🥘Systematic Literature Review Guide
1. Select one or more databases
Suggestions:
Scopus is the largest
Web of Science is the second largest
IEEE Xplore is useful for technical/engineering conference papers
Database tutorials/guides:
2. Define a search string
Use the advanced search option
Use terms related to your research
Use the same search string in all selected databases
Refine your search using boolean operators and filtering by author, title, abstract, topic, year, language, area, keywords, etc.
Advanced search guides:
3. Save your search
Save your search and set to receive periodical updates to stay informed of the latest published articles
Saving a search in different databases:
4. Export the references
Save the references found in spreadsheet format (Excel or CSV)
When exporting on Scopus (CSV), select "Citation information," "Bibliographical information," and "Abstract & Keywords"
When exporting on Web of Science (Excel), select "Author, Title, Source, Abstract"
When exporting on IEEE Xplore, select "Search results," and download the CSV file
5. Use a spreadsheet template
Use a spreadsheet template to organize your findings
Use the same template (such as the Scopus CSV file) to organize your references
Update the data downloaded from other databases to match the template
6. Screen the results
Organize your screening process using the spreadsheet template
Do not delete the original results; keep different files for original and selected papers
Screening order: title, abstract/keywords, full text
Once the articles are selected by title and abstract/keywords, look for the full text
The full text can be searched on the library website
First, take a quick look at the papers (headings, pictures, tables, conclusions). If the paper is indeed interesting, read it more carefully
7. Download the selected papers
Download only the selected papers, in PDF format
8. Read the articles
After the screening process (title/abstract/keyword/full text), read all the selected papers
9. Use a reference manager
Suggested reference manager: Mendeley
Upload the selected papers in PDF format to Mendeley
Mendeley auto-generates the references
If any references are wrong/incomplete, you can edit them
10. Cite the papers
Use a reference manager plug-in for Word to cite the papers as you write
Suggestion: Mendeley Cite
You can select the citation style you want in the plug-in
The University of Galway suggests using the Harvard citation style
Mendeley Cite also generates a bibliography section
11. Present your findings
Use tables/plots to summarize your findings
You can use analysis tools to present your results, such as VOSviewer, Excel pivot tables, and Excel pivot charts
12. Follow previous review papers
Use previous review papers, such as Schulze et al. (2016), as guidance
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