Keyword search: improving your results

Try alternative / less specific keywords

Too few results

Use OR to include synonyms

Check spelling

Apply truncation

Check database coverage

KEYWORD SEARCH

Try alternative / more specific keywords

Too many results

Use AND to include additional concepts

Apply limits (date/language/title) Use NOT to exclude selected words

Apply phrase searching if relevant

Is it enough? Have you covered everything?

Search for other terms / concepts Search other databases

Just right
Save results Skim read abstracts Author or institution search Citation search (key references) Add new keywords to your mindmap / search plan

Search techniques
If you have too few results
Search tip Truncation * Search for words which begin with the same letters OR Search for different words with the same meaning (synonyms) Use brackets around words linked with OR Wildcards Search for alternative spellings (usually ? or *) Example econ* Effect Will find results with economy, economic, economical, economies Will find results which have either, or both of these terms Will find results which have either spelling i.e. urbanization or urbanisation

(Great Britain OR United Kingdom)

urbani?ation

If you have too many results

Search tip Quotation marks Search for an exact phrase AND Search for multiple words together NOT Exclude irrelevant information from your search Proximity searching Searches for words occurring near each other, in any order. Example water pollution Effect Will find these words, in this exact order (making the search more specific) Will find results with both of these words (in any order) Will find results about windows, but exclude any which mention Microsoft Will find results which have these terms within 4 words of each other

water AND pollution

windows NOT Microsoft

seismic NEAR/4 modelling

Some databases will not support techniques such as proximity searching, or they may use different characters for truncation and wildcards. The help section of the database will tell you which techniques can be used and how to apply them.