Library Services on eFundi: Search Strategy

A search query consists of all the keywords you identified during the topic analysis of your assignment/paper's title.

e.g. if you are a student in Communication Studies and the topic of your assignment/paper is "The role that political propaganda plays in mass media"

you might construct your search query along any one of the following lines:

1. (mass media OR broadcasting OR radio OR television) AND propaganda AND (politic* OR government*)
2. propaganda AND ("freedom of speech" OR "freedom of the press" OR "right to know") AND (media OR broadcast* OR journalis*)
3. role AND propaganda AND "mass media"

Refine your search query:

Q: How do I decide which terms to use?

A: Do a topic analysis

Q: How do I identify synonyms?

A: Use subject dictionaries & encyclopedias

Q: What if I want to use several terms / words / keywords?

A: String keywords together with Boolean operators “and, or, not” e.g. (media OR broadcasting OR radio) AND journalism NOT propaganda

Q: What if there are several possible terms to use? 

A: Synonyms are good and will broaden your search.  Also include different ways to spell a word e.g.  organization / organisation, inflection / inflexion

Q: What if the concept consists of more than one word? 

A: Put phrases in quotation marks e.g. “small scale farming”

Q: How to I include all inflections of a word? 

A: Use truncation, e.g. particip* to also find participate, participates, participant, participants, participation, participating, participant)