A search strategy uses keywords to describe the concepts of your research topic or question.
Most of the time, you will need to revise your search strategy along the way, adding or changing the keywords you use. You will need to experiment with your search strategies, but here are some search tips and word combinations.
Try to think about different ways to say the same thing.
Read the abstract. Look at the subject headings.
Keep track of your searches and the changes you make.
Use an * for truncation to retrieve various endings of the root word
feminis* = feminism or feminist or feminists
ethnic* = ethnic or ethnicity
representation* = representation or representations
lgbt* = lgbt or lgbtq or lgbtqia
Black* = Black or Blacks
teenage* = teenage or teenager or teenagers
place phrases in quotes so the whole phrase will be searched together and not the individual words
"African American*"
"social media"
"South Asian"
"people of color"
"prison reform"
"prison abolition"
"media culture"
"comic book*"
"mainstream media"
"Disney Channel"
use - or - to connect synonyms or like concepts
any of the words can be present
"prison reform" or "prison abolition"
"African American*" or Black*
women or female* or woman
lgbtq* or lesbian* or gay or homosexual* or bisexual* or transgender or queer
fatphobia or "weight discrimination" or "weight stigma" or anti-fat
film* or tv or television or "motion picture*"
use - and - to connect concepts
all terms must be included
fatphobia or "weight discrimination" or "weight stigma" or anti-fat
and
media
------------
"South Asian"
and
women or woman or female*
and
media or tv or television or film or "motion picture*"
and
representation
------------
sports or athletics or athletes
and
media
and
female* or women or woman
and
Black* or "African American*"
can add:
and
race or racism or discrimination