Use encyclopedias, internet searches, and your own brain to develop a list of terms to search. If your first search attempt doesn't match a lot of results, you'll be able to quickly try a new keyword. If your topic is hydraulic fracturingbe ready to search its synonym, fracking.
Short But Sweet
Don't enter long phrases. Use only the most important keywords. A research topic like "the impact of hydraulic fracturing on the environment" should break down to a search for "hydraulic fracturing" and "environment".
Phrase Searching
Keep specific phrases together by using quotation marks. A search for "hydraulic fracturing" will only find those words together in that order. It will not match the words hydraulic or fracturing separately.
Truncation (aka wildcards)
Use an * to search for multiple word endings: A search for environment* will match results with the words environment, environmentalandenvironmentalism.
Tips for Searching with Boolean Operators
Time Saving Tip
Here are bonus tips that will help you use Boolean Operators to make a search for sources more effective:
Enter a short search term in each line
If you use AND to connect too many search terms you won't get any results - if that happens, remove the least important search term.
Type OR between synonyms in one line of a search box
Time Saving Tip