THREE Quick Tips on How Researchers Can Handle Lack of Literature in Original Research

 


Have you ever been unable to find any literature relevant to your research topic? Is that to say you're doing something completely new that no one has ever dreamed of, let alone attempted, and so never reported on? It feels like a win when you identify a research gap, that said though, literature review is also a very important section in writing a research paper. In the case where there are no/ very little reports on a topic, what goes in the literature chapter? How do you make up for limited evidence?

Below are 3 quick tips to help you:

 

1. Go into details of what is available

Having a limited number of resources can be an advantage as well! You could consider discussing relevant papers in greater detail. This is almost impossible when there are thousands of articles to screen from and you need to be much more selective.

 

2. Look at who has cited these articles

Find out who else has cited these articles in the few relevant papers. You may or may not be able to locate relevant or related content, but you may come across newer articles that are relevant. These could be the articles you were looking for but didn't discover using a keyword search. You might also read what the authors of these articles have written in order to gain more insights.

 

3. Relate your work to the big picture

Is there a way you could connect your work to a broader research problem? Does it contribute to something greater? Suggest how the findings may be important for theory, practice, policy making, and subsequent research to increase its adoption.

 

Adapted from: Enago Academy


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