If you struggle to search in an organised way try downloading and printing this worksheet. Designed to help you split up your essay question into key concepts, brainstorm synonyms and narrower terms and help you with instructions as to how to combine them once you get into a database.

1. Literature Search Planning Worksheet
1. Briefly describe your search topic / question
2. Use the form below to plan your search strategy by identifying the keywords
/ concepts for your search topic and providing alternative terms
Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Concept 4
Combine Combine Combine
Using Using Using
‘AND’ ‘AND’ ‘AND’
Combine Combine Combine
Combine
Using Using Alternative Using Using
‘OR’ Terms * ‘OR’ ‘OR’
‘OR’
Narrower terms – to try instead for more specific searching

2. Please consider the following when formulating your alternative
terms:
 Database subject headings – Psycinfo and SSCI have the most useful
ones (check the subject heading’s scope note for coverage, scope and
definition)
 Synonyms
 Acronyms
 Differences in terminology, spelling etc (e.g. across national
boundaries, US/UK)
 Old and new terminology
 Narrower terms
 Lay and medical terminology
 Alternative terms (e.g. obesity – overweight, weight loss, Body Mass
Index, BMI etc)
 Truncation (e.g. depress* will search for depressed, depression,
depressive etc)
But be aware you don’t want it to pick up so much that it’s useless.
3. Where appropriate, clarify any required ‘limits’ (inclusion criteria) for your
search
Search Limit Details
Publication Year(s)
(Year / range of
years)
Age Group(s)
Gender
Language(s)
Peer Reviewed
Publication Types
Others
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