Content
Creating the search
The last step in devising a search strategy is to combine your keywords or alternate terms with your limits and search tools.
For example, a search for the topic:
In Australian culture, the 'typical Australian' is portrayed as a bushman, who wears thongs and a singlet and holds a can of beer. Compare this portrayal of the typical Australian with current Australian popular culture and comment on its influence on how Australians are portrayed by international media.
could include the terms 'Australian culture' AND 'international media' In this search:
- the word AND acts as a boolean expression
- the inverted commas find an exact phrase
Alternatively, you could search for the terms Australia AND culture AND international AND media.
This would bring back more results than the first search. These results may also not be as relevant because the words are no longer linked together and are less likely to appear in the right context for your topic.
If you wanted to search for how Australian culture is represented in a particular country, you could also include this as a search term, such as 'Australian culture' and America and media
There are many possible searches for this example topic. It is a good idea to use a variety of keywords and alternate terms when doing a search to get the most relevant results. You can also use different search tools and limits to focus your search to get exactly what you want.
The next section looks at types of resources that can be found through the University of the Sunshine Coast Library and how to choose which ones are most appropriate for your information needs.
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