INFORMATION SEARCH PLANNER

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Raymond Harmon
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1 INFMATION SEARCH PLANNER This information search planner will prompt you to identify particular search concepts strategies, systematically record the information sources material types which are relevant to your research Summarise your topic (be as descriptive as possible the words listed here can be used when searching databases other resources) o Use the word/terms listed here to populate the search plan table on page 4) Deakin University Library

2 1. Apply the concepts as described below to assist in filling out your search planner Searching tips: Boolean operators: are a means of combining search terms to broaden or narrow search results AND - narrows a search teenage* drug abuse - broadens a search teenage* or adolescen* or youth* or "young adult NOT- used to exclude terms from a search aids not hearing aids Phrase searching: This requires terms to be searched in the exact order specified within the quotation marks global warming prescription drugs Truncation: Find word variations or alternate spellings by adding a truncation symbol to the end of terms. Common symbols are * or! or? adolescen* will find: adolescent, adolescents, adolescence, Identifying key concepts: Synonyms (related terms): Words or phrases that have a similar meaning e.g. youth, teenager, adolescent Plurals: More than one e.g. child, children Variant spellings Consider American English terms spelling e.g. Organisation organization Acronyms, Abbreviations May need to be written out in full e.g. WHO World Health Organisation Broader terms General terms e.g. computer networks Narrower terms Specific terms e.g. Internet 2. Keep a systematic log of recorded database searches

3 Search plan table example filled out for topic Social networking sites leading to cultural changes in young adults Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 List all key words/terms as stated in your topic description above Social networking sites Cultural change Young adults List search terms using truncation* wildcards? Networking site* Social website* Cultur* change* Young adult* Youth Teenager* Adolescent* List synonyms, alternate spelling, language, etc. Facebook Twitter Online social site* Societal change* Young men Young women List words derived from available thesaurus Online social networks (Academic Search Complete) Social media (PsycINFO) Youth (Academic Search Complete)

4 Fill out search plan table for your topic Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 List all key words/terms as stated in your topic description above List search terms using truncation* wildcards? List synonyms, alternate spelling, language, etc. List words derived from available thesaurus

5 Further considerations Any terms to exclude? Any limitations (eg timeframe, geographic region, demographics)? Information sources brainstorming Information is available from a wide range of sources, including print, electronic multimedia You may need to consult many different sources to satisfy all research needs Stay on top of information by setting up alerts for those sources identified as key to your research Key scholarly formats (peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, reports, books, systematic reviews etc ) Key unpublished formats (working papers, government reports, pamphlets, posters, conference posters, blogs etc ) Theses dissertations (see

6 Key Journals on my topic: (e.g. ERA, DOAJ; see Key conferences in my research field: (e.g. COS Papers Invited database) Key authors /or collaborative teams: (e.g. search Scopus ISI Web of Science databases - citation counts) Key organizations web sites:

7 Recording your search strategies Database 1. <Enter name of Database> (repeat for subsequent databases) Date Search strategy Keywords, variants, * or? Linking words AND NOT limiters used to narrow search, date range, peer reviewed scholarly, etc... Result: numbers of hits Relevant? Full text found? If not... follow through with WebBridge, InterLibrary Loan, Google Scholar? Export to Endnote? Create an alert to receive updates?

Finding Journal Articles

[Type here] Finding Journal Articles Last updated On Oct 2014 This document and other Information Services documents are held online on our website: https://staff.brighton.ac.uk/is University of Brighton