Last-Modified: 14. 08. 2024.

A search strategy is a way to find the information needed to answer your research question efficiently. A search strategy also helps you to conduct literature searches systematically, making it easier to find relevant information. This way, you will get more specific results and spend less time reading irrelevant material.

Ask yourself these questions to develop an effective search strategy:

What am I searching for?

What topic do you need information on? How do you formulate the right search question and what search terms match your search?

A well-formulated search question

A good search question consists of several well-defined (and where possible measurable) elements. The better you know how to define your subject the more precise your question will be. If you can't really tell what your subject is, your search results will be of no or less relevance.

Examples:
•    “Is the weather beautiful?” (too vague)
•    "On a yearly basis, is it always beautiful weather in the period between April and September?' (less vague already)

Measurable and better is:
•    "How many summery days per year did occur in the Netherlands between 1900 and 2000?"( A summery day is a day with a maximum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius or higher).
•    "What month had, on average,  the least number of hours of sunshine in the period between 1900 and 2000?"

 

Generating search terms

Thinking up the right search terms is one of the major parts of your search strategy.

Go looking for corresponding terms for each part of your search question. Don't forget:
•    synonyms (house / dwelling)
•    broader terms (university / higher education)
•    narrower terms (children / toddlers)
•    related terms (training / coaching)
•    antonyms (terms with opposite meanings, such as parent/child or poverty/wealth
•    persons and organisations of importance to your subject
•    terms indicating space and time (for instance eras, centuries, names of places, countries)
•    avoid bias in your search terms, it might colour the outcome of your search

And also think of the different word forms:
•    singular/plural
•    verb conjugations
•    nouns/adjectives
•    different spelling (labor / labour or organisation / organization)
•    abbreviations
•    translations into languages which are relevant to your subject and discipline

Correct your search terms along the way. If you do so from the very start, you will soon see which (new) terms produce the right results, and which terms don't. Repeat this method as long as it takes.

You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Use resources:
•    words from an exploratory search from, for instance, Wikipedia or handbooks
•    words from earlier found sources, for instance words from the title or abstract or keywords given by the author
•    dictionaries
•    thesauri (overviews of selected words or concepts and their mutual relations within a particular field of interest or discipline, often included in large, subject specific databases)

 


In the Collection menu you can find out how to access the different types of documents in the BME OMIKK.

 

Where should I search?

Choose the best database, catalogue or website related to your topic.
 
•    To search the library's print books and journals, use the online catalogue.  
•    Use your EduID to download electronic textbooks and reference books from Interkönyv and MERSZ.   
•    Search the collections of several libraries in Hungary in the MOKKA-ODR catalogue. You can request the appropriate books by interlibrary loan to the BME OMIKK.
•    Information on the availability of electronic scientific journals in Hungary can be found in COMPASS.
•    BME OMIKK provides direct access to the subscription content of several scientific journal and article databases. BME citizens can request free of charge scientific articles or book chapters to which BME does not have a subscription.
•    The tables of contents of Hungarian journals can be searched in the MATARKA database. The full text of the article is also available along with some of the references.
•    The digital repository for documents created at the university is the Digital Archive of the University of Technology (BME MDA). 

 

How should I search?

Search effectively and use relevant search terms in the right combination (e.g. using AND/OR operators).  

The operators most frequently used:

  • AND: both terms must occur. Example: fashion AND France
  • OR: at least one of the terms must occur. Example: fashion OR trend OR hype
  • NOT (or sometimes AND NOT): the term must not occur. Example: fashion NOT clothes
  • "... ...": exact phrase, terms must occur together and in this exact order. Example: "French revolution"


There are several search methods:

  • Catalogue method: Searching with search terms of your own choosing in a search engine that makes literature in a certain collection/collection searchable.
  • Snowball method: You search on the basis of a suitable publication you have found earlier. For example other publications by the same author, or you go searching for other sources in the reading list of a relevant publication.
  • Citation searching: see if the article you found has been cited, and if so, have a look at this new article. If this article is also relevant you can see if this article has also been cited, and so on. Use a citation database, like Web of Science, Scopus or search Google Scholar.

Too many results: What to do?

  • Search more specifically by using more specific search terms
  • Add an extra aspect to your search (with AND)
  • Limit your search to certain years of publication
  • Change the sorting order: sort by relevance but also try year of publication or, if possible, the number of citations
  • Change to a different (subject related) database that better fits your topic

 

How should I select?

Check: does the information answer the research question/sub-question? Is the information from a good quality source?
Before using the sources you find, evaluate them for relevance and scientific merit to increase the reliability of your research.
 

Use of non-scientific sources

If you use non-scientific sources (newspapers, blogs, websites, reports, etc.), please take care to:

 

  • Is the author or responsible organisation named?
  • Do you know the date of publication or when it was updated?
  • Quality of sources: pay attention to the language, level of argumentation and number of citations.


Need help?
Library staff can help you find information, the best resources and databases on the subject, either in person or online by appointment. On our website, under Information and consultation, you will find more information on how to book a librarian.