Use this guide to get some ideas when searching for information for your assignments in databases and the library catalogue.
Identifying keywords
When you've been given your assignment topic you will be able to identify the main keywords to use to search for information.
Example topic: Discuss the effects of stress on students during exams.
With this topic we can see three main keywords:
stress
students
exams
The next step is to think of some similar words to the main keywords, like broader or narrower terms and synonyms.
You should end up with a range of words to use in your search, like in the table below:
stress
anxiety, pressure
students
undergraduate
exams
assessment, grades, tests
Combing keywords
Now that you've thought of some keywords you can think about how to use them in your searches. Most databases and catalogues let you combine keywords when searching. This will help you get better results.
Refine your search strategies by using the tactics in the table below. These suggestions can save you time from repeating searches or help you to obtain results that you could have potentially missed.
Use " " to search for an exact phrase
"undergraduate students"
Use the ? symbol to replace a single letter
organi?ation will search for organisation and organization
Use the * symbol for variations of a word
assess* will search for assessment, assessing, assessable
Check the help section in the database you're searching to see if these features are enabled.
