Planning your

Literature Search
Start with the most recently published research and work back.
Start general and get more specific.

Defining your topic

Define your topic idea ask a question (How? What? When? Where? Who?) if this helps to get
you started.
For example:
You are required to complete an assignment on a particular topic: An overview of the
pelagic/estuarine plankton ecosystem. You need to clarify your thoughts about the topic. So you
could ask questions such as:

How is the pelagic/estuarine environment defined?

What are plankton?
What are the particular characteristics of this ecosystem?
What flora and fauna would you find there?

Identifying your keywords

Once you have stated your topic as a question, you need to identify the main keywords or
concepts in the question. This can be done by identifying the significant terms in your question:

Ecosystem
Pelagic/estuarine
Plankton

Identifying your related terms

For each concept or keyword that you have now identified, make a list of synonyms or related
terms or phrases. This list may provide you with additional terms to use when searching for
information. It may also suggest ways to narrow or broaden your topic.
Your topic
An overview of the pelagic/estuarine plankton ecosystem

Literature Search Helpsheet

ecosystem
pelagic
community
open sea
habitat
upper layers
environment
biological organisms

estuarine
tidal channel
river mouth
saline/freshwater

plankton
floating organisms
microscopic organisms
surface-layer organisms

This list of related terms will be useful if your initial search comes up with too few items. When
you search, the terms you listed vertically will be connected by OR (broadening the search) and
those in different columns will be connected by AND (narrowing the search).

Identifying broader and narrower terms

Finding too much or too little information may mean you have to narrow or broaden your
topic. If you need to narrow your topic, try adding more specific terms to your questions. For
example, narrow an overview of the pelagic/estuarine plankton ecosystem by limiting your scope to
the UK or to Cornwall.

Spelling and terminology

Once you have decided on the keywords you are going to use, you will also need to think about
the differences in terminology and spelling. Some of the databases you will be using are American
and this needs to be taken into account when planning your search.
Spelling
English
Organisation
Centre

American
Organization
Center

Terminology
English
Road
Petrol

American
Highway
Gas

Identifying your database

In deciding which database to use, you need to look at the subject areas covered. Some cover a
wide subject area, others have a narrower remit. No one database will necessarily cover all the
relevant sources so you should consider using more than one. Go to Student Central by clicking
on Home:

Entering your search

Once you have planned your search strategy, you are ready to start searching an electronic
database.
Your search:
How you enter your search depends on the database. Some databases require you to enter your
search as a single step, others also allow you to enter single search terms and combine them later.

Literature Search Helpsheet

To enter your search as a single step, you may need to combine the terms with Boolean operators
AND, OR and NOT. You may also need to use brackets to ensure the logic is applied to the
correct sets of search terms. For example, ecosystem AND pelagic AND plankton.

Evaluating search results

Databases normally have several ways of displaying the results of your search. The most common
way is a brief list containing title, author, publication details and type. It is often important to view
the full database record to evaluate the contents of the journal article, book etc. Some databases
may provide a link to the full text of the document. Always pay attention to the subject
headings or descriptors used as they help you refine your search if you have found too many
items.

Saving search results

There are different options for saving your search results, depending on what the system you are
using allows. See the help in the database you are using for further instructions.
Printing
You can print all your search results or mark a selection for printing.
Copying and pasting
You can highlight the information you are interested in and copy and paste into a word processing
program.
Saving
You can save all your search results or mark a selection for saving.
Emailing
You can often email the results of a search to yourself.

Locating your references (if not available in full text)

When you have found some relevant references you need to:
1. Search the library catalogue. Does the Learning Centre hold the journal or book you require?
2. If the item you require is on loan or held at another campus you can reserve it.
3. If Cornwall College Learning Centres do not hold the item you need, you may be able to
obtain it through Plymouth University or the Inter Library Loans (ILLs) system. Please ask in
the Learning Centre.

Adapted from: UWE Library Services http://www.uwe.ac.uk/library/resources/general/info_study_skills/tutorial/ret/plan1.htm

Literature Search Helpsheet