The Literature Review Process
Library Databases
Depending on your topic, different library resources will be useful. A list of several library databases related to previous GLI capstone projects is below; email Megan Stark for subject-specific recommendations or consult the Research Guides for guidance.
- Agricultural & Environmental Science Database This link opens in a new window
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Full text titles from around the world (1960-present), including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. It incorporates specialized, editorially-curated abstracting and indexing resources as well as the AGRICOLA and TOXLINE databases and content previously available in ESPM (Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).
- Diversity Collection This link opens in a new window
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Contains full text databases Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch and Alt-PressWatch in one platform. - ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) This link opens in a new window
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Index to education-related scholarly and professional journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, books, and government publications from 1966-present. Project of the U.S. Department of Education.
- Global Health This link opens in a new window
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Index to publications from over 100 countries in 52 languages in public health and biomedical research from 1973-present. Produced by The Centre for Biosciences and Agriculture International (CABI). Access limited to 4 users.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Full text of all 2,800+ academic journals on JSTOR that span more than 60 disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, along with millions of primary sources across four collections: Global Plants, 19th Century British Pamphlets, Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa, and World Heritage Sites: Africa. Also explore 3+ million images from ARTstor and over 10,000 open access books. Note: The library does not license any collections of fee-based books from JSTOR.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
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Index to professional and scholarly journals, chapters, books, reports, theses, and dissertations published internationally in psychology and related disciplines such as psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, and social work from 1967-present. Produced by the American Psychological Association.
- PubMed This link opens in a new window
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Indexes MEDLINE, a database of scholarly journal articles in the life sciences with a focus on biomedicine, and additional life science journals and online books. Fields include behavioral sciences, chemical sciences, and bioengineering. Produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. - Scopus (Trial access through Jun 30, 2025) This link opens in a new window
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Abstract and citation database containing over 94 million records across all subject areas. Includes over 87 million records post-1969 with references and over 6.5 million records pre-1970, with the oldest record dating back to 1788. Register for an optional account to save searches and set up email alerts. The registration link can be found at the top right within the database. Note: Install the LibKey Nomad extension to improve your research experience.
- Social Services Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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Index to over 1,300 serials, abstracts of journal articles and dissertations, and citations to book reviews focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. Coverage is 1979-present.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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Indexes the world's leading peer reviewed journal literature in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities and provides searching of cited references from 1900-present.
Annotated Bibliography
- How to Prepare an Annotated BibliographyThis thorough guide, used with permission from Cornell University, discusses how to create an annotated bibliography.
- Annotated Bibliography SamplesThis guide, from the OWL at Purdue, contains helpful annotation examples.
- Resources for Writers and PresentersMany writing resources, from the UM Writing and Public Speaking Center, including guidance on literature reviews and writing research abstracts.
Important Campus Resources
Research
- Office of Research and Creative ScholarshipCampus office that can help answer questions about intellectual property, copyright and making sure that your GLI group members are all aware of important real-world implications of your projects.
- Human Subjects ReviewThe UM Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research reviews projects in accordance with the federal definitions of research and human subjects. For detailed clarification and examples, please refer to the downloadable Guide posted below. Investigators should err on the side of caution and consult with the IRB to establish the status of their projects.
- Qualtrics Survey ToolIT supports Qualtrics for use by campus departments and organizations. Qualtrics is an easy-to-use web service for developing, administering and analyzing web-based surveys.
Entrepreneurship and Innovative Technology
- Blackstone LaunchPadThe Blackstone LaunchPad at the University of Montana helps students, alumni, faculty, and staff turn their ideas, skill and passions into real world businesses and non-profit organizations.
- Mansfield Library Equipment and SoftwareThe library provides a wide variety of equipment, hardware, and software for check out and in-library use. You can find checkout items at either Tech Support or the Checkout Desk.
- Mansfield Library Production StudiosLocated on the first floor of the library, audio and video production studios for patrons to record podcasts, lectures, livestreams, speeches, auditions, and more.
- Paw PrintLocated in the library on the main floor, provides printing, scanning, laser cutting and etching, 3D printing, binding, laminating and poster mounting.
Tools for Effective Collaboration
Managing Your Research
- RefWorks This link opens in a new window
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Web-based bibliographic research management, writing, and collaboration tool. Designed for researchers to gather, organize, store and share all types of information and to generate formatted citations and bibliographies.
- CRediT TaxonomyCRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) is a high-level taxonomy, including 14 roles, that can be used to represent the roles typically played by contributors to research outputs. The roles describe each contributor’s specific contribution to the scholarly output.
Writing and Sharing Documents
- Google DocsWord-like program that allows multiple and simultaneous editing. Supports Refworks!
- Microsoft Office 365 ProPlusUM students have free access to the full Microsoft Office 365 suite, which includes Access, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc. PC and Mac versions are available.
- UM BoxSecure storage space that allows group users to store, edit and save drafts. Supports many different file types.
Project Management
Scheduling
Team Contracts
Team contracts can help your capstone group set common expectations and ground rules for your project work. Some examples are included below.