Introduction
You have thought up your research questions and search terms and selected your information resources. Now you can start to actually search. In this module you will learn a number of techniques to search more effectively:
- Combining & excluding
- Exact phrase
- Truncation
- Masking using wildcards
- Using subject headings
You will also learn search methods such as:
- Citation searches: backward chaining
- Citation searches: forward chaining
- Expand and narrow searches
- 'Pearl growing’
Finally, a number of tips on improving your search results will be given. How do you resolve too few relevant results? Or too many results?
Carefully examine the various options before you start searching. These options determine the way in which you will search.Â
