EVSC 4559/7559

The results you get from any of the Library's databases (such as, Web of Science, Biological Abstracts, etc.) truly depend on the terms you use to search.  This page gives you some pointers for expanding your vocabulary, and refining your search strategy to get the most out of it.  Questions?  Ask a Librarian!!!

BUILD A SEARCH STRATEGY!

1.  Write down as much information about your topic as possible.  

What is your topic? 

What questions do you have?

What do you know?  What don’t you know?

2.  SUMMARIZE your topic in one sentence/question.  Make sure your topic can answer three of the following questions: who, what, where, when, why, how?

3.  Using the summary sentence/question in #2, list the main concepts of your paper.

4.  Using the concepts in #3 as headings, think of as many synonyms for those words as you can- both broad and narrow!

  5.  After you come up with synonyms for your search terms, build a strategy with multiple words!  Here is an example.  Imagine that you have three terms for Concept A (A1, A2, A3), one term for Concept B (B1), and two terms for Concept C (C1 and C2).  Here is what the search strategy would look like:

(A1 OR A2 OR A3) AND B1 AND (C1 OR C2)

1. Break your topic up into ‘concepts.’ i.e. If we were searching on “the relationship between authoritarianism and attitudes toward foreign language speaking people,” you may separate your search into three concepts: authoritarianism AND attitude AND foreign language.

2. Create lists of words- to broaden your search strategy. i.e. For foreign language, in this case, you may also search linguistics, bilingual, deaf culture, hearing disorder*, sensory disab* etc.

3. Start general- and then get more focused once you learn more about your topic.

4. Combine your terms wisely- using AND . . . OR

“AND”- your concepts (authoritarian* AND attitude* AND accultur*)
“OR”- your synonyms (authoritarian* AND (language* OR accultur* OR bilingual*))

5. Use TRUNCATION. This is when you search on the root of a word, to broaden you search. For disability, I would search on disab*- which would retrieve disability, disabilities, disabled . . . etc.

6. If you are looking for a specific phrase, use quotation marks: "nuclear waste", "population genetics" etc.

7. After you start getting results, take clues from the records. Look at the article’s title, abstract, “keywords,” “subjects” or “subject headings.” If you find good words, write them down. You can use these in subsequent searches. Searching will be easier, as well as more powerful.

8. Don’t be afraid to search again and again and again. It is unlikely that you will get all you need the first time around!