Planning a Literature Review: Brainstorming and Finding Resources

Planning a Literature Review: Brainstorming and Finding Resources

by Patrick M Whitehead

Humanities, Social Sciences & Thought Science — General & History GPResearch and information: generalGPSResearch methods
🎙 Patrick M Whitehead 👥 192 📅 July 17, 2026 ⏱ 17 min 👁 13 📄 tutorial 🧭 2026-08-16
Available in: English (current) Français

Keywords

literature reviewbrainstormingresource searchgeneral educationstudent assessment

Summary

In this video, Patrick M Whitehead, a psychology professor and gen ed coordinator, demonstrates the initial steps of planning a literature review. He begins by explaining a rubric he uses for the process, which emphasizes transparency and detailed documentation. He then brainstorms potential topics related to general education assessment from a student perspective, rejecting some ideas and refining his focus. Next, he moves to collecting resources, using the Galileo academic database. He searches with specific keywords and phrases, but encounters difficulties finding relevant results, leading him to reflect on the vocabulary used in the field. He concludes that the lack of results indicates a novel research area, and he plans to continue in a follow-up video. The video is intended to accompany a process-based assignment and provides an authentic look at the challenges of academic research.

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Critical Evaluation

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The video provides valuable insight into the often-hidden process of academic research, particularly the iterative and sometimes frustrating nature of brainstorming and resource searching. The author’s transparency about his thought process, including rejected ideas and failed searches, is pedagogically useful. The argumentation is not formal, but the narrative is coherent and demonstrates a logical progression from topic selection to resource discovery. The value lies in its authenticity and practical guidance for students, rather than in presenting new research findings.

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Title / Content Match

The title accurately reflects the content, which covers the initial steps of planning a literature review, including brainstorming and resource searching.

Quality & Reliability

7/10

The video is a transparent, process-oriented tutorial by an experienced professor, demonstrating authentic research practices. The methodology is sound, but the content is limited to a single case study and lacks external verification or peer review.

Key Moments

Markers derived by PSI from the transcript: the creator did not define chapters.

Cited Sources

Contribution & Novelties

The video offers a rare, transparent look into the often-private process of academic research, particularly the initial stages of brainstorming and resource discovery. It highlights the challenges of finding relevant literature when a topic is novel, and the importance of refining search vocabulary. This can be valuable for students learning to conduct literature reviews.

Pour aller plus loin :

  • Systematic review — A formal method for synthesizing research, relevant to the broader context of literature reviews.
  • Information literacy — The skills needed to effectively find and evaluate information, directly applicable to the video’s focus on resource searching.
  • General education — The educational context of the video, providing background on the topic.

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Radar Profile

The radar profile shows a balanced but moderate performance across all dimensions, with slightly higher scores in quality and reliability, reflecting the video's authentic and methodical approach. The lower score in technical level indicates that the content is accessible to a general audience, while the moderate quantity of information is appropriate for a tutorial.

Reliability 7/10