Developing a search strategy
» Defining the topic
» Considering the scope of your topic
→ Identifying the main or important aspects
» Compiling a list of keywords
» Developing your search strategy
Identifying the main or important aspects
It is common for an essay topic to be presented in a paragraph format, with a great deal of information not being relevant to the topic.
Example:
It has long been suspected that global warming is causing climatic changes. Many species of animal and plant life are sensitive to such changes and there are growing concerns that food crops could be adversely affected. Cereal crops are of particular concern. Discuss, ensuring that you make reference to both books and journals.
It is useful to examine your topic and state it concisely in one or two short sentences, underlining the main aspects.
Example:
I am interested in current research on the impact of global warming on climatic changes and the effect on cereal crops.
The important words or terms identified were global warming, climatic change and cereal crops. These are the different elements or aspects of our topic.
Example:
| Aspect 1 |
Aspect 2 |
Aspect 3 |
| global warming |
climactic change |
cereal crops |
Note: Current research would not be a very good term to use in a search. You can usually restrict your search to current materials by limiting by date of publication.
Words such as impact describe the relationship between other terms and would also not be used in a search.
Words such as effect, implication, outcome and result should also be avoided.
This is a straightforward example. For many topics, you will find that your strategy consists of a number of separate searches. Also, when you apply your search strategy to different databases, you may need to modify it - in some cases by splitting it into separate searches.
Next : Compiling a list of keywords →
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