Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies (CRES)

In the Library Catalog, you can search Reed and Summit (Pacific Northwest college and university libraries) simultaneously. 

• Choose "Reed Library" to limit your search to books and media at Reed. 

• Choose "Reed + Summit" to find and request items from Reed and Summit Libraries. 

• Choose "Reed + Summit + Articles" to access thousands of journal article links, along with Reed and Summit items. 

To find materials beyond Reed and Summit libraries, you can search WorldCat. This expands your search to libraries worldwide and allows you to request materials through Interlibrary Loan. 

A literature review provides an overview of previous research on a topic that critically evaluates, classifies, and compares what has already been published on a particular topic. It tells the story and history of your topic, as well as highlights emerging areas of study and poses questions about the gaps in the literature. 

A lit review allows the author to synthesize and place context into the research and scholarly literature relevant to the topic. Most scholarly books and articles begin with a review or at least a short characterization of the literature as a way of laying the groundwork for the authors' thesis. For researchers, this can be a great way of identifying key papers on the topic.

4 Steps of a Lit Review

1) Developing a Topic

2) Searching the Literature

3) Narrowing the Scope

4) Synthesizing Prior Research.

Common questions students have: 

• How do you make sure you have the foundational sources for a final project when you're new to the topic?
• How much time do I invest in finding out what an article is saying?
  • Read: Learn to Read Strategically
• How do I know if a source is "good" or not?
  • Read: ACT-UP for Evaluating Sources: Pushing Against Privilege
• When do I know when I have enough sources? 

This video provides a brief overview on how to write a literature review.