Literature Review

This is probably overdue but I am now getting around to doing a proper literature review for the start of my graduate research. As far as I can tell, the literature review just means reading a ton of papers in your field until you understand the state of the field today. (I've probably butchered the true intent of the literature review with that sentence.) I also have no idea how to do a literature review, though, so I wanted to do a little research on how to research and here are my notes.

How to conduct the literature review. Items 1-10 are from [1]:

Conferences proceedings are the latest results, not always fully developed
Journal articles, based on longer term work, more developed, more rigorously peer reviewed
Steps to the search:
Cast a wide net using general search terms on library database
Then focus in using more precise search terms or criteria (i.e. dates, authors, etc)
Record search terms as you go
You can use Google Scholar if the library is missing something
When you are trying to figure out whether the articles contain useful information, use your time effectively and don't read the whole journal article right away. You're just trying to figure out if the article is relevant; later you will go back and understand the important articles line by line. Read these sections in this order:
Abstract
Discussion
Introduction (may want to skip this section initially - it can be the most technically challenging)
Results
Methods
Document the search as you go. You can use many methods; I'm going to try using my research notebook for right now because I like the idea of having everything in one place and my understanding was that my PI wanted us to do all our thinking in that notebook. It lacks the searchability of an electronic format but I like to minimize my time on the computer (to limit distractions). It is also more portable. I will also be able to use the index to find the relevant pages later and build a bibliography for my actual literature review paper or other publications.
Also use JabRef or other scholarly article organization software to track citations and use them in Latex documents.
Read critically; it might be that something that confuses you is actually something worth challenging or investigating further.
Never cite a paper you do not fully understand.
Work with mentors to understand which publications in your field are the most reliable and how it varies from format to format within the field.
Stay on top of the research, it is constantly advancing. Avoid being scooped! Do a library search at least once a month.

How to stay on top of research? Items 1-10 are from [2]:

Twitter is a good resource for tracking general scientific news and for following favorite researchers in the field. Retweeting papers on a regular basis in 140 characters is also a good way to summarize a paper to check your understanding and keeps you motivated to stay on top of the research.
Read the table of contents of new issues of key journals in your field.
Track the RSS feeds of journals. Use PubCrawler, PubMed, Google Scholar, etc.
Make time regularly (weekly) to review RSS outputs, journals and skim through some of the important papers.
Archive hard copies of the papers you read with notes about what they were about, your thoughts, etc.
Read "Ten Simple Rules for Searching and Organizing the Scientific Literature" by Denis C. Bauer. [3]
Share interesting papers with other scholars, colleagues in the field in the hopes that the exchange will become mutual and help you avoid missing anything critical.
Talk to librarians.
Take advantage of journal club in lab meetings.
Practice this often early in your career until you have a routine that works for you. This is really important and younger folks tend to overlook it.

Notes from Texas A&M's University Writing Center's Director, Dr. Candace Hastings' talk on YouTube [4] about how to do a literature review. Items 1- 6 are from [4]:

Refer to They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing by Graff and Birkenstein (how to source materials)
Literature reviews are written if:
The field is very well researched and there are lots of papers
The field is very new and people need to know what's important
You want to approach the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective which is new to the community
You're also going to have to write one for your thesis.
You want to avoid duplicating work. Front end load your work.
Find gaps in the research and know what questions need to be answered.
How do I know when I've done enough? What's my plan?
Use subject specialist reference librarian - go talk to them!
You want the big players in your field - "you don't want the little guys!" Use Google Scholar to order sources in terms of how many times they have been cited - that tells you which articles are really important.
Might be useful to see what other dissertations in your department look like - this will help when you go to write your own. And this helps you see what your committee members have approved in the past.

References:

[1] https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/Research/SURF/ModulePages/Mod3/

[2] http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2016/11/how-keep-scientific-literature

[3] http://precedings.nature.com/documents/3867/version/1/files/npre20093867-1.pdf

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9la5ytz9MmM