Oxford Brookes UniversityLiterature searching for dissertations in economics
This document is intended to explain the process of literature searching and some of the most important sources that should be used in economics. It is aimed to assist research into the more academic aspects of the subject. Anyone interested in the economies of other countries should consult the document World Economies.
Only basic details can be provided here and many sources other than the ones mentioned are available. Please consult members of the Subject Team in the Library if you have particular interests or problems finding literature. For a more thorough explanation of the process of literature searching, see the publications listed in the final section, from which these notes have been made.
Why do a literature search?
Recording the search and bibliographic references
How to begin
Closing off the literature search
Checking previous theses or dissertations and
research in progress
Interlibrary Loans
Further sources of information
Why do a literature search?
- It will help to choose a topic. Having decided the area in which to work, undertaking a broad review of the literature in the area can provide some fruitful ideas. Also, it is possible to assess the novelty of promising ideas.
- In the case of postgraduate degrees, it is necessary to check that the research has not been done before.
- Perhaps most obviously, to find research that has been undertaken and can contribute to the work at hand. Every researcher builds on the work of previous authors. When presenting the findings of research the author should acknowledge their work and outline his/her own contribution to the field. A dissertation submitted for a higher degree will be expected to contain a section headed "Literature Search" where the whole field is critically reviewed.
Recording the search and bibliographic references
It is essential to record references systematically and accurately when undertaking a search. By recording the full details of the material as you use it, you will save time later when you are ready to complete your written work. In addition to noting down the reference, note the source, and the subsequent sources in which it is found. This is necessary because details of sources must be provided to apply for material through Interlibrary Loans. Secondly, you will be able to use the most frequently cited sources to determine the core works, authors and journals.
The Business School tends to prefer the Harvard (Author-Date) system of referencing and the Library guide 'Citing your references using the Harvard (Author-Date) system'' will help you with this.
How to begin
1 Define your search
Consult the encyclopaedias, guides, handbooks and dictionaries
available in the Quick Reference (QR) section to define the
particular area of study, and to build up a list of keywords and synonyms (under which searches can be made in the sources mentioned
below.
The main Economics Dictionaries are:
The New Palgrave: a dictionary of economics (1998), Macmillan.
QR 330.03/NEW (4 volumes)
The New Palgrave dictionary of money and finance (1992),
Macmillan.
QR 332.03/NEW (3 volumes)
2 Use library catalogues
Use the Subject Search facility on the Library's computerised Catalogue under
the advanced search tab. Type in the name of the subject (try synonyms
if unsuccessful) and it will provide a list of relevant shelfmarks.
The computer will list the titles at these numbers. Hopefully there
will be some relevant books that contain comprehensive bibliographies
and the literature search can begin.
It is possible to search other University library catalogues, including the Bodleian, via the 'Using other Libraries' web page and publications not available at Oxford Brookes may be requested through Interlibrary Loans. An interlibrary loan form is downloadable from here.
3 Search databases
The most useful database for economic students is:
EconLit on EBSCOhost
Internet database (also available off campus, using Athens)
Citations and abstracts with some links to full text articles
EconLit is probably the first step for anyone doing a serious
literature search in economics because of its comprehensive coverage.
EconLit is a bibliography with selected citations and abstracts of the world's economic literature dating back to 1969, produced
by the American Economic Association. Although not a full
text database, EconLit includes coverage of over 450 international
journals as well as articles in collective volumes (essays, proceedings,
etc.), books, book reviews, dissertations, and working papers
licensed from the Cambridge University Press Abstracts of
Working Papers in Economics.
The abstracts available are summaries of the original articles that allow you to see whether it is worthwhile reading the original. There are some links from the titles to full text, IF the library subscribes to the particular journal cited OR if the full text is available in Business Source Complete (see below). At the time of writing, full-text is available for around 245 journals.
Business Source Complete
on EBSCOhost
Internet database (also available off campus, using Athens)
Contains abstracts and full text
This database is not as focussed on economics as EconLit however, it provides the full text of over 5,400 management, business, finance, accounting and economics journals, over 1160 of which are academic, and provides abstracts of many more. Core journals such as Harvard Business Review are available back to 1922 and many more are currently being added back until 1965 (or the first issue if later). 60% of titles have an embargo of 3 - 18 months; others such as the Economist (American edition) do not. If a journal has an embargo, you may have electronic access to the current journal issues not yet available on Business Source Complete if the library subscribes to the journal. See the library's listing of A - Z electronic journal service
If the journal has an embargo and we do not subscribe to it, you can use the ZETOC (see below) alert service to see the contents of new issues.
Business Source Complete also includes the excellent Country Reports from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). See web page for full details.
International
Bibliography of the Social Sciences
Internet database (also available off campus, Athens needed)
Citations and abstracts
The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) produced by the London School of Economics, gives access to bibliographic references taken from over 2,600 international social sciences journals and around 6,000 books per year. One of the core disciplines covered is economics.
Social Science Citation Index
Internet database (also available off campus, Athens needed)
Citations and abstracts
The Social Science Citation Index allows you to take bibliographical
searching forward in time, by showing which authors have
cited a particular paper since its publication. It provides bibliographic
references to significant items from over 1400 journals in the behavioural and social sciences.
