Evaluating

Too Much Information

1.

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.

2.

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.

3.

Use limiters when they're available. Will the database let you limit to publications only in English? Can you limit 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 that gives more specific results. Try using the operator NOT.

Too Little Information

1.

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 disable an entire search. Check a dictionary.

2.

Get rid of long phrases. When you type in a phrase, all the words must appear in exactly that order for the database to make a match and return a subset of results. Some databases automatically put the operator AND between the words you type, turning your phrase into a long Boolean search string.

3.

Try using alternative terms. Use synonyms gathered while doing introductory reading. Don't forget truncation or wildcards for variant forms of a word.

Examples:

Truncation: "educat*" for education, educator, educate, educated

4.

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.