You're going to be looking through a lot of materials for your review, and it's easy to loose track of a particular citation or how you got to a source. Keep a search log -- a notebook, note cards, an online document, a Word document, a citation manager, whatever format you prefer -- to track:
- Where you searched (name of database, catalog, etc.)
- When you searched
- Search terms and combinations of terms that were successful
- Search terms and combinations of terms that were not successful
- Searches or leads you want to pursue next
WRITING TIP: As you are writing the literature review you will mention the author names and the publication years in your text, but you will still need to compile comprehensive list citations for each entry at the end of your review. Follow APA, MLA, or Chicago style guidelines, as your course requires.
