The information seeking process starts with a task or a problem that needs to be solved and to do that you need information. First of all you can think what kind of information you are looking for and what you already know about the subject. Familiarize yourself with the subject matter for example by looking for general information about the topic in newspapers. Browse and read theses or handbooks that have a similar topic.
Use mind or concept maps to structure your topic into concepts. You can add new concepts to the map during the info search process. Think about what relates to your topic: is it a part of a larger concept or does it consist of smaller detailed sections? Defining the topic carefully at the beginning of the information search process helps and speeds up finding the relevant information.
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Thinking up search terms (words and phrases) is one of the most important and time-consuming stages of the information seeking process, because the search terms will determine if the search will work or not. Note that the words you use to describe your research topic may not necessarily be the same that other people use and therefore might not help you find resources related to your topic.
You should take time to come up with words and phrases to use in your search. Think what is important in your research topic and what are the things you want to find more information on. The goal is to identify the main concepts of your research topic and turn those concepts into search terms.
Dictionaries and thesauri are useful in coming up with search terms. Also, literature relating to your field of study will help you find suitable words to use as search terms. Pay special attention to synonyms, as well as concepts, words, and acronyms that describe your topic in a broader or narrower sense. For some concepts there is a fixed acronym, e.g. human resource management is known as HRM. It is useful to search for information using both of them.
A good way to start information seeking is to pick two or three central search terms that describe your research topic. Try to search with words that you have come up with as well as subject terms found in thesauri. By testing and combining different types of search terms it is easy to either broaden or narrow your search to gain an overview of what has been written about your topic.
You can use dictionaries to choose search terms, for example MOT Online Dictionaries. MOT Online includes dictionaries, proofing and machine translation.
Linkki avautuu uuteen ikkunaan
Linkki avautuu uuteen ikkunaanHelp from thesauri
A subject term thesaurus is helpful when seeking information or storing it. A thesaurus provides a common, controlled language to describe the contents of publications. Using subject terms helps you find material suitable for your research topic.
Subject terms describe the main content of publications in databases. They may also be called subject headings, descriptors, or simply subjects. Subject terms are not just any words that describe a topic, but specific words that adhere to a standard and are compiled in a thesaurus. Most often subject terms are written in plural when they describe topics that are concrete and quantifiable. Topics that are abstract or describe actions are in singular.
A thesaurus is a list where one term describes and stands for an equivalent concept.
Thesaurusi also show relations between terms. Possible alternate terms and synonyms are limited so that only one term is used for all the words that have the same meaning. You can look at the hierarchy and relations between terms in a thesaurus, for example:
Notice that a related term is not the same as a synonym. A related term helps you discover subject terms linked to a specific concept.
If your search does not provide you with enough good results, try searching with a broader term. If, on the other hand, you get too many references, use a narrower term. Sometimes thesauri may also provide you with the correct subject term to describe a concept instead of the word you have used.
Thesauri may be general and independent of databases and subject matters. For example, the most commonly used thesaurus in Finland is one these, YSO – general Finnish ontology. YSO is part of Finto, the Finnish thesaurus and ontology service, which also includes several subject specific thesauri.
Databases may have their own thesauri and because of that subject terms used in information seeking should always be checked in each database. Subject terms can often be found under e.g. Thesaurus, Subject Terms or Subjects.
In Turku UAS Finna, you can see all the subject terms by clicking on Show all details. Subject terms can be found under Subjects. By clicking on the subject term, you can find other books in the same field.
NB: YSO, General Finnish Ontology, is used widely in Turku UAS Finna. However, subject terms are in Finnish in general in Turku UAS Finna, so remember to check the Finnish versions when using YSO in English!
Databases may have their own thesauri and for that reason the subject terms used in information seeking should always be checked within each database. Subject terms can often be found under e.g. Thesaurus, Subject Terms or Subjects.
See help sheets on how to use database-specific thesauri in EBSCOHost article databases:
This guide aims to support Turku UAS students and staff in searching information. It is a major part of the study material in the Information Skills Online Course.
Contact Library at the Turku University of Applied Sciences by email library@turkuamk.fi.
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