Image: Robyn Jay, (CC BY-SA 2.0).
The information seeking process starts with a question or a problem that needs to be solved and for that you need information. First, think of what kind of information you are looking for and what you already know about the subject. Get to know the subject matter by looking for general information about the topic in for example newspapers. Browsing through theses or textbooks on the topic may also help you.
You can use mind maps to structure your topic into search concepts. Add any new concepts to the map during the information search process. Think about what is connected to your topic: Is it a part of a larger subject or what smaller units it might consist of? Defining the search topic carefully at the beginning of the information search process helps and speeds up finding relevant information.
Finding search terms (search words and phrases) is one of the most important and time-consuming parts of the information seeking process, because the search terms will determine if the search is successful or not. Note that the words you use to describe your research topic may not necessarily be the same other people use and therefore might not help you find resources related to your topic.
Take time to come up with words and phrases to use in your search. Think what is important in your research topic and what you want to find more information on. The aim is to identify the main concepts of your research topic and turn those concepts into search terms.
Dictionaries and thesauri are useful when you are looking for search terms. Also, literature in your field will help you find suitable words to use as search terms. Pay special attention to synonyms, as well as to broader or narrower concepts, words, and acronyms. For some concepts there is a fixed acronym, e.g. human resource management - HRM. It is useful to search for information using both.
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 controlled 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 get an overview of what has been written about your topic before.
You can use dictionaries to choose search terms, for example MOT Online Dictionaries. MOT Online includes dictionaries, proofing, and machine translation. More information on how to use MOT Online is available at the i button next to the link below.
A controlled vocabulary or a thesaurus helps information suppliers and seekers use a common language to make information easier to find. 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 just subjects. Subject terms are not just any words that describe a topic, but specific words that follow a set of rules and are collected in a thesaurus. Often subject terms in plural form describe topics that are concrete and quantifiable. Topics that are abstract or describe actions are in singular.
A controlled vocabulary/thesaurus is a list where one term describes an equivalent concept.
Thesauri also show relations between the terms. Possible alternate terms and synonyms are limited so that only one term is used for all the words that describe the same concept. You can see the hierarchy and relations between terms in a thesaurus, for example:
Notice that a related term is not the same as a synonym, but it is an adjacent term. Related terms help you find other 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 give you 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 matter. For example, the most commonly used controlled vocabulary/thesaurus in Finland is one, YSO - General Finnish Ontology. YSO is part of Finto, Finnish thesaurus and ontology service, which also includes several subject-specific thesauri.
Databases may have their own thesauri and because of that you should always check what subject terms are used in each database for information seeking. Subject terms can often be found under e.g. Thesaurus, Subject Terms or Subjects in databases.
Basic search in Turku UAS Finna is a keyword search. In a keyword search the search targets all the descriptive information of publications (title, author, subject terms, etc.).
In advanced search you can target your search to only subject terms. Limit the search to subject terms by choosing Subject in the dropdown menus.
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 a subject term, you can find other books in the same subject.
NOTE: YSO - General Finnish Ontology, is used widely in Turku UAS Finna. However, the subject terms are generally in Finnish in Turku UAS Finna, so remember to check the Finnish versions when using YSO in English!
This guide aims to support Turku UAS students and staff in information searching. It is a major part of the study materials in the Information Skills Online Course.
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