Search smarter, not longer, when choosing the right journals for your dissertation

Researchers often spend significant time searching through academic databases for articles specifically related to their research topic. While online databases make such searches possible, and even easy, the process can be time consuming and sometimes frustrating.

Each key word search usually reveals a multitude of journal articles. You then spend time, often wasted, looking at, and briefly reviewing, each one. This is like entering a rough address in a Sat Nav, and thereafter following all the options presented to you. Instead of pursuing each address by a back alley or cul-de-sac, it is often quicker to follow the main highways to the best articles.

Perhaps contemporary thesis and dissertation students can learn from the tried and tested traditions of the past. When researchers had to search manually for journal articles in a physical library, and needed to save time, they often took a simple shortcut. They would identify their principal subject area and its key words, and search for the main journals related to the area. Typically, the journals with the highest circulation for that topic were used as a rough guide to popularity. Next, they scanned through the table of contents of each issue for the past 5 years. The researchers then relied on that scan to identify authors and sub-topics of most interest to them. This helped them to quickly establish which journals, which authors and which sub-topics were important. Both for their secondary research and in terms of contributing most to their literature review critique. The researcher could then spend productive time focusing on a review of those articles, rather than squandering time on the search process itself.

As an example, if a researcher was doing a dissertation based on social media marketing in Brazil, they might find it useful to find the top three international journals that publish peer-reviewed articles in that area. They would then find the leading marketing journals published in Brazil. For instance, four journals, each produced quarterly, with an average of ten articles per issue, equates to 160 articles. A quick perusal of the table of contents for each issue would pinpoint the significant articles most relevant to their research questions. A brief examination of the abstract for each article would confirm/deny its potential for use in the literature review. Although this process might take one or two hours, it would ascertain the top ten core articles that were a ‘must’ for the literature review. In turn, these articles would act as a springboard for finding other, similar texts, by the same authors in other places. Or, alternatively, by looking at each article’s reference list, suggest further seminal authors/material within the scope of the study. The key to success is to avoid a straight search for article by keyword. Instead, search by your subject area first, by key journal(s) second, and by article/paper/author last. This simple reordering of the search process can save you considerable time. Rather than spending futile time sourcing and reading pointless articles, your literature review search will be focused on outcomes that have a significant positive impact for your entire thesis.

To help you choose the right journals for your dissertation, you may find Thesis Upgrade’s book, Searching for Relevant Literature, useful. This informative digital resource contains easy-to-understand information and straightforward explanations to help you search smart for suitable thesis literature. Buy now for immediate use.