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Finding Information Sources: Creating a search strategy

How to find credible sources your lecturer will love!

The importance of search strategies

When you first start searching for resources, it is important you know what you are looking for.

Creating a search strategy can help you:

✦ identify what you are really looking for,

✦ narrow the scope of your research,

✦ find new arguments/topics to discuss,

✦ and cut down time spent searching.

Steps to create a search strategy

Tips for finding key terms

✦ Key words are the terms and phrases you use to describe the main concepts of your topic.

✦ When you enter keywords into a search tool, it looks for those words in the titles, abstracts, subject hearings, and full texts of documents.

✦ Using the right keywords can help you find the most relevant resources for your research

Try this keyword activity:

  1. Describe your topic in five to eight words (do not use filler words: ‘the’ ‘a’ ‘and’)
  2. Write the ‘key words’ in a row in a table/spreadsheet.
  3. For each of the keywords, list related terms, synonyms, and more specific terms
  4. Add these beneath your main key terms. E.g. “sustainable energy” = “solar power” = “photovoltaic cell” OR “PV cell”. (See the document templates in the right-hand column for some examples).

Click here for Advanced Search Strategies

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Boolean Operators

Image of Boolean logic venn diagrams. AND = Both terms - mineral AND deposit. OR = either term - mineral OR ore. NOT = only one term - mineral NOT mining.

Search techniques

Exact terms = " "

✦ Returns an exact result

✦ Used for terms with 2+ words

Common cold could return: cold weather is common, cold war common tactics, etc

“Common cold” = common cold

Truncation = *

✦ Changes 0+ characters

✦ Changes the ending of a word

Math returns: math

Math* could return: math, maths, mathematics, mathematician

Wildcards = ?

✦ Finds character

✦ Used for spelling differences

Polari?ation = polarisation or polarizatio

Helpful links

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Reading list link
Distance learning help
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