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Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training Research Guide

An online reference guide for students, faculty, and staff in the School of Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training, and those researching related topics.

Before You Search

  1. Select and understand your research topic and question.
  2. Identify the major concepts in your topic and question.
  3. Brainstorm potential keywords/terms that correspond to those concepts.
  4. Identify alternative keywords/terms (narrower, broader, or related) to use if your first set of keywords do not work.
  5. Determine (Boolean*) relationships between terms.
  6. Begin your search.
  7. Review your search results.
  8. Revise & refine your search based on the initial findings.

*Boolean logic provides three ways search terms/phrases can be combined, using the following three operators: AND, OR, and NOT.

Literature Review Overview

A literature review involves both the literature searching and the writing. The purpose of the literature search is to:

  • reveal existing knowledge
  • identify areas of consensus and debate
  • identify gaps in knowledge
  • identify approaches to research design and methodology
  • identify other researchers with similar interests
  • clarify your future directions for research

List above from Conducting A Literature Search, Information Research Methods and Systems, Penn State University Libraries

A literature review provides an evaluative review and documentation of what has been published by scholars and researchers on a given topic. In reviewing the published literature, the aim is to explain what ideas and knowledge have been gained and shared to date (i.e., hypotheses tested, scientific methods used, results and conclusions), the weakness and strengths of these previous works, and to identify remaining research questions: A literature review provides the context for your research, making clear why your topic deserves further investigation.

Search Process

Once you develop your research topic, it can be helpful to map out the approach you will take to review different sources and where you will search for each. Below are some potential steps to take in your approach.

Utilize Current Awareness Services – Identify and browse current issues of the most relevant journals for your topic; Setup email alerts such as journal Table of Contents and Saved Search alerts.

Consult the research of Experts and New Scholars – Search for the publications of key researchers.

Search:

  • Annual Reviews and Bibliographies – e.g., Annual Reviews
  • Internet/Media – e.g., discussion groups, listservs, blogs, social networking sites, podcasts
  • Grant Databases – e.g., National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT), Grants to Individuals
  • Conference Proceedings and Professional Association websites – e.g., American Physiological Society, International Society of Biomechanics, National Athletic Trainers’ Association
  • Research or Resource Centers or Labs – e.g., Clinical Biomechanics and Athletic Training Research Lab at UM, Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC)
  • Citation Indexes – e.g., PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus (trial this year)
  • Journal Indexes/Databases and EJournal Packages – e.g., Journals@Ovid, SPORTDiscus with Full Text
  • Specialized Databases – e.g., AccessPhysiotherapy, Cochrane Library, Net Anatomy, R2 Digital Health Sciences Library
  • Open access portals for scholarly articles – e.g., OneSearch, PubMed Central (PMC articles are in PubMed)
  • Specialized Data – e.g., National Health Interview Survey, Data Injury Statistics Clearinghouse (DISC)
  • Book Catalogs – e.g., local library catalog (OneSearch at UM), WorldCat, Google Books
  • Institutional Repositories – e.g., ScholarWorks at the University of Montana
  • Library Web Scale Discovery Service – e.g., OneSearch (main search from Mansfield Library homepage)
  • Web Search Engines – e.g., Google, Google Scholar
  • Government websites – e.g., Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

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