Business School: How to Search: search strategies & tips

It is important that you should thoroughly understand the topic you are researching before you begin searching for information. Dictionaries and encyclopaedias are a good place to begin. Dictionaries provide definitions of unfamiliar terms, whilst encyclopaedias give more detailed explanations and overviews of topics. Examples of both Online and Print Reference Sources can be found below.

• EBSCOhost Business Thesaurus use the Business Thesaurus to identify additional keywords/terms used in business and scholarly work for searching. To access the  Business Thesaurus, click on this link and then select  the Subjects dropdown arrow which is located in the purple bar at the top of the screen.

• MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection

  This ebook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects. Topics include biography, history, careers, cooking, literature, genealogy, health, parenting, personal finance, politics, architecture, science, current events, social-emotional health, sports, and travel.

1. Identifying Search Terms

Now that you understand the basics of the topic, think about the key concepts and identify possible search terms.

A first and very important step in searching for information for your topic is identifying keywords/search terms. Library databases require you to enter keywords into the search box because entering an entire essay topic/question will not be as effective and may likely return poor or even no results at all. The search terms you use are critical in determining the relevance of the results that you will retrieve.

2.  Creating a Search Statement 

To retrieve the most relevant search results, you may need to construct a search statement.

A search statement is a combination of keywords that you enter into the search box of a database. You can use Boolean operators between the search terms. Boolean operators are the words used to connect search terms and to define the relationships between the search terms. These include AND, OR and NOT.  To make your search more effective, the following techniques can be used:

• Phrase searching: use quotation marks to keep the two words together

  e.g.  “corporate governance”

• Truncation & wildcards:  use a *

  e.g. leader* will retrieve leader, leaders, leadership, leading etc.

organi*ation will retrieve both organisation and organization

 Search statement examples:

"South Africa" AND "corporate governance"

(“Small Business” OR  SME) AND “South Africa”

account* AND "bank reconciliations"

3. Using Search Statements

These Search Statements can be used to find appropriate textbook sources and articles on Search All as well as on relevant library databases and websites.

TIPS

• Always start your search using only 2 or 3 search terms and avoid long phrases as the more terms that you enter, the fewer results you get.
• If your first term doesn't work, try a broader term or synonym.
• Read the HELP screens on each database to clarify how to best to construct your keyword search. Taking a few moments to read through the "how to search" instructions may save you hours of time and frustration.

Always evaluate the information you read. Be particularly careful when consulting Wikipedia and similar internet sites as the authority and reliability of the content cannot be guaranteed.

When deciding if a webpage is reliable, you should ask yourself the following questions.