscribe to the journal you find from another vendor. Use the Get it! icon to search for the full text when it is not immediately available.
- Use available options to search more than one database at a time.
- Look for the option to set up an RSS feed or to Create an Alert. You are then notified when a new entry is added to the database that meets your search criteria.
- Use the Interlibrary Loans RACER form to request items not held at Carleton’s library.
- For additional relevant databases, look at the Subject Guides that best relate to your topic, such as Global & International Studies, Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership, Government Information, Canadian Studies, Business, Sociology etc.
News Sources
For current news
- PressReader - easy to use global coverage pdf format. The backfile varies by title.
- Continuum Economics (formerly Roubini Global Economics) excellent news monitorinig service. Create an account for global economic news and analysis.
Tips for searching newspaper databases.
Other sources
For historical Canadian & other newspapers:
- The Globe and Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844
- New York Times Archives
- Toronto Star: Pages of the Past
- Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
Dissertations
Use citation databases to find if a particular author and/or paper has been cited by other authors.
Examples:
- Select Cited Reference Search from top tool bar.
- You have the article
- Burstein, P. 2003 "The impact of public opinion on public policy: A review and an agenda." Political Research Quarterly Volume: 56 Issue: 1 Pages: 29-40
- Enter the author in cited author box
- Burstein P* (use surname, first initial and truncation symbol)
- Retrieve abbreviation of journal name from list provided, and enter year of publication. POLIT RES QUART 2003
- From the list, select the ariticle and click on Finish Search at the top of the list.
- Results show the article has been cited 325 times - the most recent in Aug 2018.
- You have the article
- Note the option Create Alert to be notified of any future citings of this article.
- Choose Author Seach from top tool bar.
- Enter author's name and affiliation if known
- Pal L*
- Enter Affiliation if known.
- Select displayed result. All published articles by the author will be listed. Click on article for citing references.
- Enter author's name and affiliation if known
- Remember to see if an citing article has itself been cited.
Journal Ranking
Journal Citation Reports - Provides citation-based metrics to rank journal within a given discipline. Choose Select Categories and limit by subject areas such as:
- Public Administration
- Economics
- Political Science
Grey literature is an important source of information for research in public policy.
Grey literature is defined as "information produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing" ie. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body." —ICGL Luxembourg definition, 1997. Expanded in New York, 2004
Resources
- Finding the Hard to Finds: Searching for Grey Literature - University of British Columbia
- GreyNet International Directory of organizations in grey literature
- Grey Literature Report - provides updates to grey literature on health services and topics.
Policy Reports and Working Papers
- Brookings Institute
- Canadian Public Documents Collection
- Conference Board of Canada e-Library In addtion to the e-Library, look to particular Centres for research on specific topics. Go to Conference Board of Canada and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Select Sitemap. Under Special Projects you will see Centre for the North, Centre for Food in Canada, How Canada Performs, etc.
- National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER) Working Papers
- PolicyFile (U.S.)
- Social Research and Demonstraton Corporation A non-profit research organization, created specifically to develop, field test, and rigorously evaluate new programs.
Think Tanks
- Hillwatch - provides an excellent listing of Canadian and international think tanks.
- Harvard Kennedy School provides a searchable database of more than 590 think tanks and research centres.
Search the catalogue for reference works and texts for background information on your topic, to find good keywords to use when searching databases or useful handbooks and introductory resources:
By keyword:
Or use subject heading such as
- Policy Sciences - Dictionaries
- Qualitative research
- Research -- Methodology -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
- Social sciences -- Research -- Encyclopedias
Suggested reference resources
- Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods(3 vols.)
- Qualitative data analysis with NVIVO
- Qualitative research methods for the social sciences
- Dictionary of qualitative inquiry by Thomas A Schwandt
Additional sources:
- Oxford Reference Online
- Dictionary of public policy and administration by Jay M. Shafritz
- Encyclopedia of government and politics edited by Mary Hawkesworth and Maurice Kogan
- International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences
Software Availability/Licensing
NVivo is a software package that helps with qualitative data analysis. Keep track of all data associated with your project, code your data, create models to help organize your research, run queries on your coded data, create charts and reports for sharing with others.
Follow the instructions on the library's NVivo page to download the software, get information about training, and more help options. We offer NVivo workshops to the Carleton University community either for individuals, small groups, or classes. Contact nvivo@library.carleton.ca to arrange a workshop.