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Topic
Search questions
Keywords
Search string
Resources
Managing

Search Planner

The Search Planner is a simple tool designed to kick-start your information search. It only takes a few minutes to complete and will help focus your research, give you a plan of action, and make sure you don't forget anything.

You can view and print a personalised record of your search plan at the end. You can also send it to your tutor or supervisor, or request specialist help from the Library Academic Engagement team.

The Search Planner can't do your research for you, but it can save you a lot of time and stress during the search process.

You'll find throughout the planner, click these to see examples and additional guidance.

Click the Start your plan button below to begin.

Step 1 : Describe your research topic

It is quite common to start with a broad research topic or question, but to find relevant (and not too much) literature, you need to set relevant limits to your research. If your research topic is too broad, you will be overwhelmed with information. If it is too narrow, you will struggle to find enough information.

To help you define your research topic, reflect on the key things you want to find out and apply limits based on that aim.

Search limits you may wish to include are:

  • A specific geographic area / region
  • Particular groups of people
  • A set time frame or time period
  • A particular methodology

Your Research Topic

Summarise your research topic in one or two sentences:

What limits / parameters are you applying to your information search?

Step 2: Generate search questions

For some projects, especially dissertations where you are looking at unique areas of research, it is likely that you will need to break down your topic into smaller 'chunks' to search, so that you don't miss out on important literature and relevant wider context.

To break down your research topic into manageable 'search questions' consider:

  • What are the key things that you want to find out?
  • Are there areas of your research that you need to look at in more detail?
  • What are your information gaps?

Doing this can also help you identify when to stop reading too - once you've answered all your questions!

Your Search Questions

What additional questions or sub-themes might you need to explore to find all the information around your topic?

Step 3: Identify keywords

Most academic databases work best when you use keyword searching, matching your terms to those used by the database to index resources. Keywords are the important ideas or themes in your research topic. They may be single words, short phrases or abbreviations.

Databases may index literature using different terms to the ones you have chosen. It is therefore important to create a list of alternative words to describe a topic to ensure that you don't miss any relevant literature when you're searching.

Types of words you may want to consider include:

  • Synonyms (alternative words that have the same meaning)
  • Acronyms and abbreviations
  • Alternative spellings (e.g. British vs American)
  • Subject headings
  • Technical terms
  • Broader and narrower terms

Need help thinking of alternative terms? Try Googling your term + the word 'synonym', use an online thesaurus, ask CoPilot or look at the terms databases use to describe an article you have already found.

Your Keywords

Your Search Questions:

Build a bank of keywords relating to your overall topic or a sub-theme. Write topic keywords in the first column of the table, then add synonyms, abbreviations, and related terms along the rows:

Main Concept Synonyms, Abbreviations, Technical Terms

Step 4: Build a Search String

Once you have developed your list of keywords, you can think about how you are going to use them in databases and other sources.

Combining your keywords with search operators (also called Boolean operators, or linking words) can help to improve the results returned by the database. When you combine keywords in this way, it's called a search string.

The AND operator links together your main concepts. Using AND instructs the database to find any articles that include all these terms.

The OR operator links together your main concepts with their alternative keywords. This is where you can apply your synonyms, abbreviations, and subject specific terminology. Using OR, instructs the database to find articles that include any of these terms.

Both AND and OR need to be in capital letters in your search string.

Use phrase searching quotation marks around any keyword that is more than one word long, e.g. "mental health" to find more exact results.

Find out more about useful Search Techniques on the Academic Skills Kit.

Build a Search String

Here is a search string generated using your keywords:

It can also be written as:

Your Search String

Review and edit your search string, check that:

  • Words joined using AND are different concepts related to your topic
  • Words joined using OR are the same concept described using synonyms, abbreviations, and related terms
  • Phrase searching (double quotation marks) has been added to keywords that are more than one word long

Step 5: Plan where to find information

There are many different types of information available when it comes to researching for your dissertation or project. Books, journal articles, and conference proceedings are all important sources of good quality information that you can draw on. However, professional information sources, such as trade magazines, together with specialist information sources, such as company data or newspapers, also have a lot to offer, and can help provide a unique perspective to your research.

Consider:

  • What types of information will you need for your research?
  • What are the underpinning academic constructs, theories or methodologies related to your project?
  • What other data might you need to start collecting?

Useful places to find information:

For more help visit Academic Skills Kit: Finding Information.

Plan where to find information

Where have you already looked for information?

What types of information do you need to find and where can you find them?

Tailor the information types and information sources to your own research needs.

Type of information Source

Step 6: Managing information

Tips & Examples

For large research projects it is essential that you think about how you are going to manage information in advance as you will be dealing with a huge amount of research data, primary and secondary sources, images, files, documents, etc. and can easily become overwhelmed.

Information management needs to occur at every stage of your project - from collecting, to storing, and then using or applying it in your work. While referencing is, of course, a significant part of information management, you also need to consider how you are going to manage other aspects of your research information, from note taking, to file storage, and version control to keeping up to date with new publications.

Useful resources for information management on the Academic Skills Kit:

Managing information

How are you going to keep track of your references?

How are you going to keep your information search up-to-date?

Next steps

Congratulations! You have now reached the end of the Search Planner.

Click View and Save to view your finished search plan. Use Send by email to send a copy to your email address or to forward the plan to your tutor or supervisor. You can also Request feedback on your search plan from the Library Academic Engagement team.

Once you start your literature search, you might want to think about other stages in the research process such as critical reading, planning, and editing. Check out the Academic Skills Kit for further help and advice.

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What additional questions or sub-themes might you need to explore to find all the information around your topic?

For example, the research topic 'does the consumption of dark chocolate have an impact on the mental health of elderly men?' could be broken down into the following sub-questions:

Compare referencing management systems using our comparison table.

Summarise your research topic in one or two sentences:

e.g. Does the consumption of dark chocolate have an impact on the mental health of elderly men?

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What limits / parameters are you applying to your information search?

e.g.

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Where have you already looked for information?

e.g.

Build a bank of keywords relating to your overall topic or a sub-theme. Write topic keywords in the first column of the table, then add synonyms, abbreviations, and related terms along the rows.

For example:

Main Concept Synonyms, Abbreviations, Technical Terms
Dark chocolate Confectionery Cocoa Cacao  
Mental Health Depression Low mood Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Dysthymia
Men over 60 Elderly men Geriatric men Aged male Retired men
         
         

What types of information do you need to find and where can you find them?

The table below contains some examples; you are not expected to use these in your research. Tailor the information types and information sources to your own research needs.

Type of information Source
e.g. books, journals Library Search, Database e.g. Scopus
e.g statistics Statista
e.g. newspapers Nexis
e.g. material properties Knovel
e.g. Policy Documents Policy Commons
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