At the end of this section, you will understand how to:
Select journal articles that are credible and suitable for your project.
Choose a journal such as the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) list for the local country, Scopus, and high impact factor.
Introduction to journal identification Learning institutions offer library services and researchers are encouraged to register with learning institutions to get access to various resources offered online.
Literature review search Make use of search terms or keywords based on your research title and the research purpose to search for relevant literature. It is recommended to use synonyms or broader terms that would include the construct or concept that you want.
Example: The possible search terms for a study to examine the relationship between personal characteristics and the job motivation of certified educators in the United States may include “job motivation” or “motivation for certified educators”.
Researchers are encouraged to use the most recent full-text that is available, and this can be from the last three to five years.
In certain instances, one might not find relevant literature after following the above procedures. A further alternative involves using references of articles that are not available in full-text or expanding the timeline of the search.
Options for advanced search: The journal publication timeline can be specified. Search can be restricted to only peer-reviewed or scholarly articles Search can be restricted to only full-text articles ie “available in full-text”. A combination of “reviewed/scholarly” AND “available in full-text” can be specified.
Other points to consider: Google Scholar is an alternative platform to search for articles in international academic publications.
PDFs and HTML are the most common formats for downloading articles from electronic journals. A PDF article is a replica of the original article as it appeared in the journal and contains all the tables, figures and page numbers that appear in the original paper-based version. An HTML article is downloaded as a web page and does not include page numbers. These articles are faster to download, but may not include all the graphs or tables included in the original article.
Activities
Activity 1: Watch the videos below and answer the questions that follow.
Literature search and identification of journal articles
Assignment 1 What is the aim of the literature search for a research paper? List the steps involved in the literature search
Activity 2: Literature search Identify 10 peer-reviewed articles that are less than five years old that relate to your research. Ensure that at least two of the articles are from the journal that you believe is more likely to accept your article upon completion.
Activity 3: Reading Material Read the material provided and use it in the following section.
Activity 4: Loading articles to Mendeley Create a folder on Mendeley to load at least 10 articles.
Estimated Length (to be aligned to journal guidelines) Assignment 1 to be less than one page
Share preferred article writing days and create and set the time and duration to work on your articles alone or with your research buddy.
