1. Find an OSU thesis or dissertation using ScholarsArchive@OSU

• In the Advanced Search, enter your department or college name in the "Degree Field" search box.  For example, Biochemistry, Biophysics, or Public Health. Double-check the search recognizes your field using the Degree Field menu on the left side of the results page.
• Refine your results to theses or dissertations on the left side of the results page. Click the Resource Type heading, then choose the Masters Thesis or Dissertation link.
• To find recent theses or dissertations, next refine your results on the left-hand side of the results page using the Commencement Year heading.
• You can also refine searches based on Advisor and a number of other potentially useful factors.
• From this focused list of results, click on a thesis or dissertation title. 
• To view the full text, select the Download PDF link on the left side of the page.

2. Focus on the document's literature review section, if it has one.

• Use the table of contents to find the literature review. Sometimes there are multiple literature reviews in a single thesis or dissertation if your department uses the article format.
• Ask yourself questions about how the literature review is structured and how sources are used. For example:
  • How old are the sources?
  • Do sources come from multiple format types (e.g., journal articles, government websites, books, conference proceedings)?
  • Do the same names or concepts appear across multiple articles?