A search strategy is a structured plan for finding information on a specific topic. It involves analysing your topic, identifying key concepts, selecting appropriate keywords, and applying techniques such as Boolean operators, wildcards, and truncation. A well-planned strategy saves time, improves accuracy, and ensures you retrieve the most relevant and comprehensive results.
1. Do Background Reading
Begin by reading general or introductory material to understand your topic, spot key issues, and identify important terminology. This will help refine your research focus and guide your choice of search terms.
2. Define and Analyse Concepts
Break your topic into main concepts by:
3. Develop Search Terms and Techniques
Search Terms & Synonyms
List main keywords and include synonyms or related terms (use a dictionary, thesaurus, or database thesauri).
Consider British vs. American spelling (e.g., globalisation vs. globalization).
Use controlled vocabulary such as subject headings in library catalogues or database thesauri.
Think in hierarchies:
Broader terms – e.g., national symbols when searching for flags.
Narrower terms – e.g., flags or anthems when searching for national symbols.
Include jargon in the field and plain-language equivalents, as terminology may evolve.
Add a specific subject or context keyword if you need to narrow your results.
Boolean Operators
AND – narrows the search (e.g., education AND technology).
OR – broadens the search by including synonyms (e.g., teenagers OR adolescents).
NOT – excludes terms (e.g., bats NOT cricket).
Most databases offer Advanced Search options where rows can be linked by AND/OR/NOT (default is AND).
Wildcards and Truncation
Asterisk (*) – retrieves variant endings (educat* → education, educating, educator).
Question mark (?) – replaces a single character (globali?ation → globalisation, globalization).
Quotation marks (" ") – search for an exact phrase ("South Africa").
Example: “south* Africa*” → southern Africa, southern African, South Africans, etc.