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Evaluating
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Your
Search Strategy
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Here are some tips if you found too much information,
too little information, or the wrong information
in your search.
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Too Much Information
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1.
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Try
looking at an irrelevant record your search retrieved.
Can you figure out why the database gave it to you? Did you use
one word that the computer misunderstood? See if you can use a more
specific term or maybe a short phrase that excludes the meaning
you don't want. Try adding a new term which makes your old term
more specific.
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Instead of
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Japan and economy
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Try
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Japan and economy and (auto or automobile or car)
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2.
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Check
where in the record your search terms matched.
The best matches for topics are in fields like Subject or
Title. Look for an Advanced or Expert Search
option in the database to search in specific fields only, if
you can.
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3.
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Use limiters
when they're available.
Will the database let you ask for publications only in English?
Can you ask for only journal articles? Want more recent information?
Is there a subject heading that covers your topic? Can you get rid
of book and film reviews? Play around with your options and see
if they help. Try using the operator NOT.
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(Iran and Iraq) not war
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Hussein and not Saddam
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Clinton not Lewinsky
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+Jazz -Utah
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return to top
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Too Little Information
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1.
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Did you spell your
search terms correctly? Research databases are remarkable
tools, but they don't come equipped with spell checkers. One misspelled
word can sink an entire search. Check a dictionary.
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2.
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Get rid of long
phrases. When you type in a phrase, all the words
must appear in exactly that order before the database will
give you anything. Some databases automatically put the operator
AND between the words you type, turning your phrase into a long
Boolean search string.
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Instead of
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discrimination against ethnic Chinese in Vietnam
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Try
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discrimination and ethnic Chinese and Vietnam
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3.
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Try using alternative
terms. That's
what you gathered all the extra vocabulary for. Don't forget truncation
or wildcards for variant forms of a word.
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4.
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Try to come
up with broader terms for the idea you need. Every
so often, it happens that there's very little written on a specific
topic, but a lot on the general area.
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Very narrow
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recombinant DNA and sheep
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Narrow
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cloning and animals
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Broader
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genetic engineering and animal*
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Very broad
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genetic* and animal*
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return to top
The Wrong Information
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1.
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Check the coverage
of the databases you're using. Do they cover
the kinds of material you need? The right discipline(s)? The right
kinds of documents? The right dates?
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2.
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Try going to "Search
Library-Selected Resources" in the UW Libraries'
Web site. (There's a link in the right margin of this
page.) Set the menu for the kind of sources you want (books, articles,
Web sites, etc.) and your general subject area (History, Biology,
etc.) This will generate a list of good starting points in your
subject.
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3.
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Try drilling down through the "Resources By
Subject" links under Resources
in the UW Libraries Web site. They're set up like
Yahoo! and similar Web sites, which means you have to know
what general field your subject falls under (Social Sciences? Sciences?
Interdisciplinary (2 or more disciplines)? Government and Law?)
Try a few of these and see where you can find your subject. Then
try using some of the databases you find linked there.
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