Use a systematic approach to help in your search for relevant research materials.
This involves:
- Narrowing down your research topic
- Using keywords and both broad and specific search terms
Try the following to improve your search
1. Define your research question
If you haven't already done so, start here.
Clarity on your question lays the foundation to your work.
Support on how to begin (PDF).
See also: Defining your research task
2. What are the possible areas linked to your research topic?
Searching for one solution can take longer than proposing several: we can be so concerned about finding the one ‘right’ answer that we block our thinking.
If we look for many solutions, our thinking can be more relaxed: we will not use most of the ideas so it is safe to have some bad ones.
Over to you
Take a problem, issue or assignment that you are currently working on, and try out one of the approaches above. Use the box alongside to record your ideas.
More from the writing collection
Looking for more ways to get your creative juices flowing? See this collection of resources for more ideas.
Why not use some of these strategies when choosing a topic for your next research project or assignment?