Consider creating a Search Log - especially for a Literature or Systematic Review. This can be used to track your searches through the databases. It could be in an Excel or a Word format - which ever works best for you.
Unless you are performing a literature or systematic review, keep a Search Log of searches that find one or more appropriate articles.
Keep this form as a separate document or incorporated with your search terms.
Topic/Theme statement/Question: _____________________________
You will need to use different combinations of terms as you search across the different search engines and databases. Check an available thesaurus for additional keywords and subject terms.
Recommended: Keep a record of your search - or at least those searches that resulted in items you could use for your project.
(For a larger view of this chart, right click and open in a new tab).
STOP (Stop your research, Take a moment to Organize and Pull together your project materials)
You've just spent an hour (or six) searching for and downloading materials. It is critical you take a moment to organize everything you just collected. You may have articles, citations, data, search strategies, quotations, notes, and/or more.
You may find it helpful to sort your findings within the folder: