Reviewing the results
Did you find what you needed?
Sometimes things don't work out as planned. Don't worry! It's not unusual for your first attempt to find information on a particular topic to be unsuccessful. There are a number of ways forward. You can:
- Refine your search
- Choose new keywords
- Use another resource
- Ask library or teaching staff for advice.
The discussion which follows assumes that you attempted to find information using an electronic resource. Although the details will be different if you are using a printed reference work, the principle is the same.
Refining your search
Sometimes a search of a particular electronic resource leads to few, if any, useable search results. If this is the case, you may need to change your search strategy.
If you found too few results, did you broaden your search by using the OR operator?
To do this, find a synonym for your original search term or employ a keyword with a similar meaning. Imagine for a moment that you were using a journal index to look for information to answer the assignment question:
Discuss British imperialism in Malaya before World War II.
Instead of using imperialism as one of your keywords (Malaya would be another), you could use colonialism. If this didn't work, you could try truncating your keywords (ie use imperial*, colonial*, Malay* instead of imperialism, colonialism or Malaya). This will pick up articles which discuss imperialist, imperialisms, colonial, colonialist, colonialisms, Malay, Malayan, Malaysia and so on.
Occasionally, you will need to use an entirely different keyword. For example, if using the keyword koala (Phascolarctos cinereus if you are looking for scientific information on the animal itself) is not working, try the broader term marsupial.
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The Oxford paperback thesaurus Search The Oxford paperback thesaurus which contains alternatives and related terms. |
What to do when you get irrelevant results
Some keyword searches result in a long list of irrelevant results. As mentioned earlier, Web search engines are notorious in this regard. In most cases, the best response is to use Boolean operators and new keywords to narrow your search. However, be careful not to add too many keywords or to be too specific with your use of different operators: if you do, it's possible for you to end up with too few or no results.
Help in choosing new keywords
If you are using the University Library catalogue as your search tool, you can refer to the printed volumes of the Library of Congress Subject Headings or use DRA's online site. You can also check the detailed record of an appropriate item in the University Library catalogue to find the correct controlled vocabulary to use. Another option is to ask for help at the Service Desk.
If you are using an electronic resource, see if you can find details of its controlled vocabulary. For example, see if it contains a thesaurus or index of terms.
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Thesauruses in electronic databases Go to the database PsycARTICLES and click on the link Thesaurus top-right above the search boxes. What terms can you find for 'depression'? |
Choosing another resource
If you didn't find many useful search results, than it might be necessary to search elsewhere using a different tool. Check the A-Z list page to see if there are more suitable electronic databases for you to try. In addition, you might have to turn to one of the non-electronic reference tools available.
If all else fails, ask at the Service Desk. You can telephone the Service Desk on 02 6773 2458 during library opening hours. In addition, requests can be sent electronically to the Ask a Librarian service.
Summary
We've examined what you can do when you run into difficulties during your search. Alternatives include:
- Refining your search
- Choosing new keywords or combinations of keywords
- Changing the tools you are using
- Seeking help from the nearest Information Desk.
The next page will deal with the question of selecting and sorting your information.
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Self-test
Try these quick self-test questions to assess what you have learnt from this module. |
