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How to search for information: Keywords in searching

Come up with good search terms

Successful information search begins with good search terms

Be bold in trying different keywords and their synonyms. Combine your search words in different ways.

  • DON'T use full sentences. Searching in online libraries and library databases is usually done using keywords.
  • DO use synonyms and relating words: part-time work / fixed-term work / transient employment.
  • DO think about words that describe your topic either more broadly or in more detail, e.g. part-time work > work.

Choose appropriate search terms for your situation

  • Books are often about a broad topic, so it's usually best to choose the broadest keywords from your list to search for them. One search term may sometimes be enough.
  • Articles focus on a specific topic, so you should usually choose a narrower search term or use several search terms together.
  • There are also AI-based information retrieval tools (e.g. Keenious or EBSCO's natural language search). Separate search terms are not needed for these.
Tip! If you already know a good book on your topic, check the subject terms used in HH Finna to describe the content of the book. Use them to search for more similar books.

 Tools for finding search terms

Combine search words

You're likely to need several keywords to describe the topic of your search

In databases the search terms are combined using Boolean logic. Using the Boolean operators AND/OR/NOT allow you to effectively modify your search.

Boolean operators
AND OR NOT

marketing AND fashion

  • use when you want results with both search terms.

Compare with the search marketing

  • results in publications about all kinds of marketing: marketing of cars, marketing planning, marketing companies etc.

Use the operator AND to narrow down your search

travel OR tourism

  • use when you want results with one of your search terms
  • combines alternative search terms

Use the operator OR to broaden your search

travel NOT time

  • use when you want results where the first search term is present but the latter one is not

Compare with the search travel

  • results in a list of publications about all kinds of travel, including time travel.

A search example:

Search in a database. In the first search box alternative search words are combined with OR: "consumer behaviour" OR consumers OR shopping. The second search box: teens OR teenagers OR adolescents OR "young people". The two search boxes are combined with operator AND. Both are searched in Abstract.

Better results with phrase searches

Phrase searching ensures that you will retrieve your search terms next to each other in the order you typed them. Social media, management models or human resources management are a few examples of a phrase.

Truncate search terms

Use quotation marks when searching for a phrase: e.g. ”management models”.

Understand search results

Too many results? 

  • Try using more specific keywords (marketing > direct marketing)
  • Limit your query results by language, publication date or material type
  • Move your truncation marker to the right (touris? > tourist destination?)

Too few results?

  • Try new keywords (travel, tourism, tourists, leisure, ...)
  • Do away with some of your limiters
  • Try moving your truncation marker to the left

Zero results?

  • Check your spelling
  • Check how you have combined your query terms. 
  • Did you use the right truncation symbol or language?
  • Would some other database be better?

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