ZETOC
Internet database (also available off campus, Athens needed)
Citations only
The British Library's Electronic Table of Contents (ETOC) covers about 20,000 current journals and 16,000 conference proceedings published each year. All subjects are covered, including economics and finance. Coverage starts in 1993 and the database is updated daily. You can set up a personal e-mail alerting service of journal contents information, for up to 50 journals per Alert List. Zetoc can be found via the Library web pages under Electronic Library.
Articles of interest not held by Oxford Brookes Library can be obtained through the Interlibrary Loans service
Google Scholar
Free Internet database
Citations only
This free database enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer reviewed papers, theses, books, preprint, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.
Although EconLit, Business Source Premier, IBSS and the Social Science Citation Index are the most important, check the list of databases and CD-ROMs available on the Library network. Some may prove to be useful in peripheral areas.
4 Use Bibliographies
These are whole works devoted to listing citations, and sometimes
abstracts, under subject headings. It is possible to use the Subject
Search facility on the Library Catalogue to locate bibliographies.
Type in the word "Bibliographies" and every subject for which they
are available will be listed with its shelfmark. Most will be located
in the 016's in the Library's Quick Reference Sections. Again, it
is possible to check what is available at each shelfmark by using
the Catalogue.
Two useful Economics Bibliographies are to be found in the Journals section of Wheatley Library:
International bibliography of economics (1952-1993) J 016.33/I
Journal of economic literature (Print version from 1969) J 016.33/J Electronic version is EconLit
General Bibliographies
British National Bibliography (BNB)
QR 015.41/B (Headington and Wheatley Libraries)
Economists may find many government publications of interest.
Those published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office are listed
in:
The Stationery Office monthly and annual catalogues
QR 015.41/GRE (Headington and Wheatley Libraries)
Government publications not published by The Stationery Office
are listed in:
The Catalogue of British Official Publications
QR 015.41/CAT (Headington and Wheatley Libraries)
It is also possible to search the government web site, and find many of the documents listed in the publications above.
5 Use the Internet
This may provide some useful material. However, it is not the answer
to everyone's information needs, or a substitute for literature
searching. Consult the library web page, Internet
sources for business and economics
The web page above includes many useful sites, but particular mention should be made of ' Resources for Economists on the Internet' originated by William Goffe and now sponsored by the American Economic Association. It includes links to over 1,200 internet resources, including web sites for economic data (macro and micro, US and foreign) economists and economic departments home pages, mailing lists by topic, conferences, economics organisations, publishers, software, jokes and teaching tools.
You can also use web search engines such as AltaVista to do a search.
6 Contact organisations.
Many government departments, professional bodies and academic institutions
may be able to provide information or may allow you to use their
information services.
7 Consult your subject librarian.
There are many sources that cannot be listed here - asking a Librarian
may be the quickest and most practical way of obtaining leads.
Closing off the literature search
The huge numbers of references may overwhelm anyone undertaking a literature search. The following may help you close off the literature search:
- The searcher should try to identify the core works, authors and journals in which relevant work seems to appear. These core materials can be identified by the frequency with which citations appear when undertaking the initial quick broad scan of the literature. Most concentrated efforts should be made in following up these core elements.
- It may be decided to limit by time by selecting a publication date before which references will not be chased.
- It may be decided to limit geographically, following up work from only the UK and USA for example.
- Related to the last point you may limit by language, using English language material only.
- Finally, it may be decided to limit the search to Oxford Brookes University Library. This will depend on the level of work being undertaken. An undergraduate producing a short project may not have the time or finances to look beyond the Library. Anyone undertaking research for a higher degree will certainly be expected to obtain literature from other sources.
Checking previous theses or dissertations and research in progress
Previous dissertations produced at Oxford Brookes University are on the Library Catalogue and are available on request at Wheatley Library counter.
Anyone researching for a postgraduate degree will need to ensure that a thesis or dissertation has not already covered his or her research area. The Index to theses may assist in finding what has been published.
Index to theses
Off-campus password is available via your PIP
page. This provides abstracts of all theses accepted for higher degrees
in the United Kingdom and Ireland since 1716. It also has abstracts
from 1970 onwards.
Dissertation Abstracts International
The last two years of this service is available free via the Internet. The Library does not have a subscription to the previous years.
Current research in Britain
This enables you to check research in progress in all United
Kingdom higher education institutions. It is produced by the British
Library and provides the details of approximately 58,000 projects.
Available at Headington only at QR 016.00143.
Interlibrary Loans
Items not available in Brookes Library may be obtained through the Interlibrary Loans service. Forms are available at the Library counter, or may be downloaded. The importance of providing accurate details, and preferably the source of the reference, has already been mentioned. A charge is made for the service. Allow a minimum of two weeks for the item to arrive, although some items may take longer.
Further sources of information
JANKOWICZ, A.D. (2000) Business Research Projects, 3rd Edition, Business Press.
(658.0072 /JAN Headington & Wheatley)
SAUNDERS, M.N.K. et al (2003) Research Methods for Business
Students, 3rd. Edition,
Financial Times /Prentice Hall.
(658.0072 /SAU Headington & Wheatley