How to find review articles on a certain topic on academic platforms?
Review articles provide comprehensive overviews of specific research topics and can be efficiently located on academic databases using targeted search strategies. Employing database-specific filters is the most common and effective initial approach.
Key methods include consistently applying the "Document Type" or "Publication Type" filter set to "Review", "Literature Review", or similar options within the database. Incorporate search terms like "review", "literature review", "systematic review", or "meta-analysis" alongside your topic keywords using Boolean operators (AND). Searching within specialized subject databases relevant to your discipline often yields higher-quality results. Finally, remember that seminal original research articles often contain review sections or cite key reviews in their introductions.
Begin by formulating your core topic keywords. Execute your initial search on your chosen platform (e.g., PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar). Immediately apply the "Review" filter within the results page. If necessary, refine the search by explicitly adding review terminology like "review AND [your topic]" and rerun. Scan titles, abstracts, and reference lists of identified papers to uncover additional relevant reviews cited in the literature.
