Choosing Keywords and Search Terms
It is advisable to use the Basic Search function initially to search for resources in Library Search.
However, if you want to build a focused search using keywords to refine your results, or conduct in depth research you can use the Advanced Search function instead.
Before you start, think very carefully about what you're looking for. For example, imagine you want to find out information about improving hand hygiene adherence among health professionals: best methods for behaviour change. Firstly you need to identify the key concepts:
- Hand hygiene
- Health Professionals
- Barriers
- Behaviour
- Qualitative
People writing about those subjects might not have used those exact terms. So we need to think of similar words that could be used, so for example, our keywords might be:
Once you have identified keywords you can create 'search strings' for each one and enter them in Library Search. Here's how it might look:
Other Resources
- For a short video about making advanced searches in Library Search, click here
- Look for online workshops to develop your search strategies, click here
- And to read our Libguide on searches, click here