Search strategy

• Write down what you did during your search (eg keep a list of the search term databases you used).
• Use more than one search system. In almost no scientific discipline you can search for articles with one search engine.
• Create free accounts in your databases and save your searches.
• The more specific your (professional) terms, the more specific the results.
• Follow links (if possible) by clicking author, keyword, citations and references to find related information.

Many search engines keep track of your searches in a search history. You can use this information to:

• Keep an overview of your exact searches so you don't have to do things twice.
• Retrace an earlier search
• A quick comparison of the results of several searches
• Work systematically by searching for separate terms first and next combine the results of your search history by means of the operators AND, OR and NOT

Please note: if you want to save your search history after closing your browser session you need to create an account in the search engine in question. You can almost always do this for free.

If you are working on the same subject over a longer period of time, it is useful to be kept up to date about new results of a search action or new issues of journals you are interested in.

Many search engines and databases offer this option, but almost always you will be asked to create a personal account. The results will be sent to you by email, or in your RSS feed. Usually they pop up when you log in to the system.

The Utrecht University Library offers several online information skills training courses, Compass.

If you want to know more about searching for literature sources, or want to practice more with the different parts of a search strategy, go to www.uu.nl/en/compass.
This training consists of four modules of approximately 30 minutes. Together  they form a complete introduction course on searching and finding information, but you can also go through the modules independently of each other:

1. Finding and accessing information
2. Setting up your search
3. Evaluating your sources
4. Saving and using sources

Next to this basic skills training the library also offers the additional library skills modules:

• Compass+: Historical Sources
• Compass+: Systematically searching for literature