Doing a Literature Search: A Comprehensive Guide for the Social Sciences

by Chris Hart

Doing a Literature Search provides a practical and comprehensive guide to searching the literature on any topic within the social sciences. The book will enable the reader to search the literature effectively, identifying useful books, articles, statistics and many other sources of information. The text will be an invaluable research tool for postgraduates and researchers across the social sciences.

194 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Chris Hart


Chris Hart was awarded his doctorate in advertising and linguistics in 1993. He has held posts at several UK universities. Chris has been involved in national and international research projects and has authored numerous books on a wide range of topics and issues. His current research interests include: the role of advertising in in the UK in a Covid-19 and post-EU environment, music bands as brands, television detective dramas, and popular culture and entertainments during times of national crisis.

source: university faculty page

The author can also be found at:
Christopher Hart

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hart's book is superb and should be required reading for all graduate students living and working on planet Earth. It's not so much a book of technique, as it is a primer on how to think about one's reading and writing. A lot that's in it is known to those who have performed rigorous bibliographic research. Yet the concepts are laid out in such a way as to be of use to readers of all levels of skill and understanding. In my case, I found myself being reminded of useful concepts that I had long ago forgotten. Other times, I realized that Hart puts into plain English ideas I had sensed, but had never put onto words or heard others express. The epistemological lessons are not in any way diminished by references to outdated information technology (like CD-ROMs -- how quaint). This is a work I will most certainly turn to again for direction, clarity, and comfort. The bibliography has offered me other avenues for gaining insight, thus adding to my forever expanding reading list. Why doesn't my school of grad studies list this 'fantabulous' book as required reading? I'm disheartned to know that my own uni library does not have it, nor do any of the uni reference librarians know of it, even though it's been in print since 1998 (heavy sigh).

[Mark Ward]

The book is fine for what it is. The problem that I have is that I knew 99% of it and am wondering why my uni recommending it now as I enter dissertation, when I know all its contents already, and not at the start of the course when it would've been much more use. No rating for that reason, because it isn't the books fault.

[Abdullah Maani]

A good book that can give insight on how to write a good piece of literature. The book used simple language. It gives an overview of different information resources. Moreover, how to organize the literature and how to use online technology in finding resources. The book is outdated in the online and technology part, which is normal due to the massive changes in the field of technology.