Welcome to the 'How to Search Effectively' Guide.
Planning a search strategy helps you think clearly about your topic and makes sure that you are looking for the right information. Taking a few minutes to plan before you begin searching will save you time once you start your search.
Think about your topic or area of interest and ask yourself questions to clarify your ideas. For example, if you are looking for information about hamsters, ask yourself relevant questions such as: What particular aspect am I interested in? Does it matter where? From whose perspective?
Do you need access to the library catalogue fast?
© SRUC (2018)
Here are some useful operators to help build your search. Use the help page of any database or search engine for advanced options.
| Operator: | Example: | Find items containing: | Use in: |
| AND | Cattle AND BSE |
information about cattle and BSE in the same record |
CAB, WoK, Google |
| OR | Cattle OR BSE |
information about cattle OR BSE, OR cattle AND BSE in the same record |
CAB, WoK, Google |
| NOT | Cattle NOT BSE |
information about cattle but not about BSE |
CAB, WoK |
| - | cattle –BSE |
information about cattle but not about BSE |
|
| “….” | "To be or not to be" |
the exact phrase to be or not to be |
Google, WoK |
| NEAR/2 | Cattle NEAR/2 feeding |
finds cattle feeding, feeding cattle, feeding dairy cattle (within 2 words of each other) |
CAB |
| SAME | cattle SAME feeding | finds feeding in the same sentence as cattle | WoK |
| * |
nut* colo*r |
matches any number of characters : finds nutrient, nutrition, nutria, nuts : finds colour and color |
CAB, WoK |
In this example, I’d like to know what to consider if I want to breed hamsters in Edinburgh. Define your topic in one phrase, e.g.: hamster breeding in Edinburgh
Split your phrase into concepts.
|
Concept 1 |
Concept 2 |
Concept 3 |
|
hamster |
breeding |
Edinburgh |
For each concept, make a list of other words that could also be used to describe the concept, including Latin names for plants and animals. Use a thesaurus if you need to!
|
Concept 1 |
Concept 2 |
Concept 3 |
|
hamster |
breeding |
Edinburgh |
|
Cricetinae |
reproduction |
Lothians |
|
|
husbandry |
South-East Scotland |
|
|
rearing |
|
Add in any different forms of each word. Remember to add any different spelling used by other nationalities.
|
Concept 1 |
Concept 2 |
Concept 3 |
|
hamster, hamsters |
breeding, breed, breeds |
Edinburgh |
|
Cricetinae |
reproduction, reproduce, reproduces |
Lothians |
|
|
husbandry |
South-East Scotland |
|
|
rearing, rears, reared |
|
Looking at the different forms, they usually have a few letters in common, e.g. reproduction, reproduce, reproduces. Many resources will let you use a symbol (usually *) to show that you want to include all the different endings, e.g. hamster* reproduc* breed*
Put quote marks round any phrases, e.g. “South-East Scotland”.
The words AND and OR can be used to string together your search. Use OR within each concept:
|
Concept 1 |
Concept 2 |
Concept 3 |
|
hamster* OR Cricetinae |
breed* OR reproduc* OR husbandry OR rear* |
“South-East Scotland” OR Edinburgh OR Lothian* |
Then put brackets round each concept, and use AND to join them together:
(hamster* OR Cricetinae) AND (breed* OR reproduc* OR husbandry OR rear*) AND (“South-East Scotland” OR Edinburgh OR Lothian*)
If you get too many results, think about adding an extra Concept.
If you don’t get enough results, try to think about broader terms. Would it still be useful to know about hamster breeding in the UK? Even in Europe? Would general breeding information for rodents help?
If you aren’t sure which databases cover your subject area, have a look on the library page in Moodle or pick up a printed subject guide from the library.
