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CHEM3322: Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry

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6. Evaluate Your Search Results

Evaluate Your Search Results

Scope of Your Topic (Quantitative Evaluation)

Make sure the number of results you use matches the purpose of your literature search. A thesis or dissertation literature review is based on a comprehensive search of multiple databases. For a short paper, a smaller list of highly targeted references is more appropriate.

  • If your searches return too many results, identify a subset of the topic as the focus of your assignment
  • If you are not finding enough literature to support your work, use a broader or less specific approach to your topic

"Quality"

Use database citation search features to see if a paper is cited by other authors. Ideally, you can find articles which get cited, in newer journal articles written by

  • Authors from other labs and institutions
  • Experts on the broad or parent topic(s) of the article