How to develop a search strategy

What will I learn in this tutorial?

This tutorial will introduce you to what should be the first step in any search for information: the development of a search strategy.

You will learn:

• what a search strategy is
• the elements that make up an effective search strategy
• where to use your strategy
• how to improve your strategy

What is a search strategy?

A well designed search strategy:

• saves you time in the long run
• allows you to search for information in many different places
• helps you to find a larger amount of relevant information

Different strategies work better for different people. There is no need to follow every step in this tutorial. Try a few different techniques to see what works best for you.

Where do I begin?

The first step is to think about what information you need to answer your question. This seems obvious, and to a certain extent you are probably already doing it. But a more systematic approach will reward you.

You should think about:

1. finding the focus of your question
2. what the key concepts are
3. your understanding of these concepts
4. alternative terms to describe these concepts
5. where you should start looking
6. building on what you've found

Finding the focus

To find relevant information you need to focus on what is being asked. Think about what you need to find by asking questions about your topic.

To find out about How has Australia's relationship with England changed since 1945? some relevant questions might be:

• What element(s) of the relationship? Political, popular opinion, military, legal, trade?
• What was the state of the relationship in 1945? What is it now?
• Has the relationship been affected by other countries?

You may need to consult some background material, such as encyclopedias or general works to help you. Your answers may depend on the context in which the question is being asked (e.g. are you studying History or Law?).

Identifying key concepts

Try breaking down your question into its key parts or concepts. This will be especially helpful if you are searching in the catalogue or other databases. You can combine the concepts using Boolean operators.

The concepts in the blue circles should be included in your search statement. The concepts in the grey boxes should be kept in mind when looking for information, but would not be included in a search statement.

Defining key concepts

It is important that you understand what you are looking for, and in what context terms are used. English can be a very tricky language, and an imprecise use of words can lead to irrelevant results.

To find out the meaning of words, try dictionaries or encyclopedias.

For background information about a specific concept you can try:

• encyclopedias
• your textbook
• the QuickStarts provided by the library

Finding alternative terms

To increase the likelihood of finding relevant material, you need to think about alternative terms that can be used to describe the same concepts.

You should think about:

• synonyms (eg mobile telephones, cellular telephones)
• plural/singular forms (eg women, woman)
• spelling variations(eg behaviour, behavior)
• variations of a root word (eg feminism, feminist, feminine)
• acronyms (eg chief executive officer, CEO)

Many books, journals, webpages and databases are produced in the United States and therefore favour North American spelling and terminology, so include these in your alternative expressions if appropriate.

Sometimes using a thesaurus or specialised dictionary might help, particularly if you aren't clear about some terminology or concepts.

Here are some alternatives for the concepts in the question How has Australia's relationship with England changed since 1945?

Where should I start looking?

Once you know what you are searching for you need to know where to search. Think about where you might look for the sort of information that you need.

How can I improve my results?

Your initial searches might find not enough, or too much information. Solution?: review your search terms, and either broaden or narrow your search.

To broaden your search (i.e. increase the amount you find) you can:

• reduce the number of concepts you are using
• use an OR search
• look for alternative terms
• use more general search terms
• use subject headings as search terms
• make sure you have used any Boolean operators correctly
• use truncation to get variations on your term, or use alternate spellings

To narrow your search (i.e. reduce the amount you find) you can:

• use an AND or NOT search
• look for more specific alternative terms
• use subject headings as search terms
• make sure you have used any Boolean operators correctly
• use more precise terms
• remove any truncation

Building on what you've found

Whenever you find a record that seems relevant, or an information source that is useful you should use it as an introduction to other information.

In the library books are shelved together in subject areas. This means that if you find one useful book on the shelves, there will probably be others nearby.

Catalogue and database records have subject headings or descriptors attached to them. If you search again using these terms you will find other records on similar topics.

Most academic resources contain references and bibliographies, which show where the author obtained their information. You can use these references to find other information.

Summary

Key points to remember when developing a search strategy:

• Be as specific as possible about what you are looking for
• Become familiar with the phrases and concepts using background information, your textbook, reference tools and QuickStarts
• Divide your question into concepts for searching
• Think about and look for alternative search terms
• Review your strategy and your results
• Use what you've found to find more information

If you need more help contact the library