Working with Bibliographic Information and Creating Literature Reviews

Abstract

Working with specialized literature is a core element of many scientific disciplines. It is difficult to imagine a report for a project, master’s thesis, or dissertation in which previous research has not been systematically analyzed and presented (Creswell, 2016, pp. 58–66). As more and more publishers make their journals and publications accessible online, the creation of literature reviews has become easier and more efficient. MAXQDA is suitable for day-to-day work with literature as well as the creation of literature reviews (e.g., the preparation of theory chapters and research reports) as well as for systematic reviews for the preparation of research results for meta-analysis. In particular, MAXQDA can be used to manage notes and create summaries to support the writing process. When working with literature, bibliographic information (author, year of publication, etc.) must be distinguished from the content of the literature. MAXQDA focuses primarily on the content and is not a specialized reference management software; however, data from such programs can be imported into MAXQDA for further processing.