Finding Sources: Planning your search

 Think before you search - the first item you find may not be the most appropriate!

1. Define your topic - what are you really looking for?
2. Which key words or phrases encapsulate your needs? These will be your search terms - you can combine keywords to link different concepts.
3. Consider which types of source might contain the information you need. Therefore, which resources are most appropriate?
4. Run your search.
5. Evaluate the success of your  search. Did you find everything you needed? Do you need to revise your search?

Also consider if any criteria should be used to restrict or refine your search.

Are you looking for items:

• Published in a specific date range?
• In a specific publication?
• Relevant to a specific setting, environment or population?

Many of the searching platforms let you select such criteria before you run your search. 

Sometimes though, you will only apply these when you start reviewing the results generated by your search.

McMaster Libraries (2016) How library stuff works: boolean operators (AND OR NOT). Available at: https://youtu.be/bCAULDuMcso Accessed: 1 November 2020.

Your key words search terms) will change from search to search and assignment to assignment.

Use words or phrases that define or best describe the topic or aspect concerned.

You can include synonyms or alternative terms too using "OR", if relevant, e.g. nursing students OR student nurses

Separate the different elements and link with "AND", e.g. social media AND (nursing students or student nurses).

More search tips are available in our A-Z databases guides and on individual online database help pages.

The search strategy is a working record of the decisions made when planning a complex search. 

At higher levels of study, a formal search strategy is an integral part of an academic assignment or research project.  In this case, the search strategy summarises the decision making behind the search as well as confirming the searches undertaken.

The search strategy includes the:

• Breakdown of the topic into separate concepts, 
• Key words and alternative search terms for each concept,
• Relevant types of item,
• Resources consulted,
• Other factors applied, if any, when selecting the items to be analysed or discussed.  This could include any specific date range, setting, group of people, or location.

Deciding on a search strategy is one of the first steps in conducting a literature review. For more on doing a literature review, see our Dissertation Support guide.

Searching, especially when using bibliographic databases, can be a complex task as so many journal articles and other items are indexed.  Structuring your search using Boolean terms "AND", "OR" and "NOT" will be particularly helpful, e.g. (Students OR undergraduates) AND (impact OR effect OR implications) AND Covid-19. 

Other options are also in common use though.

Looking for a specific item?

Use the author's surname and the whole title, or one or more words from the title. For example, Saunders research methods

Searching for items on a topic?

Enter the key words defining the topic, e.g. business research methods 

Looking for a set phrase?

Use quotation marks to search for an exact term, e.g. "primary school"

Not sure about the spelling?

Check the database or other site to see which symbols, if any, can be used as wildcards.  If supported, you can simultaneously search different spellings of a word. 

For example, in EBSCOhost databases, wom?n will generate results for woman and women (one letter difference); lab#r for labor and labour (multiple letters are possibly different).

As well as searching the resources, you can also learn more about the ideas or concepts mentioned in a book or journal article by following up on any references listed:

• See the reference list (publication details) at the end of the work.
• For books, also check the end of the chapter as there may be multiple lists.

Some bibliographic databases, e.g. Science Direct, list the references in an article on the basic entry. 

Others, e.g. Web of Science, also index newer articles which have cited the article you're viewing, listed as 'Times Cited' or similar.