Literature Review and the Library:
How to Help Students Make Effective Use of the Library
Wendy Highby
Social Sciences Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor
University Libraries, University of Northern Colorado
DEFINITIONS
I’m here today to give you a librarian’s perspective of the literature review. There
are many definitions of the review. Arlene Fink succinctly defines it as a “systematic,
explicit, and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the
existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and
practitioners” (Fink, 3). But are students able to be systematic in their search for
information? Research shows that between 75 and 85% of undergraduates experience
anxiety in their initial library experiences. “Specifically, some students become so
anxious about having to collect information in a library that they are unable to approach
the task in a systematic manner” (Jiao, 152).
Another scholar, Chris Hart, emphasizes perspective and evaluation in his
definition of the literature review as “the selection of available documents . . . on the
topic . . . written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain
views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the effective
evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed” (Hart, 1998,
13). But can all of our students thoughtfully evaluate the reliability of information? Can
they think critically and reflectively? (Romano, 12). Today, I’m going to speak about the
messy, non-systematic parts of research. I’m addressing the affective realm of anxiety
and inspiration that can either enhance or thwart the literature search.
I’ll apply the theories of educational psychologists that can help professors and
librarians effectively shepherd their students through the research process. I’ll address
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Convention