# Why do literature research?

You can think of science as an ongoing conversation.

Researchers communicate with one another through publications, where ideas are developed, knowledge is shared, and discussions take place. On many topics, there are multiple – and sometimes conflicting – perspectives.
As a researcher, it is important to be aware of these different viewpoints and to take a position yourself.

As a student, you are a beginning researcher, and the aim is that you start participating in this dialogue. This means that you need to be able to find the relevant publications in your field in order to become familiar with the various scholarly perspectives on a topic. In your assignments, you make use of this literature and reference it, showing that your contribution is grounded in the broader academic debate.