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MyUni Library Essentials - Researching

MyUni Library Essentials course

MyUni Library Essentials includes a section on Researching. Follow the link below to learn how to plan a search strategy and conduct your search. (You need to log in to Canvas to access the link.)

Search tips

Keywords

  • Find the keywords for your assignment topic. Don’t type in a long sentence.
  • Are there synonyms or related terms (broader or more specific) that might be relevant?

Getting more results

  • You can use a truncation symbol (usually an asterisk *) to find different endings to your keyword. For example, searching for read* would find read, reading, reads, etc.
  • You can find alternative terms simultaneously by linking them with OR; for example, you could search for adolescent OR teenager.

Getting fewer results

  • If you get too many results try searching just the title or abstract rather than the full record. You should get fewer, more relevant results.
  • Use quotation marks if you want your search terms to appear as a phrase; for example "artificial intelligence"
  • Use the filter options down the side of the results page to make your search more specific

Critically appraising your sources is a crucial element of any literature search.  You need to consider is your sources are:

  • reliable
  • academic enough
  • Free from bias

Ask yourself the following questions about the information you have found.

Who?  

  • Who is the author or organisation responsible for the information?
  • Are they qualified to write on this topic?

When?  

  • Is the information out of date?
  • Does it matter?

What sort of information?

  • Is it opinion or fact?
  • Is it reliable and independent?
  • Is it academic/research-focussed or commercial?

There are a number of checklists that can help you when it comes to critically appraising your sources.

Sage Research Methods

Research Question Frameworks

Start considering your key search terms by identifying the key concepts in your research questions and then consider synonyms, related terms, different spellings, abbreviations, more specific and general terms that an author or authors may have used to discuss the topic.

Research question frameworks can help you to frame your research question and identify concepts for your structured literature review or empirical research.

We've listed a few research question frameworks here but there are many more. If your topic does not fit a framework you can also just separate your topic into different search concepts.

The PICO framework can help you to frame your research question and identify concepts for a medical/clinical search. It is widely used in systematic reviews and evidence-based practice.

Example question: Does the use of Handwashing reduce the risk of hospital acquired infections.

Problem/Patient/Population Who or what is the focus of your research Hospital acquired infection
Intervention What intervention or treatment are you investigating Handwashing
Comparison Are you comparing this intervention (not always necessary) Hand gels or sanitizers
Outcome What effect does this intervention have Reduce infections

The PEO framework can help you to frame a qualitative research question. 

Example question: How does Alzheimer's affect the caregiver's quality of life.

Population Who is the focus of your research Caregivers
Exposure What is the issue you are interested in Alzheimer's
Outcome Outcomes you want to examine Quality of life

The SPICE framework can help you to frame your research question and identify concepts for a Social Sciences or healthcare search. 

Example question: In low-income communities in the UK, how does access to green spaces affect mental well-being

Setting Location of the study UK
Perspective/Population The group you are studying Low income communities
Intervention/Interest, of Phenomenon What intervention or treatment are you researching Access to green spaces
Comparison Are you comparing this intervention (not always necessary) No access to green spaces
Evaluation What are the outcomes Does it affect Mental Health

Booth, A. (2004). Formulating answerable questions. In A. Booth & A. Brice (Eds.), Evidence based practice for information professionals: A handbook (pp. 61-70). Facet Publishing.

The SPIDER framework can help you to frame your research question and identify concepts for a Social Sciences or healthcare search, and is particularly useful for qualitative or mixed method research questions.

Example question: What are young parents’ experiences of attending antenatal education? (Cooke et al., 2012)

Sample Group of people you are researching Young Parents
Phenomenon of Interest What is being investigated Experience of Antenatal education
Design Research methods used Questionnaires or Interviews
Evaluation What outcomes are being measured Views or Experiences
Research type What is the research type Qualitative

Cooke, A., Smith, D., & Booth, A. (2012). Beyond PICO: The SPIDER tool for qualitative evidence synthesis. Qualitative Health Research, 22(10), 1435-1443. 

Research Support and Open Access

This Postgraduate course contains links to information useful to you as a Postgraduate, including Library Guides and external sources. It works best by navigating to the section on which you require information, although there are also a lot of useful links in the Support section. Use this guide to help you throughout your Postgraduate career.