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Search Game Plan
- Select an appropriate search tool. Consider your subject matter, discipline, type of information needed, etc.
- Note key concepts (nouns) that relate to your topic.
- Construct a search using 2-4 key concepts and Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), truncation, and/or quotation marks.
- Incorporate appropriate limiters, such as date, type of article, language, etc. before conducting the search or after viewing the results list.
- Skim results; read abstracts to determine an article's relevance.
- Leverage subject terms to direct you to other articles with the same tags.
- Revise search as needed. Consider using other terminology you discover from titles and descriptors.
- Locate the full-text of a relevant article either through a HTML/PDF link, UCeLinks button, or request it from another library (Interlibrary Loan).
- Review a relevant source's reference list to locate other articles, books, or authors who have written on the same topic.
- 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
