GetRef is no longer an active service.
These pages are provided as an archive for information only.

GetRef EDINA
Page: 7 of 13 Page 1: Research Skills Page 2: Introduction Page 3: Locating and retrieving relevant information Page 4: The information landscape Page 5: Carrying out your literature search Page 6: Define your topic Page 7: Develop your search strategy Page 8: Define your keywords Page 9: Narrow your search Page 10: Library catalogues Page 11: Indexes & online databases Page 12: Internet search tools Page 13: Refining your search strategy « Prev | Next »  

Develop your Search Strategy

  • What do you already know?
  • What do you need?

Think about the information you already have, this could be in the form of lecture notes and standard textbooks. You then need to think carefully about the information you need to acquire. Are you only looking for current information? You may also wish to limit your search by date, country, language or publication type.

It is important that you spend time in thinking about a search strategy as this will mean that you locate relevant and useful information, saving you time in the long run.


Page: 7 of 13 Page 1: Research Skills Page 2: Introduction Page 3: Locating and retrieving relevant information Page 4: The information landscape Page 5: Carrying out your literature search Page 6: Define your topic Page 7: Develop your search strategy Page 8: Define your keywords Page 9: Narrow your search Page 10: Library catalogues Page 11: Indexes & online databases Page 12: Internet search tools Page 13: Refining your search strategy « Prev | Next »