Once you have gone through a literature search process, we recommend that you reflect on the search strategy you have used and consider whether anything needs to be adjusted. It may be that you need to add or remove search words in step 1, work with more exclusion criteria in step 2, or search in more subject-specific databases in step 3. When you have reached your final search strategy, either because you are well satisfied, or because you are running out of time, it is important in writing in a methodology section to reflect on how choices and omissions have affected the knowledge base on which you build your work. It could be, for example, to consider what bias may have arisen and generally what strengths and weaknesses your search has.
Consider these points:
6.1 Review your search strategy.
6.2 Is there bias in your search?
6.3 Write a section in your project about your literature search.
Review your search strategy yourself by asking the following questions. Have other students or a supervisor comment on your search strategy if necessary.
Does the search strategy match the problem formulation?
Are too few or too many topics from the problem formulation included in the search strategy?
Are search techniques used correctly?
Is the database choice appropriate?
Are all relevant search words included?
These questions are based on the PRESS guidelines for reviewing a search strategy: McGowan, J., Sampson, M., Salzwedel, D. M., Cogo, E., Foerster, V., & Lefebvre, C. (2016). PRESS Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies: 2015 Guideline Statement. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 75, 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.01.021
It is important that you are aware of bias in your literature search and that you actively seek diversity and conflicting perspectives in the literature.
For example, if you are not aware of it, you may overlook authors of a certain gender or ethnicity, or who are not from the global North/West. But it can also involve important studies, perspectives, ideas, or theories. This often happens if you make quick searches in Google for example, but you should still be aware of it, even if you only use the library’s catalogue or databases.
To avoid bias in your literature search, you can do the following:
Use multiple sources and databases: Search in different databases and information sources to get a wider range of perspectives. Consciously search for sources that represent different viewpoints to avoid confirmation bias.
Apply different search strategies: Combine keyword search, backwards chaining, and forward chaining to cover the topic from multiple angles.
Use synonyms and varying search words: Use different search words and synonyms to capture all relevant studies.
Include both published and unpublished studies: Avoid publication bias by including reports, conference materials, etc. (Grey literature).
Consult an academic expert: Get recommendations on important sources from professionals in the field. It could be, for example, your supervisor. You can also get feedback on the used search words and selected literature from your supervisor.
Your approach to literature and information search strategy should be included as a minor section in your methodology, answering how you have built your knowledge base - even if you are not writing a dedicated literature review. In this way, you demonstrate that you have reflected on and are transparent about how you have searched for and selected knowledge, what biases and gaps it may lead to, etc.
Example:
In our information search, we used the search string Midwi* AND (stress OR burnout) and searched in the EBSCO databases CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, and APA psychinfo. We limited to peer-reviewed articles written between 2012-2022 and in English and as of that date, the search gave 913 results. We reviewed the first 100 results and read the title and abstract to assess relevance. In this way, we selected 10 articles. Our relevance criteria were that the articles focused on the midwives’ stress and dealt with countries comparable to Denmark. We are aware that there may be gaps in our search as not all found literature has been reviewed, but it was not important for our project to do a systematic review.
Source criticism is about building a critical source awareness in the assessment of the authority, credibility, and applicability of information sources.
A critical assessment of all sources, whether they confirm or challenge your hypotheses, is also important to avoid confirmation bias.
In your critical reflection on sources, you can base on the following reflection points:
Origin: Who wrote the text?
Publisher: Where does the text come from?
Content: What is written in the text?
Context: What do you need the text for?
Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias where one unconsciously seeks, interprets, and remembers information that confirms one’s existing beliefs or hypotheses, while ignoring or underestimating information that contradicts them. In connection with literature search, this can lead to a skewed selection of sources, where one only includes studies and articles that support one’s own viewpoint, and overlooks relevant materials that could provide a more nuanced perspective.
Casad, B. (2007). Confirmation Bias. In Encyclopedia of Social Psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 162–164). Link to the reference article.
