What habits tend to retrieve good search results?
How do I widen a search to get more results?
How do I narrow a search to get fewer results?
What do I do when I receive null (zero) results?
Once you have chosen a general topic idea, the next step is to refine your topic and then formulate a research question.
A topic will be very hard to research if it is too broad or narrow. Pick a topic that is not too broad that you find too much information, and not too specific that you cannot find enough research to support it.
The next few tabs will take you through strategies on how to refine or broaden your research topic.
If you try these strategies and still experience issues in getting your topic to that "sweet spot," then talk to your instructor or a librarian. Your liaison librarian can advise you on how to refine or broaden your topic, so it is "searchable."
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
One way to narrow a broad topic is to apply context to it, by assigning contextual facets to what you will cover.
For example, you are interested in applying PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions & Support) in your classroom. But that is too broad. Searching on PBIS AND classroom will yield too many results.
| Common contextual facets for education topics | Examples |
| Discipline or Specific topic |
PBIS to improve communication PBIS for emotional and behavioral disorders |
| School age group |
PBIS in the elementary classroom PBIS for middle schoolers PBIS for high school students |
| Geographical or Socioeconomic area |
PBIS in rural schools PBIS in urban schools |
| Race or Ethnicity | PBIS for African-American students |
Example: PBIS for high school students with emotional and behavioral disorders.
Warning! If you combine all of the facets, your topic might become too narrow and you might not find enough information!
Below are three different topics that are too broad and how we have gradually refined them so they are in that "sweet spot" of not too specific and not too broad:
| Research topic that is too broad | Topic refined a little | Suitably refined topic | Revised research topic |
|
Engaging apathetic students - in high school | Engaging apathetic students - in high school - in language arts | How can I get my apathetic high school students to become engaged in language arts? |
|
Behavior management strategies - in third-grade classroom | Behavior management strategies - third-grade classroom - for ADHD students | What behavior management strategies can I use for ADHD students in my third-grade classroom? |
|
Positive reinforcement - lower elementary grades | Positive reinforcement - lower elementary grades - disruptive behaviors | What positive reinforcement strategies can I use for disruptive behaviors in lower elementary grades? |
Sometimes, even if you tried to refine your topic just right, you will get too few results on it. You may need to broaden your topic.
A librarian may know advanced search tactics and techniques you have not tried yet to help find results!
If you are still hardly getting any results, broaden your topic a little at a time until you find enough literature. You can expand your research question by widening one of your contextual facets, and if that does not help, getting rid of it altogether. Start by broadening the facet that is least important.
| Topic that is too specific | Broadened a little | Suitably broadened topic | Revised Research Question |
| Managing an overcrowded curriculum in high school physical sciences | Managing an overcrowded curriculum in high school sciences | Managing an overcrowded curriculum in secondary school sciences | How can I manage an overcrowded curriculum in high school sciences? |
| Quantitative and qualitative assessment in the adult language classroom to measure reading comprehension | Assessment in the adult language classroom to measure reading comprehension | Assessment in the adult classroom to measure comprehension | How do I assess in the adult language classroom to measure comprehension? |
| Differentiated instruction by achievement levels in the fourth grade | Differentiated instruction by achievement levels in upper-elementary grades | Differentiated instruction by achievement in elementary school | How do I differentiate instruction by achievement levels in upper-elementary grades? |
Have you ever felt overwhelmed after a search on GALILEO? As GALILEO covers a wide range of disciplines, searching within an individual, or a small set of subject-specialty databases can be more on target and efficient. It is worth trying GALILEO first, and then run a similar search in a subject database/set of databases so you can compare and contrast your results.
Enter one of the EBSCOhost databases below> Select 'Choose Databases' > Select desired databases > OK.
Did you know EBSCOhost databases can be searched together?
Enter one of the EBSCOhost databases below> Select 'Choose Databases' > Select desired databases > OK.
Provides electronic access to back issues (from the date of first publication) of selected, core journals, organized into the Arts and Sciences Collections I & II, the General Sciences Collection, the Ecology and Botany Collection, and the Business Collection.
PsycARTICLES, from the American Psychological Association (APA), includes full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in general psychology and specialized basic, applied, clinical, and theoretical research in psychology.
Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection includes articles from 410 full-text journal covering information concerning topics in emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational & experimental methods.
The American Psychological Association's (APA) resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. The database also includes information about the psychological aspects of related fields such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, technology, linguistics, anthropology, business, law, and others.
The table below outlines search techniques to help you find more relevant results. Go to each tab to find out more about each one.
Example Problem of Practice: Bullying in the elementary classroom
Example Theory: Emotional Intelligence (Goleman)
Search Technique |
Format |
Example |
| Exact Phrase Searching | "key phrase" |
"emotional intelligence" |
| Boolean Operators | AND, OR, NOT |
[field 1] "emotional intelligence" AND [field 2] Goleman AND [field 3] bullying OR teasing AND [field 3] "elementary classroom" OR "primary classroom" |
|
Parentheses |
(keyword/phrase BOOLEAN OPERATOR keyword/phrase) |
(bullying OR teasing) AND "emotional intelligence" AND Goleman AND ("elementary classroom" OR "primary classroom") |
| Truncation Device | Typically an asterisk: * May vary according to database | (bully* OR teas*) AND "emotional intelligence" AND Goleman AND ("elementary class*" OR "primary class*") |
| Wildcard |
Typically a pound symbol or question mark. Varies according to the database, so vary |
"classroom management" AND "STE#M class*") |
Exact Phrase Search
| What it does | The format | Example/s |
|---|---|---|
|
Will retrieve results containing your "key phrase" in the order that you have inputted at least once in the record details or the item contents |
"Key phrase" |
"classroom management" will find the phrase 'classroom management' at least once; it won't separate the words. |
Boolean Operators
| What they do | The format | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Boolean operators are 'connectors'. They combine keywords or key phrases in order to narrow or expand your search. In a simple search, if you use no Boolean Operator, the default operator is typically AND. |
AND OR NOT |
"Classroom management" AND bullying AND elementary NOT "high school" |
Parentheses
| What they do | The format | Example/s |
|---|---|---|
|
Parentheses direct the search engine to perform your search in a certain order. They are great for expanding your search by combining synonyms and then connecting groups of synonyms with a Boolean Operator. |
Example: (keyword/phrase BOOLEAN OPERATOR keyword/phrase) BOOLEAN OPERATOR (keyword/phrase BOOLEAN OPERATOR keyword/phrase)
|
"classroom management" AND bullying AND (elementary OR primary) NOT "high school" |
Truncation
| What it does | The format | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Enter part of a keyword and place the truncation symbol at the end. The database will return results that include any ending of that partial word. |
Typically an asterisk i.e. * May vary from database to database. |
"classroom management" AND bully* AND (elementary OR primary) NOT "high school" *** bully* will retrieve bully and bullying |
Wildcard
| What it does | The format | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
A wildcard will substitute a symbol for one letter of a word. Great for including spelling variations of a keyword in your search. For some major databases, wildcards are unnecessary. |
Typically a question mark or pound, i.e. ? or a # May vary according to the database. Consult the database's 'Help' or 'Search Tips' page to verify the wildcard symbol. |
behavio?r or behavio#r will retrieve behavior, behaviour ne?t or ne#t will retrieve next, nest, neat, newt, etc.
|