Currently, no systematic procedure exists for ensuring the range and representativeness of publications included in a search of literature on a research topic. Using the logic of fieldwork methods, this article suggests such a procedure. The research topic is viewed as a "sensitizing concept, " and publications and authors are identified as "sites" and "informants, " respectively. Snowball sampling allows the researcher to build a sampling frame of publications. "Key" sites and informants are identified using consensual and "gatekeeper" validation criteria. These key sites and informants are subjected to careful reading resembling content analysis.
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