Photo by Duy Pham on Unsplash
Use dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks to learn quickly about the state of research on your topic. A good encyclopedia article should describe major themes, current research fronts, and controversial areas; it should also provide a brief bibliography of classic, important, or definitive works on your topic. Handbooks generally offer chapters on specific aspects of a topic: together, the handbook's chapters should provide a broad overview of the state of research; individually, chapters may be narrowly focused.
The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th ed.See especially "Cognitive, emotional, and sensory functions" and "Personality and interpersonal processes". Representative articles include: "Attachment and bonding", "Friendships", "Romantic Competence", "Love".
Handbook of Psychology, 2nd ed. by The 12-page article, "Close relationships", is one of several useful articles in Vol. 5, Personality and social psychology.
Handbook of Social Psychology, 5th ed. by Of particular interest: The Social World's 43-page article, "Close relationships".
Close Relationships by 
APA Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 3., Interpersonal Relationships by 
Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships, 2nd ed. by 
Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence by 
APA Handbook of Sexuality and Psychology
Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, 3rd ed.
Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, 7th ed. by 
Psychology of Women: A Handbook of Issues and Theories, 3rd ed. by Literature reviews are a handy way to get quickly into the scholarly literature. A typical literature-review article will provide a narrative that identifies and describes dozens of journal articles and books.
