Search Tips

Are you writing a seminar paper or have to prepare a presentation and need scientific sources? It makes sense to start with a thematic search if you need literature on a specific topic and do not know any relevant titles. Your search results depend crucially on the search terms you use.

Searching in catalogues and subject databases can be a bit tedious for beginners, but it's worth it, because by searching in our catalogues you can access specialist literature and databases that are relevant to your studies and research and cannot be found elsewhere.

1. Background Reading and Preparation

To identify suitable search terms, start with some background reading - textbooks, subject encyclopedias or even Wikipedia to understand the context of the topic and the terminology used in the discussion. Select a small number of publications that could give you a general overview of the topic.

2. Determine Search Terms 

At the beginning of a literature search, it is necessary to identify as many of the most important terms associated with the topic as possible. On the other hand, you also need to narrow it down because it can quickly become too much. We have the following tips:

• Don't stick to the wording of the topic when researching! By thinking about different aspects of the topic and the question or by exchanging ideas with others, you will come up with more good search terms.
• Look at the content indexing of good hits: Many of the library's media are indexed by the subject librarians. This means that they are assigned certain terms that reflect or characterize the content. These are often linked in the catalogues so that you can see other titles that have been indexed in the same or a similar way!
• Make a note of authors or institutions that publish a lot on the topic and start search queries in the catalogue.
• Start the first search query and see which other useful search terms appear in the hit lists and use these search terms.
• When the first titles are available, evaluate the footnotes and bibliographies.
• Record further search terms from the first readings.
• Keep a list of useful search terms.

Too many hits, no more orientation? Don't panic! Start with one title, read it very carefully and proceed step by step. Focus on quality, not quantity! And always keep your initial question in mind when defining your further search.

3. Further Steps

Searching for Literature ist time-consuming, because it usually takes time to find the right content. If a title does not contain the desired information after screening, the search must be continued. Sometimes it helps to identify topics and terms that fall within the scope of the search query. We recommend:

• Reviewing the bibliographies of the titles found
• Combine other search queries with "and", "or", "not"
• Look on the shelf to see what is next to the work you are looking for
• Use the advanced search function in catalogues and databases
• Work with truncation (*) and phrase search ("")

Unfortunately, regardless of the subject you are studying, there is no single source of information that contains everything you need for your literature search. However, a good place to start your search is the Göttingen University Catalogue (GUK) and GöDiscovery.