Search Terms & Techniques

When performing an extensive literature search, don’t only look to the key terms of your research question or topic.

Also bear in mind the following terms:

• synonym

• antonym

• jargon

• terminology

• abbreviation

• language variants

To find alternative search terms:

• Use a thesaurus or subject specific reference work to identify synonyms, terminology or phrasing.

• Search for your topic on a search engine, scanning the results for alternative words and phrases.

• Generating search terms: Find out more
  Libguide of the University of Utrecht with useful tools for search terms.

• General search techniques
  Databases and search engines often offer additional ways to search for better results: a good balance between completeness and relevance. General search techniques like Boolean search operators are must knows.

Each database or platform has a slightly different search experience that often requires search string reformulation. The FBL Liaison Team can help you with setting up searches using the specialized syntax of individual databases.