Photo: Herding, by Steve Jurvetson, 2010, is used under a Creative Commons Attribution license
See the sub-tab above to see a cheat sheet about how to identify and find a citation
· A literature review is essential for all research, whether the end product is a poster, paper, presentation, or article. The purpose of searching the literature is to discover what needs doing, to answer questions, and to establish a frame of reference for your research. It also lends legitimacy to your work, by showing you know how your project relates to previous research.
CVM Library is often asked for help in designing searches for animal alternatives to comply with IACUC regulations. Here are some resources and ideas to get you started:
CVM Library is often asked for help in designing systematic review searches.
We recommend using the following databases for systematic review searches: CAB Abstracts, PubMed, Scopus, AGRICOLA, Biological Abstracts, and Google Scholar.
In addition, you should use any other database that's likely to cover interdisciplinary aspects of your search. For example: PsychINFO (for human subjects in behavioral studies) or SciFinder Scholar (for chemistry-related searches).
Tips: try all synonyms, including scientific terms and names; use the Boolean "AND"