Literature Review: Clustering as a Strategy to Collect and Select Relevant Publications

Literature review (LR) is essential in collecting, analyzing, and understanding existing knowledge. However, when the object of study is at the crossroads of several theoretical axes, LR can be complex and time-consuming, almost like “finding a needle in a haystack.” Our starting point was the need to carry out a literature review from a PhD research project that moves along three theoretical axes: (1) Evaluation; (2) International Cooperation; (3) Science Education Projects. Given the high number of publications and the challenge of obtaining relevant information on a topic that results from the intersection of several theoretical themes, the question emerges: ‘How to collect and select relevant publications on a research topic at the intersection of theoretical axes?’. This study proposes to conduct an exploratory LR through a clustering approach. Using a clustering strategy, we found 12 articles were selected that were located in the area of intersection of the five microclusters. We concluded that our approach was more efficient and effective in mapping the existing studies according to the object of study, contributing to minimize the methodological challengers that other researchers might face, especially when conducting research that involves more than one theoretical axis. We would also like highlight the importance of the work as a collaborative team to define the starting point for the literature by clustering.