How do I improve my search?

 
There are several reasons why a search may not turn up very many results.

Possible Reason for Few Results	Solution
Choosing a topic that is too narrow	Broaden your topic
Not using the best search terms	Develop new search terms
Using search operators (ex.: AND, OR) improperly	Use search operators correctly
Searching in the wrong database	Select a better database
Researching an extremely current topic	Find out what's likely to be available
Getting stuck on one particular word or phrase to describe your topic	Be flexible with your research vocabulary

Here are some tips for troubleshooting each of these problems.
 

Broadening Your Topic

If your topic is too specific, you may find very few articles or books about it. Consider broadening it by generalizing to get more results. For example, if facial symmetry AND attractiveness is your topic, you could expand your search to physical attractiveness or beauty.
 

Developing Search Terms

• Often the words we use to describe our research topics are not the only words authors use to discuss the topic. Think of all the different ways your topic or concept can be discussed. For example, research on high school students may also be covered under research on teenagers or adolescents.
   
  
• If you are doing research on a historical topic, think about how people talked about it at the time. For example, if your topic is feminism in the 1960s, you may want to look for women's liberation.
   
  
• If you can find at least one good article on your topic, you can generally use that article to determine additional search terms. See how the author talks about the topic. Additionally, there may be a bibliography that lists other articles related to your topic.
   

Using Search Operators Correctly

When should I use AND in a search?

• Use the AND operator to connect two or more different concepts.
   
  
• Using AND narrows your search, telling the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records.
  

  example search: cloning AND humans AND ethics

  The red triangle in the middle of the Venn diagram below represents the result set for this search. It is a small set using AND, the combination of all three search words.
    

  

When should I use OR in a search?

• Use the OR operator to connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms).
   
  
• Using OR broadens your search, telling the database that ANY of the search terms can be present in the resulting records.
  

  example search: cloning OR genetics OR reproduction

  All three circles represent the result set for this search. It is a big set because any of those words are valid using the OR operator.
    

  

Selecting a Better Database

Sometimes the only reason your search is not returning enough results is that you are not using the best database. Maybe you are looking in a database that provides general coverage of many subject areas (like ProQuest), when you need to use a subject specific database (like Compendex, an engineering database).

Go back to the Choosing the Best Database page for more information about how to select the best database for your topic.
 

Current Topics - What's Likely to Be Available?

If you are looking for information on a very current topic, remember to think about the publishing or information timeline. For example, while newspapers and websites can put information about an event that happened today up within hours, it will take about 6 months to 2 or 3 years for a scholarly article or book about the event to go from being written through the complete review and publishing process.

See the Information Timeline (pdf file) by the library at the California State University - Chico for an idea of what types of resources are available.
 

Being Flexible With Your Research Vocabulary

Often when we start searching we think we know what the proper search terms are and it can be hard to give them up. But sticking with a particular word or phrase may cause you to get fewer relevant results.

For example, if your topic was satisfaction with family routines, you may try searching satisfaction AND family routines in several databases. What you will find is that researchers in the field currently use family rituals for this idea, so changing your search terms to family rituals will bring back more relevant results.

Paying attention to how researchers and authors describe your topic in relevant articles and then being flexible with your research vocabulary will improve your searches.
 

Ask a Librarian

Librarians are used to working with many different kinds of databases and looking for many different topics. They can help you determine where your search is going wrong and which resources to try for more results. If you are not getting enough information, consider stopping by a reference desk in one of the Vanderbilt libraries or Ask A Librarian.

Prepared for the Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to MIT Libraries for granting permission to modify and use their "Information Navigator" tutorial.