Plan your search

Topic 1

What's on this page?

Before you start to look for information on your topic, you need to plan your search.

You will find on this page:

Step by step instructions on how to plan your search. There is a printable version of the worksheet on the bottom of the page.
More help available on Study Smart, an online tutorial

Step 1: Define your topic

Write down your topic and

Circle the TASK WORDS such as evaluate, discuss, contrast, compare, suggest
Highlight LIMITING WORDS such as two examples, last 10 years
Underline the MAIN CONCEPTS / TOPIC WORDS

Step 2: Identify search terms for each concept

Think of as many different ways to say the key concepts as you can. Write down synonyms (words of similar meaning), identify plurals, spelling variations, broader or narrower terms.

You can use GenAI tools to help you identify synonyms.

A Table format will help you.

CONCEPTS	ALTERNATIVE WORDS/PHRASES

Step 3: Combine search terms into a search statement

Combining concepts: Separate concepts are joined by AND. Synonyms are joined by OR, horizontally. This is the structure of most advanced search interfaces.

For example

	"social media"
AND	privacy
AND	ethic*

Phrases are enclosed in double quotation marks. Words with plurals and variant endings can be truncated with an asterisk at the common stem.

Use your search statements in Library Search, databases, or search engines to find information on your topic.

To learn about special techniques you can use in your search, click on the Search Techniques tab.

Worksheet: printable version

Student Worksheet

Print out this worksheet to help you plan your search.