The search strategy worksheet above can be a useful tool in organizing your ideas, questions, and keywords.
Steps for Creating a Search Strategy
Example: How does high-quality early childhood education improve health outcomes for low-income families?
What are the main concepts or keywords?
.....early childhood education / health / low-income families
Think of synonyms, alternate words or/and related words.
.....childcare, Head Start..... toddler, preschool, child .... poverty, poor
Develop your search strategy using the terms above.
Mix and match terms. If one keyword doesn't work, try to vary your keywords with synonyms.
Boolean Operators
Boolean operators help to narrow or broaden your search. The most useful are AND, OR, and NOT which help to connect keywords or concepts.