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Searching 101

Why Searching Matters

Searching is an art, not an exact science. Our goal in searching is to create a "good enough" query that matches the depth of research our project requires and pulls back enough relevant results for us to support our arguments/ assertions in that project. Simply put - was the search able to find what you needed and is it enough for your research purposes?

Different types of papers will require varying amounts of effort in searching. For example: in the healthcare field a Systematic Review is one of the highest level types of reviews a researcher can do. It requires careful documentation, transparency, and accuracy across multiple databases. These papers often have an information professional, aka the librarian, specifically create, test, and translate a search query to provide the researchers with the best and most comprehensive results possible. A school assignment will not require the same amount of searching effort. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be thorough in your own searching, but you will not need a librarian to hunt down every piece of literature on your topic on your behalf. 

The steps of a successful search:

  1. Define your topic

    1. Knowing what you need helps save you time and frustration
  2. Gather keywords related to your topic 
    1. This includes: alternate spellings, outdated terminology, synonyms, acronyms, etc. 
  3. Choose your databases, search engines, or other places to start searching in
    1. Ideally you should be looking in multiple places to find info so that you don't miss out on anything important
    2. Search engines & sites like Wikipedia are okay to start with - but don't end there!
  4. Combine your keywords into query elements (aka groups)
  5. Use syntax and Boolean operators in your query for better results and less junk
  6. Test your search 
    1. Run your search
    2. Evaluate the results - use your best judgement and evaluation skills
    3. Refine if needed
    4. Run the search again
    5. Repeat as needed
  7. Have a search query that you're happy with? 
    1. Test the search in multiple places 
      1. Depending on where you search you may need to "translate" your query so that it is readable by another source. Not all databases work the same, nor do they have a universal syntax language
    2. Evaluate the results from the differing databases/search engines/ etc. 
  8. Pull the results that you want to use in your project or paper 
    1. Keep in mind - not everything is full text (unless you refine your search for that)
    2. Citation Managers are really helpful for keeping citations organized, shareable, and accessible to word processing software
  9. Cite your sources in your work!!

Definitions

  • Database
    • A cite that houses, vets, and provides access to (typically) peer-reviewed scholarly articles
    • Most databases use structured language, set syntax, and other methods of direct query building
    • They are transparent, consistent, and are unaffected by user search history or geo-location 
  • Search Engine
    • A tool that crawls the internet looking for your key terms - typically via natural language 
    • There is no vetting process of the results - you will get anything and everything the search engine thinks you want
    • Search engines are proprietary, inconsistent, and will tailor your results based on location and prior search history
  • Search Query
    • A combined string of keywords, syntax, and Boolean operators (or even just simple natural language) fed into a database or search engine to find a specific set of results
    • Can also be referred to as 'query'
  • Element of a search query
    • An element of a search query denotes a subsection of the query itself 
    • A query is made up of keywords that are grouped together based on their similarities and linked with Boolean operators 
    • For a visual example of a search query breakdown please see the Basics search tab
  • Results
    • articles, links, or other types of answers provided by a database or search engine based off the search query it was given
  • Syntax (as used in a database)
    • Refers to the symbols, conjunctions, and other terms used by a database to help create a structured language for more effective searching
  • Boolean Operators
    • Is a linking term used in a search query to join, combine, or exclude keywords 
    • The Big 3: AND, OR, NOT
    • Boolean operators are more often used in databases though some can be used in search engines with varying results 
  • Natural Language
    • A way of speaking that often mimics the way people speak to each other but fed into a search engine or database
    • Examples: "What is..?", "How do I...?", "why is...?", "please find..."
    • While natural language isn't bad, it can gum up your search results with irrelevant material or confuse the database/engine to misinterpret your query
  • Structured Language
    • Structured Language can be a set list of symbols, terms, and operators that a database denotes a specific meaning to in order to make the search query more efficient and less wordy, as well as procure the most relevant results
    • Examples: *(Asterisk) - a wildcard used to find plurals or alternate endings for keywords, AND - links two separate elements of a query together, Controlled vocabulary lists assign terms with multiple meanings one set definition to allow for more results control

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If you have suggestions for how to make this page better, please contact Elizabeth Jerow, Library Director (jerow@msoe.edu).