Principles of information search

Preparation for information search

Prior to starting a search, set aside important concepts of your subject and make a list of relevant words and expressions for each concept. These words and expressions may contain synonyms, words of wider or narrower meaning, related terms, etc.

For example: How does the depiction of violence on TV influence aggressive behaviour of young people.

Different aspects of this subject contain violence, television, young people.

1. concept	2. concept	3. concept
violence	television	young people
aggression	tv	child, children, childhood
		teenager, teenagers, teens
		youth
		adolescent, adolescents, adolescence

All these aspects have to be taken into account in building a search.

Different spelling forms (organisation – organization),
abbreviations (European Union – EU) and
singular and plural noun forms

have to be considered as well.

To become familiar with the topic and find suitable search terms, use subject-specific reference works, handbooks, and textbooks. You can also ask a text-based AI for advice on synonyms.