Keep a literature-search log you can return to

Break the question into concepts

Identify the main ideas in your research question and list alternative terms for each. Include relevant spellings, terminology used in the discipline and narrower concepts that may help later. Keep these groups separate so you can see which part of the question a term represents.

Look at a few useful sources to learn the language researchers actually use. Add promising terms with a note of where they came from. Do not change the entire search vocabulary after one unhelpful result; make a controlled adjustment so you can judge whether it improved relevance.

Choose and record the search location

Use your subject library guidance to choose databases or catalogues relevant to the material you need. Record the database name and platform because search features can differ. A search of a general web engine and a search of a subject database should not be labelled as the same method.

Note the date and the exact query you used, including any operators or field restrictions. Record filters such as publication year or language and why you applied them. Avoid using a filter merely to make the result count smaller if it excludes material relevant to the question.

Evaluate a sample of results

Inspect titles and abstracts from the result set and note the pattern. Are the results about the wrong population, a different meaning of the term or an overly broad topic? Use that diagnosis to revise the query. A large result count is not inherently a failure, and a small one is not proof of precision.

Record useful sources and obvious reasons for exclusion at the level the assignment requires. Keep the source identifiers separate from your search query. Do not treat every downloaded file as included evidence; the reading and evaluation stage may reveal that an apparently relevant result does not support the project.

Change one meaningful element at a time

Try a new synonym, a more appropriate field or a revised combination of concepts, then compare the result pattern. Keep a short note explaining the change. This makes later decisions understandable and prevents circular searching where you repeatedly rediscover the same ineffective query.

Use reference lists and citation links deliberately where suitable. Record that a source was found through citation following rather than pretending it appeared in the original database search. Check the cited item itself before using it, and preserve the link between the lead and the source you eventually read.

Use the log to decide the next step

Review the log for gaps in concepts, source types or perspectives relevant to the question. Identify whether the next useful action is another search, closer reading or advice from a subject librarian. Avoid searching indefinitely because stopping feels uncomfortable; use the assignment's scope and the evidence needs of your argument.

When writing the method or explaining your research process, use the log to describe what you actually did. Keep limitations visible, including access constraints and boundaries you chose. Save the log with the project so a later update can begin from a known search strategy rather than reconstructing weeks of browsing from memory.

Your next steps

• Record database, date, exact query and filters.
• Use concepts and synonyms tied to the question.
• Explain why each meaningful search change was made.
• Distinguish search results from sources selected after reading.

Keep planning

• Keep high-demand library books from derailing preparation
• Keep quotations, paraphrases and your own ideas separate
• Keep one shared draft for a group assignment
• Keep a maths correction log that changes the next attempt