Checking literature for your dissertation topic

Check your dissertation or project brief, marking criteria and any guidance from your programme. Identify what you are expected to investigate, how much time and space you have, and what kinds of evidence or methods are appropriate.

Literature means published research and academic discussion relevant to your topic, including journal articles, books and conference papers. Depending on your project, you may also need other evidence, such as legislation, professional reports, datasets or original material that you will analyse.

Ask your supervisor if you are unsure what is expected, including whether your project needs to identify a research gap, apply existing ideas or investigate a practical problem.

Start with a working topic or question and identify its main concepts. List alternative terms, related ideas and any relevant theories, populations or settings.

LibrarySearch is a useful starting point for exploring academic material. You may also need an appropriate specialist database. For guidance on choosing search tools, see Search and discovery tools.

Make a few initial searches, then:

• scan titles and abstracts to identify potentially relevant material

• read selected sources in full to understand the topic more fully

• note useful terminology, authors, theories and references

• adjust your searches as your understanding develops

Keep brief notes of the tools and terms you tried, useful sources and questions that remain. Follow any programme requirements for recording your search.

This early exploration helps you develop the project. You will need to continue searching and reading as it takes shape. For practical search techniques, see Search effectively.

Look beyond the number of results. There is no universal minimum number of sources that makes a topic viable.

Consider whether the material you find can help you:

• explain the background and importance of your question

• define key concepts and identify relevant theories

• understand what previous research has found and how it was conducted

• compare relevant evidence, perspectives or methods

• recognise disagreements, limitations and questions that remain unresolved

Check the relevance and quality of important sources. Peer review provides academic scrutiny, but it does not guarantee that a source is sound or appropriate for your project. Use Evaluate information to examine its evidence, context and limitations.

Suppose you want to investigate how a recently launched social media platform relates to young adults’ sense of belonging. You find few studies about that particular platform.

You could explore research on online communities, social connection and belonging, alongside studies of related platforms. This literature might help you develop concepts, frame your question and consider an appropriate method.

You would still need to judge how relevant that work is. Differences between platforms, users and settings may limit what you can transfer. Explain those limits rather than treating findings about another platform as findings about the one you plan to study.

Discuss with your tutor whether this provides a suitable foundation for the proposed project.

Few results may reflect your search terms or the coverage of the tool you used. Before deciding that the topic needs to change:

• try alternative terminology and broader concepts

• check whether your filters exclude useful material

• search another appropriate database or collection

• follow references and later citations from a useful source

See Citation chaining for help following references and citations.

Difficulty accessing a publication is a separate problem from finding no relevant literature. If you have found an article but cannot read it, follow the Library’s guidance on getting the full text or ask for help.

Finding little directly relevant literature does not, by itself, establish a research gap or make your topic unviable. A possible gap needs to be considered in relation to what existing research already explains and what remains uncertain or insufficiently examined. It also needs to be suitable for your project’s scope and method.

Bring your search notes and relevant sources to your supervisor before making that judgement.

Use what you have found to review your proposed question. If there is extensive relevant literature, consider focusing on a particular issue, group, setting or period. If directly relevant research is limited, consider whether broader concepts or related work can provide a suitable foundation, or whether the question needs adjusting.

Broadening your search does not necessarily mean broadening your project. You can search widely enough to understand the context while keeping a focused research question. See Narrowing your research topic for help setting manageable boundaries.

For a useful discussion with your tutor, bring:

• your working question and a brief explanation of its focus

• a small selection of relevant sources and notes on how they could contribute

• a summary of your searches and any difficulties

• possible adjustments and questions you need help resolving

Literature availability is one part of feasibility. Also discuss whether you can obtain the evidence or data you need, use an appropriate method and complete the work in the available time, including any permissions or ethical approval your method would require.

Use the discussion to agree a manageable direction and identify what you need to investigate next. Your question may continue to develop as you search and read.