Developing a Search Strategy - University Library - California State University, Stanislaus

Developing a Search Strategy

1. Define your topic: A. Begin with a general idea of a topic.; Standardized testing in the schools; B. State your topic as a question.; Does standardized testing increase student achievement?; C. Identify the main concepts in your topic.; Standardized tests, student, achievement; D. Identify additional search terms for each concept (synonyms and related terms).

Concepts:	Standardized tests	Student	Achievement

Additional terms:	Assessment	K-12	Learning
	SAT 9	Children	Skills
	Achievement tests	Youth	Academic performance

E. Do a preliminary search to determine if your topic is too broad or too narrow. Search using the concept terms first; use the additional search terms if necessary. Use:

1. Reference books

2. Library books

3. Articles in a general database like Academic Search Elite

F. Refine your topic if necessary.

1. If you find too much information, narrow your topic by adding more specific terms.: Does the California SAT 9 increase student achievement at the high school level?
2. If you find too little information, broaden your topic by using more general terms, using fewer search terms, doing a Boolean OR search, or truncating search terms.: What are the advantages or disadvantages of achievement or standardized tests?

2. Determine what kind of information you need: A. Ask a librarian to recommend the best sources.; B. Background information (from encyclopedias, dictionaries); C. Current information (from recently published articles in magazines and newspapers and sources on the web); D. Primary or secondary sources (See "Primary vs. Secondary Sources"); E. Types of sources: popular or scholarly (See "Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals: How to Tell the Difference")
3. Find the information: A. Browse reference books for background information; B. Find library books through the online catalog (Library Catalog); C. Search for focused articles through the library's databases (See "Databases by Subject" to identify appropriate databases for your topic); D. Determine the best search engines to locate web sites (See "Major Search Engines" on the CSUS Library web site for categories of search engines); E. Look for bibliographies in all the sources you use. These list books and articles that are good starting points for your research.
4. Evaluate what you have found: A. Have you answered the question you asked?; B. Consider the quality of the information. Is it accurate, reliable complete, current?
5. Repeat this process if necessary: A. Revise your topic if you have not been able to find enough information to answer your original question.; B. Search for more information as needed.