Literature analysis in the social sciences: potentialities and processes

Abstract

Systematic reviews, meta-analyses and bibliometric analyses of literature are scarce and poorly recognized in the social sciences. Based on examples of two research projects, we reflect on the potentialities of knowing the field in a more systematic and inclusive way, able to include thematic and methodological centers and peripheries, and protagonists and secondary actors. The procedures in the projects are presented as examples of these analytical gains. We intend to contribute to a dissemination of the know-how of these analyses, as well as to a growing recognition of the advantages of social sciences conducting this panoramic, extensive, and critical look at publications.