Search Skills: Finding Information Effectively

Before searching, check your assessment brief, marking criteria and module reading list.

Identify:

the question or topic you need to address

the type of assessment you are completing

whether you are expected to use set readings, find additional material or conduct an independent search

what kinds of source or evidence are appropriate

any requirements relating to date, subject, location or type of publication

whether you need to explain or document how you searched

If your assessment asks you to work with provided sources, focus on finding, reading and using those materials. Look beyond them when your brief or tutor expects this.

To find a particular book or article, follow your reading-list link or search using its title and author.

If you need to find evidence on a topic, plan what information you need and where to look. This may involve a simple, informal plan rather than a formally documented search strategy.

For help interpreting the task, see Understanding your assessment brief.

For help deciding what kinds of material might be appropriate, see Understanding source types.

For a keyword search, use the main concepts rather than the complete wording of your assessment question.

To develop your terms:

1. Identify the main concepts in the topic.
2. Leave out instruction words such as analyse, discuss or evaluate.
3. List alternative words, spellings and related terms for each concept.
4. Add relevant names, theories, places, populations or dates where needed.
5. Use terminology from useful sources to improve your search.

For example, a question about the effect of social media on adolescent wellbeing might contain three main concepts:

• social media
• adolescents
• wellbeing

Possible alternative or related terms include teenagers, young people, mental health and psychological wellbeing. Check what each term means: related terms may cover a different population or aspect of your topic.

Your terminology will usually develop as you search. Useful papers, books and database subject headings can introduce terms that you had not initially considered.

Many academic search tools let you combine terms using search techniques such as:

• AND between different concepts, for example social media AND adolescents
• OR between alternatives, for example adolescents OR teenagers
• quotation marks around a phrase, for example "social media"
• truncation or wildcards to find word variations
• filters for criteria such as date, subject, format or peer-reviewed status
• Advanced Search options for particular fields, such as title or author

Search features differ between services. A technique that works in LibrarySearch or a specialist database may not work in Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar or another discovery tool. Check the help information for the service you are using.

Start with a manageable search and add complexity only when it helps. Long search strings can exclude relevant material as well as reduce irrelevant results.

See Boolean operators and advanced search techniques for worked examples.

There is no single search route that is right for every assessment.

Depending on the task, you might use:

• your module reading list when the assessment is based on set or recommended material
• LibrarySearch as a strong general route for finding books, articles and other academic material, including substantial open-access content
• a specialist database when you need subject-specific coverage, terminology or search features
• Google Scholar or Semantic Scholar for particular discovery tasks, such as following citations, finding related papers or locating openly available versions
• websites from appropriate government, professional, statistical or other authoritative organisations when the task requires those kinds of evidence
• optional literature mapping tools or generative AI research assistants during extended independent research

You do not need to use every tool. Choose routes that match the evidence you need and any method specified by your tutor, supervisor or programme.

The Library's Search and discovery tools guide explains the coverage, strengths and limitations of the available routes.

If you use AI to explore a topic or develop possible search terms, see AI for researching a topic.

Examine the first set of results before deciding what to change.

Scan titles and abstracts, where available, to identify potentially relevant material. Then read promising sources more fully to judge whether they provide suitable evidence for your task. These initial checks do not replace evaluating the sources you intend to use. See Evaluate information.

If you find too many results:

• make one or more concepts more specific
• add another relevant concept
• use quotation marks for an important phrase
• search within a particular field
• apply appropriate date, subject or format filters

If you find too few results:

• check the spelling of your terms
• try synonyms, broader terms or alternative terminology
• remove an unnecessary concept or filter
• search for a key title or author
• try another appropriate database or search tool

If the results are not relevant:

• check whether your terms have more than one meaning
• replace broad or ambiguous words
• look at the terminology used in a relevant result
• check whether you are searching an appropriate collection
• avoid adding filters before you understand what they exclude

Do not assume that a poor set of results means that no relevant research exists. It may mean that you need different terminology, another search route or help from your tutor, supervisor or Library Services.

Finding a source and accessing it are different tasks. If you have found a journal article but cannot open it, see Get the full text of an article.

A relevant source can provide:

• terminology and subject headings
• references to earlier work
• names of authors, theories or studies
• publications that have cited it subsequently
• related papers or areas of research

Looking through a source’s reference list is called backward citation chaining. Finding later publications that cite it is called forward citation chaining.

Citation links are not complete in every service. Being frequently cited also does not establish that a source is reliable, relevant or correct.

See Citation chaining for guidance on following research backwards and forwards.

Keep the publication details of useful sources so that you can find them again and reference them accurately. Save a stable link or DOI where available, and note why a source may be relevant. If you take notes or copy a quotation, keep the source details and any relevant page numbers with it.

The LibrarySearch guide explains how to save and manage results. You can also use a reference-management tool where appropriate; see RefWorks for Abertay’s supported tool.

For a routine assessment, keeping brief notes of useful terms, databases and sources may be enough.

For a dissertation, structured literature review or research project, you may need a more detailed record containing:

• the databases and search tools used
• the date each search was conducted
• the search terms or complete search strings
• filters and limits applied
• the number of results
• relevant changes made to the search
• how sources were selected or excluded
• any citation chaining or other discovery methods used

Postgraduate researchers are expected to use a rigorous and documented approach appropriate to their discipline, research question and methodology. However, not every postgraduate research project is a systematic review.

Example: a search log

The entries below are illustrative. Adapt the format and level of detail to your task.

Where required, also record your source-selection decisions and any citation chaining or other discovery methods. Keeping references to sources is different from keeping a record of how you searched for and selected them.

Systematic, scoping and other evidence reviews have specific methodological requirements. Searching several databases or keeping a log does not by itself make a review systematic. Follow the method required by your programme, supervisor or review protocol.

AI research assistants and literature mapping tools can provide additional routes to possible sources, but using one does not make a search comprehensive or reproducible.

There is no fixed number of sources that is correct for every assessment.

Consider:

• what the assessment brief and marking criteria require
• whether you have used the source types expected for the task
• whether your search has covered the main concepts and appropriate databases
• whether you have found relevant perspectives, evidence and areas of disagreement
• whether important claims in your work are supported
• whether your search method requires particular databases, dates or documentation
• whether new searches are still producing substantially different relevant material

Repeated findings can indicate that you understand the main literature, but repetition alone does not prove that a search is complete.

For an assessment, ask your tutor if the expected scope is unclear. For a dissertation or research project, agree the appropriate coverage and method with your supervisor.

As you select material, use Evaluate information to decide whether each source is suitable for your purpose.