Before you begin searching for information, make sure you understand the topic you are researching. Dictionaries provide definitions of unfamiliar terms, whilst encyclopaedias give more detailed explanations and overviews of topics.
IDENTIFY YOUR KEYWORDS
This will enable you to identify two or three main points or keywords to use when searching for information.
The secret to finding what you want is having the vocabulary - different words will find different information ... so it makes sense to have a pot of vocabulary to try.
Besides specific terms, consider whether you need to include broader and/or narrower terms, synonyms or even antonyms and different spelling. Always start by using the most specific terms you can think of to describe your topic. If you don’t find what you want, then try using broader terms.
ORGANISE YOUR KEYWORDS
When you have more than one keyword/term/concept, you will need to combine them so that you get the information that you want.
What you need to do is to link your keywords/terms/concepts using the words “AND” “OR” “NOT” (called Boolean operators) as well as brackets, or truncation and wild card characters.
Depending on the results you get, you may need to revise your keywords and terms.
Use AND to combine different concepts/terms/keywords. “AND” means “must have somewhere in the record”. This will give you records where all the keywords/terms/concepts appear.
e.g. (educational leadership) AND (principals)
(organi?ational change) AND (school management)
Use OR for alternative terms (means “any will do”).
e.g. (educational leadership OR school management)
(mentoring OR coaching)
e.g. coaching NOT sports
Use brackets to separate different concepts from one another or to search for a phrase
e.g. (educational leadership)
Truncation and wildcards are used in place of letters in your search statement.
So now you are ready to search for books and articles and on the internet ...