Check your Punctuation and Boolean logic

Make sure that you have applied the rules outlined in this guide:

• Add search terms with an AND between them. This will require both search terms to be present.
• Enclose search terms which are phrases in quote marks. This will require that the words are together and in the order you require

Narrow Your Topic

Have you correctly identified your Key Terms and synonyms

Change your search terms to focus on a more specific aspect of your topic:

• Place or geographical region
• Important person, population, or organization
• Specific Issue
• Time Period

Use Filters

Use and combine different types of filters to get the most focused results:

• Date
• Availability (online/full-text or in a library)
• Peer-reviewed/scholarly/academic research
• Topic or category (also referred to as "Subject")

Choose a Different Search Tool

• Use OneSearch for a search of UWA Collections and subscription-based resources
• Use discipline-specific databases for information on subjects related to your area of study

Check your Punctuation and Boolean logic

Make sure that you have applied the rules outlined in this guide:

• Add search terms with an OR between them. This will require either of the search terms to be present.
• Enclose search terms which are phrases in quote marks. This will require that the words are together and in the order you require

Broaden Your Topic

Have you correctly identified your Key Terms and synonyms

• Use more general search terms instead of a specific idea
• Eliminate long phrases, sentences, or questions
• Remove one or two search terms to get more results

Conduct Multiple Searches

• Search for different aspects of your topic separately and synthesize the information later

Choose a Different Search Tool

• Use Google for a search of the public web
• Use OneSearch for a search of UWA Collections and subscription-based resources
• Use discipline-specific databases for information on subjects related to your area of study

Apply a Controlled Vocabulary

Many disciplines use language in a very specific way. Check to see if there is a subject specific thesaurus and use search terms from this list

See the page on Synonyms in this guide for more information

Take Advantage of Your Best Search Result

• Click on or search the "Subject" terms attached to the record of one good article or book
• Use the bibliography and works cited to find additional sources
• Use Google Scholar to find related articles and others who have cited your good search result

Narrow Your Search Strategy

• Use only the most important words and phrases that describe your topic
• Ignore common words that do not have a lot of meaning
• Look for your search words in the "Title" or "Subject" fields only

Talk to Experts

Ask topic specialists who are well versed in your discipline for search term suggestions:

• Librarians
• Professors