3.2.2 Not enough results?
The following techniques and considerations will help to broaden your search:
Check your spelling
Have you mistyped or misspelt any terms? Have you considered variations in spelling of terms?
For example: As well as searching on globalisation (Australian), also search on globalization (
Wildcards can help with this. See 2.3.5 Truncation and wildcards.
Are you being too specific?
Think carefully about your search terms. Use short rather than long phrases. Can you broaden your search terms?
For example: Rather than searching on casinos, search on gambling.
Try to think of alternative search terms, or synonyms.
Drop any unimportant concepts from your search strategy.
Use truncation
Remember, truncation is a search strategy that uses a symbol to find records that include any term starting with the word stem. See 2.3.5 Truncation and wildcards.
Could it be that not much has been written on the topic?
Possibly limited research has been conducted in an area. Before you can make this conclusion however, you need to make sure you have searched a number of different search tools.
Are you using the most appropriate tool?
One of the easiest ways to tell if the search tool is appropriate is to do a basic keyword search on your main concept.
For example: If a keyword search for ethics returns a handful of results, adding additional concepts will return even fewer results. Consider reviewing your search tools.
