Search tips

Finding literature, articles, and other sources can sometimes be challenging and time-consuming. To make your search more efficient, consider these tips.

How do I find keywords?

Finding keywords can be challenging but is crucial for effective research. Start by selecting keywords that summarize your research question, and use them when searching databases.

Plan your search

Planning your search saves time and makes it easier when you have to report on how you went about finding material for your work. Start by analysing and defining your search question by considering:

• Why are you looking for information, do you want an overview or in-depth information?
• What kind of material do you need? Books, scientific articles, laws or statistics?
• How much material do you need?
• How old can the material be?
• Do you need scientific material?

Choose your keywords

Begin by identifying keywords that summarize your search query. Consider using synonyms, general terms, or more specific terms in your search. Keep in mind that scientific material is typically written in English, so searching in English is essential. To find useful keywords, explore course literature, attend lectures, and utilize online resources and encyclopedias.

• Encyclopedias and dictionaries Opens in new window.
  In encyclopedias you can get basic knowledge about your subject and find keywords.

Keywords

If you have found an interesting scientific article that you want to use in your work, you can use it as a reference to find more articles on the same topic. This process is known as using a gold standard when searching. In the database, you can identify keywords from the article that describe its content, and then use those keywords for your own search.

Subject headings

In certain databases, you can use subject headings during your search. These subject headings consist of controlled words specifically chosen to describe particular terms. These terms are then applied as tags to scientific articles and other materials within the databases. Subject headings might go by various names and include different words, depending on the specific database. Typically, you will encounter subject headings under headings like thesaurus, keywords, or index.

Where do I search?

Where you should search depends on the type of material you want to find. Different search tools cover various subjects and contain different types of materials.

The Library Search Tool

The Library Search Tool is a good place to start your search. You can search for all materials, such as books, e-books or articles, in the same search tool.

Books and e-books

Use the Library Search Tool to find books and e-books. Begin your search, and then refine the results by choosing the source type, either books or e-books. The search is automatically restricted to materials available at the University Library at Luleå University of Technology. If you need to borrow a book from another library, you can do so through an interlibrary loan. Keep in mind that interlibrary loans are not applicable for e-books.

Articles

When you search for articles in the Library Search Tool, you search in multiple databases at the same time, which means that you can get a lot of hits. To reduce the number of hits, you can use different filters, such as peer reviewed, language or source type. However, you cannot use subject headings when using the Library Search Tool. In that case, use a topic-specific database instead, where you can make more specific refinements.

• Library Search Tool Opens in new window.
  Here you can search for books, e-books and articles.

Databases

The library provides access to a large number of databases that contain scientific articles. A database is a collection of materials which have been made searchable. It can cover many subjects, or be subject-specific, thus collecting just those materials in a specific discipline. Some databases contain full text materials, while others provide only references. They may also contain factual data such as statistics, standards and patents. It is good to find out what type of material you can find in the database. In a database, you can often narrow your search in other ways than you can in the Library search tool. For example, you can limit your search to a specific age group or geographic area. Databases work in different ways so it can be a good idea to look in the database help section to get more detailed information about how you should proceed when searching the database.

• Databases Opens in new window.
  Under the heading All databases you will find the databases available at the University Library.

Google

If you search with Google you will miss out on a lot of scientific material. Therefore, it is often better to use the University Library's search systems and databases. You can also use the service Google Scholar to find scientific material. All the material in Google Scholar is not scientific, and the selection criteria are unclear. It is therefore important to critically examine the sources. The content in Google Scholar is not permanent, which means that articles you previously found may be deleted the next time you search.

• Google Scholar External link.
  When you are logged in at Luleå University of Technology, you can see what material is available in full text.

Subject guides

By using the University Library's subject guides you will find, for example, keywords, databases and journals that is focused on your subject area. You will also find many useful links that you can use to find more information.

• Subject guides Opens in new window.
  Here you will find subject guides for engineering, economics, history, law, art, medicine and health, pedagogy, psychology and sociology, language and literature.
  

How do I search?

When you search in a database or with the Library Search Tool, you can control your search by using different search techniques. You can also narrow your search in different ways.

Common search techniques

There are several different search techniques that you can use to control how the database interprets your search query. Keep in mind that all search techniques do not work everywhere. To be sure what works in a particular database, you must look in the database's help section.

Phrase search

If the words you use when searching are to stand in a certain order, you can add quotation marks ("...") around them, for example around "World War II". Then the database searches for the words as a unified concept, exactly in the order you wrote them. If you search without quotes, the database can search for each word individually. Then you will most likely get many hits that are about the World War, but not specifically World War II.

Truncation

A word can have several different endings, such as nurse or nurses. To include all variants of the word in your search, you can add an asterisk (*) after the word. This is called truncation. Example: teach* will return all words beginning with teach, such as teaches, teacher, teachers, teaching. If you do not use truncation, you will only find results with the exact word you searched for. For example, if you search with the word teach you will miss any results containing the words teaching and teacher.

Boolean search

To combine several different keywords, you can use the Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT.

• AND is used when you want all words you search for to be included in the same article. It therefore limits the number of hits. For example, if you search using the combination television AND movies, you will find documents where both the words television and movies are found somewhere in the text.
• OR is used when you want one or the other word to be included in the hits. It increases the number of hits. For example, you can use OR when you want to search for several different synonyms or spelling variations. If you search using the combination television OR movies, the hits will contain either the word television, movies or both.
• NOT is used when you want to limit the number of hits by excluding a word. A search using the combination television NOT movies produces hits that contain the word television, but deletes all hits where the word movies is included. However, when searching with NOT, you may miss interesting hits that contain both the word television and movies.

