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CHEM 4689 - Capstone Project

Type of information sources

Types of Information Sources

General information​

  • When an event occurs, reports will first appear on the internet, in newspapers, or magazines.
  • These reports usually provide factual information only.

Scholarly information

  • Scientific research reports might first appear in unpublished papers or be presented at conferences.
  • It takes years for the research report to be published as an article in a journal or as a paper in the conference proceedings.

The Purpose of Carrying Out a Literature Review​

To summarize, the purpose of a literature review is to:

  • Report the research of others to gain clarity on your research topic
  • Provide a background on the new research you are conducting
  • Establish connections or identify the gaps between your research and previous studies
  • Identify effective practices and methodologies used by successful researchers
  • Identify keywords related to your research topic
  • Transform your research topic into a question and evaluate its importance

Search Smart

Useful tips on searching databases effectively to find more precise and relevant results.

Don't type in the whole sentence to search, pick the most important keywords.

expand your keywords

Think of and use alternative terms and keywords to improve your search.

use phrase search

Phrase searching can help you refine a search and find more precise results.

use boolean operators

Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to connect keywords to search effectively.

use truncation

Use truncation symbols to find words with a common root or stem.

combine keywords with parentheses

Use parentheses to combine multiple keywords (prioritize orders of searching).

 

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