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Overall Search Plan
- Find an appropriate search tool. Consider your subject matter, discipline, type of information needed, etc. (See Choosing Search Tools)
- Note key concepts that relate to your topic. (See Keywords)
- Construct a search. (See Boolean, Truncation, and Quotes)
- Incorporate appropriate limiters as needed before conducting the search or after viewing the results list, such as date, type of article, etc. (See How Do I Use Methodology Limiters to Find Articles by Type?)
- Skim results; read abstracts to determine an article's relevance. (See How Do I Read Scholarly Articles?)
- Use subject terms to direct you to other articles with the same tags. (See Subject Terms)
- Revise search as needed. Consider using other terminology you discover from titles and descriptors.
- Locate full-text of the article either through a HTML/PDF link, UCe-Links button, or Request (ILL) through UC-eLinks. (See Accessing the Full-Text & Info Off-Campus)
- Review a relevant source's reference list to locate other articles, books, or authors who have written on the same topic. (See Tracking Down Articles from Citations)
- If you're not finding information that exactly matches your topic, use pieces of information from sources that are related.
Research 101: Searching is Strategic
