Literature Searches 

Literature searches are a common activity that a professor might assign to an RA. Literature searches, conducted through PsycInfo or Google Scholar for example, offer students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the most up-to-date findings and methodologies on a certain topic by searching for the latest peer-reviewed publications. Students are typically assigned a specific topic (e.g., a set of keywords) or specific articles in which students can use as a starting point. For example, a professor might ask students to find papers published within the last 5 years on “leadership and humility” or a professor might give students a key paper in the field as ask students to find recent papers that have cited this key paper. Regardless of the approach, literature searches offer students the opportunity to learn the latest scientific advances and begin to build their own research interests and questions. The process may occasionally feel tedious, but attention to detail in critical with this activity.