Finding literature

When it comes to finding relevant literature for your thesis, you need to keep in mind that your primary mission is not just “to find some papers” but to find out what is known (or not known) about

  • your particular research question, and
  • any methods you could potentially use to answer your research question.

Note that “method” papers (e.g., propensity score matching) do not have to deal with your particular subject areas (e.g., estimating how the adoption of a digital platform affects media consumption). Similarly, “substantive” papers don’t have to deal with your chosen research design/method.

Read the following pages about looking for literature and managing your literature in so-called reference managers.