This document provides a step-by-step guide for effectively searching for information on a topic. It recommends beginning with a broad search using Google or Wikipedia to gain background knowledge before narrowing the search. Step 1 involves exploring the topic broadly online or on Wikipedia. Step 2 is to create a search strategy using a keyword table with synonyms and Booleans, then search appropriate databases like PubMed or PsychINFO. The goal is to understand the topic at a high level before finding specific academic details.

1. Step-by-step guide: How to
approach a search
By: Intekhab Hossain and Mariam Kamel
Last updated: Apr. 2015

2. Introduction
Pubmed got you down?
Searching for information on a specific topic can
seem daunting if the first place you search is in
PubMed.
A better strategy is to begin your search broadly
(eg. Google, Wikipedia) and then narrow down
to specific databases (eg. Pubmed, OVID). This
way, you will have a basic understanding of the
topic before delving into the specific details.

3. STEP 1: BROAD SEARCH to
get background knowledge
1. Explore the topic using Google search and read a
few of the pertinent resultant websites.
***NOTE: Googling is NOT a poor strategy to finding information. It is
often thought that we can only find valid information in scientific articles.
However, for basic information, a Google search is a good way to build a
foundation, after which, you can learn more about the topic through
scientific articles.

4. 2. Wikipedia is also a great resource for background
knowledge. If an article is locked (symbolized by the
following icon on the top right of the article: ), it
is a good sign that the information in the article is
legitimate and only very specific individuals can
edit it. For the most part, Wikipedia is reliable. In
case of uncertainty, you can always refer to the
original source (by clicking on the superscript that
follows) and verify the information.
***NOTE: The references at the bottom of Wikipedia articles are
valuable primary resources (e.g. articles) that you may want to consider
exploring.
STEP 1: BROAD SEARCH to
get background knowledge

5. STEP 2: NARROW SEARCH to
get specific details on the topic
1. Create a search strategy using a keyword table
(see Table on next slide for an example)
a. Establish your research question
b. Determine the main concepts of your research question.
These will be your key words.
c. Brainstorm as many synonyms or alternate terms as you
can that describe each main concept of your search
question. These will go under the keywords.
d. Utilize asterisks to search for any word with the letters
before the *. This broadens the search.
For instance, student* will search for student and studentS
and eval* will search for evaluate, evaluation, evaluations,
etc.

6. e. Combine terms using the Booleans AND / OR.
– AND: both terms must be in the result.
– OR: either of the terms must be in the result.
Example: What are effective stress coping mechanisms for
university students?
STEP 2: NARROW SEARCH to
get specific details on the topic
Keywords Stress Cop* Student* Universit*
Synonyms Tension Deal* with Undergraduate College
Anxiety Manag* Graduate Academ*
Strateg* Pupil
Reduc*
Thus, the search term would be: (stress OR tension OR anxiety) AND (cop* OR deal* with OR
manag* OR strategy* OR reduc*) AND (student* OR undergraduate OR graduate OR pupil)
AND (university* OR college OR academ*)

7. 2. Determine the appropriate database to
search on (see guide “List of databases for
specific topics”) [e.g. PsychINFO for
psychology topics]
3. Perform the search, using the search term
created in Step 2, on each of the databases
(see guides “PubMed, OVID, and Web of
Science”; similar methods can be applied to
all databases)
STEP 2: NARROW SEARCH to
get specific details on the topic