Litteratursøgninger

Litteratursøgninger, often translated as literature searches or literature reviews, are a systematic process of identifying, locating, and evaluating relevant scholarly literature on a particular topic. This process is fundamental to academic research, informing the design of new studies, identifying gaps in existing knowledge, and providing a foundation for theoretical frameworks.

The primary goal of a litteratursøgning is to understand the current state of research in a specific field. This involves consulting various sources such as academic journals, books, conference proceedings, dissertations, and sometimes even grey literature. Researchers typically employ databases specific to their discipline, like PubMed for biomedical sciences, Scopus for a broad range of disciplines, or Web of Science. Keywords are crucial for effective searching, and a well-defined search strategy often involves combining multiple terms using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).

Beyond simply finding articles, a thorough litteratursøgning involves critically appraising the retrieved literature. This means assessing the quality of the research, the validity of the methods used, and the relevance of the findings to the research question. The results of a litteratursøgning are often synthesized and presented in a literature review section of a research paper, thesis, or dissertation, or as a standalone review article. This synthesis helps to contextualize new research, demonstrate the researcher's understanding of the field, and justify the need for further investigation.