Getting to Know the "Literature"
Finding out what's been written on your subject doesn't have to be overwhelming.
One of the most common roadblocks for authors and doctoral students starting a project is how to establish sufficient expertise in the “literature” so you can feel confident writing about your topic. Some graduate students try to move forward in writing without adequately consulting what has already been written about that person or issue. Others feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the literature on their chosen subject and don’t know where to start.
What do I mean by "knowing the literature"? (Heads up for longtime readers - this is an updated newsletter on this problem.) Most obviously it means knowing the scholarly articles and books that have been published on the topic. The scope of this literature can run from the massive and unwieldly (such as when writing a moral biography of Thomas Jefferson) to the thin and sketchy (such as when writing a journal article on the religious term "nothingarian").
Either way, before writing you need to establish a baseline of knowledge about what has already been said about your subject, or you risk making one of the most elementary errors in writing: making a point that someone else has already made, without realizing it.
Establishing that baseline of knowledge is normally a long-term process, one that graduate education is designed to facilitate. Coursework and Ph.D. preparations are designed to familiarize you with literature in your field, so that you will have either read much of the work on your given topic, or you know where to find it when needed.
There are many variables in this process, so getting to know the "literature" is both art and science. Take the subject of Jefferson and religion, for example. There are tons of books and articles that relate to Jefferson's religious views, but I don't want to become paralyzed by the sheer magnitude of what has already been written.
Sure, I need to identify and read (if I haven't already done so) the most important scholarly books and articles on the question. But I don't really need to recall the details of that literature until I am actually writing the relevant pages on a specific subject like, say, the Jefferson Bible. Thus, "familiarity" is essential, but something like "total mastery" is probably overkill, if it were even possible.
So how do you develop "familiarity" with the literature? If you are starting with a subject that is fairly new to you, I suggest searching in several kinds of databases. (Do NOT start with a generic Google search.)
One is Google Books, which is probably the most comprehensive book database. Everything there is scanned, though only public domain books are completely visible. This is no problem for bibliographic purposes. For example, if you search on “Thomas Jefferson Christianity” in Google Books and date-limit the search to the past quarter-century, you get a pretty decent list of recent books on the topic (with a few oddball or reprint titles that you’d need to cull).
Also search on JSTOR [subscription via libraries], which will give you much better results in academic journal articles, as well as some books. Finally, search on your academic library's database, making sure that you are searching in both books and journals. If you have limited access to a physical library, you really need to maximize electronic options. Unless you are independently wealthy, buying a copy of each book that might be of interest is not going to be an option.
Obviously you are looking for results that are the most pertinent to your topic, not sources that just barely mention it. Also, you are looking for sources that reflect the type of assignment you are writing - in general, for scholarly writing you are looking for material from academic presses and journals.
Finally, all things being equal, newer sources are better in research than older ones. The main reason for this is that newer sources will give you up-to-date information in their footnotes. One of the best ways to get up to speed on the scholarly literature, in fact, is to consult the footnotes (or a bibliography, or a bibliographical essay) of a very recent scholarly book or article on your topic. These can show you quickly what's out there, and also what is regarded as the most important and influential literature on a subject.
Scholarly books and articles provide conversation partners for your own project. They give you a framework in which to place your writing. It may be frustrating to realize that a story you want to tell has already been told. But virtually any paper, article, or book you write represents the continuation of a longer-term conversation. It is rarely the case that you are researching something that no one has ever discussed before. Neither is it often the case that there is nothing left to write about that topic.
Ignoring the previous state of the discussion doesn't change the fact that the discussion exists. Familiarizing yourself with the literature simply signals that you are prepared to contribute something of value to the conversation.
“Charles Spurgeon and ‘the Army of God’” - my interview with my friend and MBTS colleague Geoff Chang, at The Gospel Coalition.
Would you consider buying or gifting one of my books this Christmas, perhaps one you have not read yet? This is a really practical way to support my work, or the work of any of your favorite authors!