Methods in Global Studies

Advanced Search Techniques

Below, you'll find a number of resources that will help you with conducting research for your literature review.

• The research process is broken out below into 6 steps below, with examples of search strategies written out for you.
• You can use these search strategies to navigate through multiple databases for scholarly, peer-reviewed articles.
• There are a series of video tutorials embedded into the sections below detailing certain parts of the research process.

Step 1: Turn your topic into a research question

• Developing a research question (video 5:07)
• see also Booth, Wayne C. et al. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • 2016 ed. (most recent) available on 7th fl at Q180.55.M4 B66 2016 (check for availability)
  • 2008 ed. Online ebook edition
  • see chapter 3: From Topics to Questions, and chapter 4: From Questions to a Problem
• Research questions: are questions you can answer, are doable/feasible, help to focus research, guide a researcher into relevant literature
  • You want to move from broad topic → focused topic → question → focused question
  • E.g.: Poverty → gendered dimensions of poverty → does gender increase poverty? → What is the relationship between propety rights for women and poverty rates in Southern Africa?

Example research question: What is the relationship between propety rights for women and poverty rates in Southern Africa?

Step 2: Use your research question to develop keywords and search strategy

Concept matrix for search strategy:

Step 3: Chose what database(s) you'll search in

Go to the Library Subject Guides page and select an appropriate Subject to guide your initial search

• Start with Global Studies; ProQuest, EBSCO, and Web of Science are 3 premier dbs to consult
• Start with some simple searches using keywords as above 
• Look at special subject terms the authors use, found in the abstract or in the Subject Headings listed
• Avoid typing in questions; this will result in 0 hits in specialized databases
• Limit results to only: peer-reviewed, articles

Step 4: Create and record "search strings"

• Use Boolean operators AND/OR (NOT) to broaden or narrow your search, e.g.:

(women OR Female) AND ("Property rights" OR "Land ownership") AND (Botswana OR Malawi)

• You want to "record" them somewhere to copy/paste into multiple databases
• This also helps you keep a record of what you've searched, and where

Advanced database search techniques

• " " searches for exact phrases
• * at the end of a word retrieves variations of the search term; farm = farms, farmer, farming
• ? - Wildcard, retrieves single variant spellings: wom?n = woman, women
• Getting great results: narrowing your search (video 3:02)

Step 5: Run your search and download results

• If you use Zotero, or another reference management tool to manage your references, you should download them into .ris format

Step 6: Manage your downloaded results

• You can best manage your results using a reference manager like Zotero
• Watch the short video in the section below to learn 4 different ways to manage information
  • It was created for Geography graduate students but it is applicable to all disciplines 
  • Zotero is discussed specifically at the 2:41 and 3:50 min. points

Additional Related Video Tutorials