If you use more than one operator, you need to add parentheses to show the database how the search should be interpreted. Example: (children OR kids) AND television. The hits then contain either the words children, kids or both, along with the word television.

Subject headings

In some databases you can use subject headings when searching. The words in the subject headings are controlled, meaning that the word is used to describe a particular term. When you are searching with subject headings, you must use the word in the subject heading for the specific database you are using. Just select the word you want to use, otherwise you will do a regular search using free text words. Use the database help section to get more detailed information on how to search with subject headings in the database. Keep in mind that the terms in the subject headings may vary depending on which database you are using.

Field search

Field Search is an advanced search that you can use to narrow your search results. In a database, publications usually contain information about authors, title, year of publication, keywords and so on. This means that with the help of different fields you can choose whether you want to search for a specific author, title, journal title and more.

Chain search

By looking in the reference lists of various publications you can get tips on new sources that you can use in your work. This is called manual search or chain search. In citation databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, you can also see who has referred to the source.

Narrow your search

In most databases you can limit your search by filtering your hit list, for example based on publication date, language or source type. It can be good for reducing the number of hits and finding the ones that are most relevant. Another useful limitation that you can use is Peer reviewed or Peer reviewed journals. Then you should only get material that has been scientifically reviewed, but you always have to check yourself that it is correct.

Refine your search

It is important to remember that information retrieval is a process where you have to try searching several times. You may need to change the database, change your keywords or combine them in different ways to get a good result.

Too few hits

If you get too few or incorrect hits when you search, you may need to change your keywords. It may then be helpful to use more general terms and concepts to broaden your search. You can also try truncating the keywords using an asterisk or combining synonyms with OR, so you don't miss different variations of the words. Also, make sure you've spelled the keywords correctly.

Too many hits

If you get too many hits, try using more specific words to narrow your search. You can also add keywords using AND, restrict the search with filters, or use the NOT operator to exclude hits.

Document your search

A scientific approach requires transparency and reproducibility. This means that everything you investigate should be clearly structured so that someone else can repeat or control your investigation. When writing an essay, report or other assignment, it is common for you to also report how you found the information for your assignment, therefore you should document your entire search process. Many databases have a feature called Search History. There you can see what searches and refinements you have done and save them to your computer. In addition to documenting your search results, you need to specify:

• When you did the search
• Which databases and search services you used
• Number of hits in each database
• Which keywords and search techniques you used
• Which filters you used, such as peer reviewed, language or year
• How you have made your selection of journals

What sources should I use?

When using different sources in your work, it is important that you are source-critical to the material, especially if you are going to use scientific sources.

• How do I know it is a scientific article? Opens in new window.
  Learn more about the characteristics of scientific journals and scientific articles.
• Reading strategies – Reading scientific material
  Information about how to read scientific material.

Source evaluation

Because sources can be more or less credible and relevant, it is always important to review and evaluate the source you want to use. All material has a sender and a purpose. Consider the following:

• Copyright: Who is the author? Publisher? Do they have authority in the field?
  
• Purpose: What is the purpose of the source? To inform, influence, provoke, or something else?
  
• Target: To whom is the material directed?
  
• Timeliness: When was it published? Has the source been updated, and if so, when?
  
• Credibility: Is the material objective or biased? How does the material present and cover the subject? Are the facts correct? Does it use references? Who references or links to the material? Does the contents have a good structure, and is the language suitable for the purpose?
  
• Authenticity: Is the author the person he or she presents him or herself to be? Is the material authentic? Unreliable?

Scientific publication

When researchers report their research results, it is called scientific publication. A scientific text should contain primary research, ie new research. Therefore, such publications are called primary sources. According to the Higher Education Act (1992: 1434) External link., your studies should "rest on a scientific basis". This means, among other things, that you should be able to find and use scientific texts and research results, that is, reliable, audited and research-based information.

Scientific research can be implemented in several different ways, and be more or less extensive. Some common types of scientific studies are, for example, systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, non-randomised trials, cohort studies and case studies.

• What characterizes a systematic review? Opens in new window.
  Learn more about systematic reviews and evidence hierarchies.

Scientific journals

Scientific publication is made mainly in the form of articles in scientific journals. In order to check the quality, the article undergoes a process called peer review. This means that other researcher reviews the article before it is published. If a publication has gone through a peer review process, it is scientifically reviewed. Note that you always have to judge the source yourself, even if it is peer review.

Different types of sources

Research can be shared through methods beyond scientific articles. Different types of publications undergo various processes, including peer review.

1. Conference Reports: Researchers share their work at conferences, and these contributions are often published in scientific journals or conference reports, called proceedings. Sometimes, these reports undergo peer review.
2. Research Reports: Researchers also publish materials in reports from institutions, research institutes, organizations or other authorities. These reports describe ongoing or completed research and are often freely available online.
3. Licentiate or doctoral dissertations: After completing their research education, scholars must present their work in the form of a thesis. A thesis is a peer-reviewed source published for the first time. Most theses are freely accessible online.
4. Books or Book Chapters: In certain subject areas, research is predominantly published in book form. Books may go through a peer review process similar to scientific articles, or they may be reviewed by the book’s editors.

Student thesis

Are student theses considered scientific publications? A-, B-, C-, or D-thesis may resemble a scientific publication and follow the IMRaD model. IMRaD stands for Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. However, even though the format is scientific, it does not qualify as a scientific publication because it lacks primary research—that is, new research. This requirement is not expected of an undergraduate-level thesis.