12 Nov This week you looked at how to conduct an effective literature review and created an action plan to help you begin that work. Choose one of the following f

Literature Review Action Plan

My research question is:

What research you have done already? (What has been your search process so far?)

Where are you in the process?

Review each section below and check all statements that apply to you.

• The majority of my sources are scholarly research articles.
• I have performed advanced searches in scholarly research databases in my discipline (This is not the same as simple searching in Summon or Google Scholar.)
• I plan to gather three times as many sources as I use in my paper or dissertation.
• If this is my dissertation I have already gathered hundreds of resources. If this is a regular course paper I have already gathered dozens of resources.
• I have a system for organizing the many sources I will gather.
• My research interest is currently a narrow question, not just a broad topic.

How confident are you going in?

• I am familiar with the differences between course assignment research and the more deliberate methodology of reviewing the literature.
• I am confident in my plan to document my systematic search strategy.
• I understand where to find literature in both my specialization and discipline.
• I can see how conversations have developed in the different articles I have gathered.
• I can name three key journals that publish in my research area.
• I am comfortable contacting Capella Librarians if I run into literature search hurdles.

I am a Doctoral Level learner.

Doctoral-level & Dissertation

These questions are intended for doctoral-level learners, especially those working on their dissertation.

• I already have a theoretical framework.
• I know how to find examples of quantitative and/or qualitative research studies.
• I can see where my research fits in to the scholarly conversation, to drive the research forward.
• I know the historical roots of how the field developed surrounding my research question.
• I can search to identify the names of the tests and measurement instruments appropriate for my study.

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Where to Begin

Resources

• About the Literature Review
• Gathering Articles
• Executing a Search Strategy
• Cited Literature
• Staying Organized
• Convert Your Topic into a Research Question
• Background Research – Discover Context
• Hand search individual journals How to Search Within a Specific Journal
• Calling a Capella Librarian
• Library Calendar
• Ask a Librarian

Doctoral-level & Dissertation

• Cited Literature
• Tests and Method Searching
• Executing a Search Strategy
• Background Research – Discover Context
• Finding Tests and Measures

Get a PDF of your results

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