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There is not one correct way to search. But there are search strategies that have proven helpful for past search topics. You should try different ways of searching and different search strategies to see what works best for your topic. Do not be afraid to experiment. You may have some good ideas for search strategies, too.
To find information, you ultimately must choose some words with which to search in a print book, on the Internet, in a database, or within some other information resource.
The selection of search words can impact the results you find. If my search words are [ nursing burnout ] to find information on nursing retention, I am likely to retrieve more results that describe the negative side.
When presenting a position, it is good practice for researchers to consider learning about other perspectives in order to anticipate and address opposing viewpoints.
"Pearl growing" or "pearl gathering" is a search strategy where the researcher enters a rough and dirty search just to see what kinds of results come back and then uses information from the results to improve the search.
This strategy is analogous to how a pearl is created starting from a piece of dirt underneath the shell of an oyster. From the dirt, a gem grows. From a rough search, an improved search with better results grow.
In executing "pearl growing," the ISU science librarian enters just a few search words that represent the topic. Then she skims down the results looking at what results were collected, how relevant they are to the original topic, and what words are being used to talk about the topic. She particularly looks at good results to see what terms are used and what Subjects are assigned to the record in the database. Then she re-crafts her search. Adding synonyms with OR and parentheses, when appropriate. Adding truncation, when appropriate.
Scientists use very specialized terminology and language in order to communicate precisely what they wish to say. It can take time to learn these terms. And because of human limitations, there will always be new terms and concepts yet unknown to you. Use science glossaries and dictionaries to learn the meaning of words used in science publications. The ISU Library owns science dictionaries, but sometimes a quick Internet search is good enough to keep reading.
If you need to search on a substance, what is the substance called? Does it only have one name? Several names? Does it change or transform? Should you also search for the transformation substance? What about chemical formulas? Do you know how to search for chemical formulas? What about structure searching?
If you need to search for an organism, what is the scientific name of the organism? Scientists use the taxonomy to be certain that they are studying the correct organism and to compare their research on this organism with that of other scientists.
How do scientists talk about the topic?
The ISU science librarian finds she uses the dictionary more now—even though my vocabulary is larger—than I did as a younger student. She asks herself, does that word/phrase really mean what I think it means? I should check!
Researchers take advantage of the work already found by other people. They can do this by using the references of their found publications. An article related to your topic is likely to include relevant references to other sources. They may even list important studies, like the first published article about the discovery of a scientific concept, or they may help you notice other important researchers studying your topic.
Let others do the work for you!
A limitation to this strategy is that, if those authors missed a source, you will miss it, too, unless you also do your own searches. Remember that Gregor Mendel's publication on inheritance was missed for 34 years after its publication. If you only use what others found, you will miss what they missed.
A mistake some novice researchers make is to ONLY search for their EXACT topic. Research questions and topics and made up of different parts or concepts. And your idea for your topic may be brilliant but perhaps no one has published on your idea yet. You can still find out about what is known about the different concepts/parts of the topic (i.e., A and B and C and D).
EXAMPLE: I want to find treatments for venous insufficiency in women with diabetes mellitus.
One may search for A and B and C and D
One may search for Diabetes mellitus and venous insufficiency and treatments and women
But one may also search for the following, which would still provide information that will "inform" or tell me more things related to my topic.
Are you doing a research project in which you must do an experiment or implement a methodology or protocol?
Therefore, do you also need to find out information about the methodology or protocol? About any equipment you must use? About how others used the methodology? Did any of them improve upon the methodology? Did any make mistakes? Do they tell you what to watch for? To avoid?
Search for the name of the methodology, if it has a name. Search for the names of the equipment. Or search for the name of the analysis that will be used from the method or equipment.