🗓️ Lecture 08: Literature reviews
This is a video lecture. It is released on 2 November 2026 and has no on-site session on a Monday — you work through it on your own, at your own pace. Please post any questions in the Moodle forum; we also take them up in the concluding Q&A session of 11 December.
Take-home examination II on literature reviews belongs to this lecture. It is published on Moodle on 8 November 2026 and must be submitted there by 15 November 2026, 23:59 — so make sure you have worked through the video before that week.
🎯 Content and goals
- You can describe the different kinds of literature review and can decide which type is adequate for what purpose.
- You know about the PRISMA guidelines for systematic literature reviews and understand central concepts, such as ‘search strategy’, ‘keywords’, or ‘citation networks’.
- You can use Web of Science to conduct a systematic literature review.
- You know how to document a systematic literature review.
- You know about various assistance tools for literature reviews; in particular, you understand the difference between citation-based and syntax-based tools and can decide which one is better suited for a given task.
🖥️ Lecture Slides
The slides for this lecture will be made available here.
📚 Mandatory Reading
- Page et al. (2021a)
- Page et al. (2021b)
- It is also insightful to have a look at the materials at the PRISMA website.
🏆 Further Readings
- The official PRISMA Website with useful material and templates
- Web of Science
- Info on how to access it can be found via the ZHB
As concrete examples for systematic reviews:
✍️ Exercises and coursework
Take-home examination (pass/fail; you must pass two of the three take-home examinations to be admitted to the final exam — see the seminar description):
- Conduct a small systematic literature review as described in the lecture slides and on Moodle
If you have questions or problems, please post them in the Moodle forum.