Developing an information search strategy: Introduction

Simple but efficient actions for a documentalist to assess the latest developments on a topic

Glossary

Field
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A field is the elementary information provided by a database, a digital file, and more generally by any digital resource using indexed terms / Wiki.org
Hypertext
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Text which contains words linked to other texts, or to other sections of the same text.
Indexation
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Choice of words used to describe documents in a set of documents. Indexation may be done automatically and take up all the words of the indexed documents. It may be done manually by documentalists who pick or add words to the documents while referring to a reference list, a thesaurus or a classification. The words in the indexation are distributed into searchable indexes (titles, authors, topic, etc.).
Metadata
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In a digital environment, metadata are a set of data making it possible to describe a digital resource; they are contained within the resource itself and provide information on its content, its material elements, and any mentions regarding intellectual property. They aim at enhancing information search, managing resources and access to resources more efficiently, making data share and reuse easier, and promoting the durability of digital resources.
Noise
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a document search request generates noise when it sends back irrelevant documents. A simple request on a search engine will do so systematically. The ranking of sent documents partly solves the issue. However, in order to significantly reduce noise, you should:
- combine several key words with a Boolean "AND" (default operator on Google).
- have your search bear on a specific field, such as the title field.
- use more discriminating, less common or more precise terms.
- prefer a specialised tool to a generalist tool. For instance for a science search, use Google Scholar rather than Google.
- use professional and specialised tools such as databases to which universities sign up.
Search operator
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"Word or symbol used to specify the relation between to search terms. There may be arithmetic, Boolean, proximity, truncation, presence/exclusion, ranking or selection operators." (Documentation vocabulary, ADBS)
Silence
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Refers to the absence of results to a request. It may be the consequence of an insufficient search, a lack of perseverance, a lack of time or a lack of knowledge of the system and its languages. In order to reduce silence, you should use synonyms, related or more general terms from the thesaurus, use the same term in another language, combine the different terms with the OR operator.
Truncation
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A symbol used to "truncate" search terms (often marked with an asterisk) and to find words starting or ending with a given chain of characters. Truncation is a way to find variations for a term, based on writing its root and replacing one or several characters, either on the right (transport*) or on the left (*tion) of this root, or by replacing a character in the middle of the word. The truncation on the right on "transport" thereby allows you to find transports, transporter, transportable; the truncation on the left on "tion" allows you to find emotion, reaction, action, etc.

Topic

1.1 How to search? Search information strategies

Related guides

Definition and objectives

Developing an information search strategy means to make the best use of the added value of document sources selected to maximise your selections and browsing through large masses of digital information: Web pages, bibliographic elements, full text, factual data, pictures.

The added value of the sources depends on:

how the documents are described (key words).
search operators and possibilities for restrictions available to narrow down your selections.
possibilities for bouncing from one document to another.

It is an iterative procedure which gradually leads to increasingly relevant key words for documents which are increasingly adequate to your search topic.

The gradual affirmation of an underlying question, the description of a topic by key words and the available possibilities for selection gradually shape and refine the landscape of a search: its authors, its reviews, its laboratories, its key words, its perspectives, its methods, its results, its centre and periphery.

The iterative stages

Several stages may be identified:

Analysing the topic.
Choosing key words so as to best define it in a document source.
Choosing information sources.
Maximising the available tools to run a document search and refine your selections: using search operators and restrictions
Browsing from one document to another, using all the possibilities for bouncing.
Analysing the results and enhancing the enquiry.

A limited rationality

The strategies and document knowledge described in this guide are only efficient to a limited and variable degree. They work diversely depending on the results aimed at, the sources used and the methodologies applied.

However, if a document request produces even one satisfactory result out of three, it will save a considerable amount of time to the researcher who can rationalise and maximise their progression, both documentary and intellectual.

Need help?

Hervé Le Men

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To cite this guide

Le Men, Hervé, Belvèze, Damien. "Developing an information search strategy". In UBL (Université Européenne de Bretagne). Formadoct. Rennes: UBL, May 2010 (last updated on 03.07.13). Available on: http://en.guides-formadoct.u-bretagneloire.fr//searchstrategy