Russel-Research-Method-in-Anthropology

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The Literature Search
The first thing to do after you get an idea for a piece of research is to find
out what has already been done on it. Don’t neglect this very important
part of the research process. You need to make a heroic effort to uncover
sources. People will know it if you don’t, and without that effort you risk
wasting a lot of time going over already-covered ground. Even worse, you risk
having your colleagues ignore your work because you didn’t do your homework.
Fortunately, with all the new documentation resources available, heroic
efforts are actually pretty easy. There are three main documentation resources:
(1) people, (2) review articles and bibliographies, and (3) a host of online
databases.
People
There is nothing useful, prestigious, or exciting about discovering literature
on your own. Reading it is what’s important, so don’t waste any time in finding
it. Experts are great documentation resources. Begin by asking everyone
and anyone whom you think has a remote chance of knowing something about
the topic you’re interested in if they can recommend some key articles or
books that will get you into the literature on your topic.
Use the network method to conduct this first stage of your literature review.
If the people you know are not experts in the topic you’re studying, ask them
if they know personally any people who are experts. Then contact the experts
by e-mail and set up a time when you can call them on the phone.
Yes, by phone. E-mail may be convenient for you, but most scholars are just
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