Guides: Writing a Systematised Review in Social Sciences: Searching for Literature (part 2)

When you have decided on a search string to try, you can start trialling it in databases. Head to the subject specific databases menu here. You may want to try several databases to get a feel for the ones that give you the best hits. For a systematised review, you will need to focus on databases that contain peer reviewed articles rather than other specialist databases that provide information such as stats (highly useful for other tasks). No two subjects are the same so you will need to use some trial and error here. It is custom to select two to three databases to use in your review. Some of our most popular business databases can be found below.

Emerald Insight This link opens in a new window
Access to the Emerald database of full-text articles covering a range of subjects from management, marketing, economics, engineering, health and social care and tourism.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Access journals, reference works and current protocols covering a range of scientific, medical, technical and professional disciplines.
Sage Premier This link opens in a new window
Provides access to all SAGE journals covering a wide range of subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, science, technology and medicine periodicals.
- Database help guide
Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new window

There are various ways of reporting the results of your searching. A popular method, recommended by the business school, is to use PRIMSA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). PRISMA is a tool that recommends “evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews”. A full statement and information about PRISMA can be found here: http://www.prisma-statement.org/.

For a dissertation it is unlikely that you will be expected to follow all the PRISMA guidance, but you may wish to use the PRISMA flow diagram (or a simplified version of it) which can be found here. The PRISMA method provides a series of sequential steps from your search string to your final sample. The diagram below provides an example of a simplified PRISMA flow diagram.

PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews which included searches of databases and registers only. Available at: http://prisma-statement.org/documents/PRISMA_2020_flow_diagram_new_SRs_v1.docx

Example

An example of the PRISMA flow diagram in a systematised study can be found here:

Zheng, T., Glock, C.H. and Grosse, E.H., (2022) Opportunities for using eye tracking technology in manufacturing and logistics: Systematic literature review and research agenda. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 171 108444. Available from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2022.108444 [accessed 2nd February 2024]

PRISMA also provide a step by step guide of the stages you should progress through when writing your review. There is some simplified guidance below.

PRISMA Adapted Guidance

Identification

Record the number of articles found in your chosen databases

Screening

Screen your articles for relevance (not all the hits you get will be relevant as databases can be quite crude tools). Screening is normally done in three phases.

First phase, remove any duplicate records and record how many you have removed (where the same record is included in more than one database).

Second phase, scan the title — if the article is clearly irrelevant discard and discard the total number removed at this stage

Third phase, scan the abstract and, if necessary, the full text. Discard anything that does not align with your inclusion criteria and make a list of the numbers excluded for different reasons i.e. publication date, methodology or demographic.

When you have done this, you almost have your final sample!

Following up leads: Scholar, Citation Chasing and Grey Literature

Before you start to think about writing your review, however, you will need to use citation chasing and (maybe) Google Scholar to add to your sample. Citation chasing is the process of looking in the references of relevant articles to find further references. This is an accepted technique, and you should record how many papers you added through citation chasing.

You can also use Google Scholar to help you in this process. Google Scholar’s role in a systematised process is slightly controversial, as the results it produces are not reproducible like databases. It is, however, a very effective search tool and is increasing used in systematised reviews within a variety of fields. If you include Google Scholar, make sure you are transparent about how you used it and address any methodological points that may arise from its application. An advantage of using Scholar is that you may find additional grey literature (such as reports and policy documents) that are relevant for your research question.

Examples of systematised reviews that use Google Scholar:

Brennan, L., Langley, S., Verghese, K., Lockrey, S., Ryder, M., Francis, C., Phan-Le, N.T. and Hill, A., (2021) The role of packaging in fighting food waste: A systematised review of consumer perceptions of packaging. Journal of Cleaner Production, 281,125276. Available from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125276 [accessed 2nd February 2024].

Henshall, C., Kozlowska, O., Walthall, H., Heinen, A., Smith, R. and Carding, P., (2021) Interventions and strategies aimed at clinical academic pathway development for nurses in the United Kingdom: A systematised review of the literature. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(11-12), 1502-1518. Available from https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15657 [accessed 2nd February 2024]

The video below gives you a quick overview of citation chasing and supplementary searching.

PRISMA, (2020) PRISMA 2020 flow diagram. PRISMA. Available from http://www.prisma-statement.org/PRISMAStatement/FlowDiagram [accessed 2nd February 2024].