Although conducting research online can be straightforward, your university assignments will require more academic and reliable sources. This is when LibrarySearch and library databases become valuable tools.
However, these database search systems work differently than Google and other internet search engines, so creating an effective search strategy will help you find higher-quality, more relevant results for your academic projects.
To search effectively, you need to develop a clear search strategy that will find all the relevant information on your topic.
To do this, you need to:
Identify the keywords that describe the main ideas in your topic or assignment.
Expand the list of keywords by finding alternative words. This includes synonyms, related words, abbreviations, acronyms and words that are specific to your subject area or profession.
Example
Let's use the following topic as an example:
Compare team models in two contemporary organisations. Discuss the effectiveness of these models with reference to current management theories.
Note the key words and possible alternative words that could be used for your search strategy:
*Refine your search by using specific management theories
Tip: Use a dictionary or a thesaurus to help you find alternative words.
Activity: Identifying keywords
Create a search query
Most databases offer both a basic and an advanced search option. If you need help searching a particular database, look for the Help menu in the database to find tips and 'How to' videos. You may also find database tutorials on YouTube, and from some Library Subject Guides.
For an advanced database search, you may need to use Boolean operators. Boolean operators connect your search terms together in specific ways (AND, OR, NOT), and also help you to narrow or broaden your search.
Boolean operators
Some databases and catalogues allow you to combine keywords using Boolean operators (advanced operators). For example:
AND operator:
"Travel AND Tourism" - Travel AND Tourism retrieves records with both travel and tourism (indicated by the shaded area) and narrows the number of records retrieved.
OR operator:
"Travel OR Tourism" - Travel OR Tourism retrieves records where either travel or tourism occur (indicated by the shaded area) and broadens the number of records retrieved.
NOT operator:
"Travel NOT Tourism" - Travel NOT Tourism retrieves records with the keyword "travel" but not "tourism" (indicated by the shaded area).
Truncation and wildcards
Some databases and catalogues also allow you to use truncation and wildcard symbols. For example:
behaviour* = behavioural, behaviours, behaviour.
You can use truncation to broaden your search by substituting a word ending with a symbol. In this example, we use an asterisk (*) as the truncation symbol. However, different databases use different symbols, so you need to check the search tips in a database to find out what symbol it uses.
Wildcards
You can use wildcards to broaden your search by substituting letters in words. In this example, we have used a question mark (?) as the wildcard symbol. However, different databases use different symbols, so you will need to check the search tips in a database to find out what symbol it uses.
For example:
organi?ational behavio?r = organisational, organizational, behaviour, behavior.
Searching for a phrase
Some databases and catalogues allow you to search for phrases. Quotation marks placed at the beginning and end of a phrase narrows a search. Only results that include the exact phrase will appear.
"organisational behaviour" = results with the exact words, "organisational behaviour"
