1.2 Create a search strategy to fully satisfy the client's enquiry

Table of Contents

1. Choosing search terms
   1. Examples of search terms
   2. Synonyms
   3. A question about synonyms
   4. Another question about synonyms
   5. Related terms
   6. More about related terms
   7. Ambiguity
2. Structuring an Internet search
3. Using portals
4. Using bibliographic databases
5. Frequently-used websites
6. Website suffixes

Ambiguity

You should also keep in mind that some words are ambiguous. China can mean a country in the Far East or pottery products. The English language is particularly rich in such ambiguities. In the reference interview you will have clarified the meaning of any such ambiguous words. Now at the search stage, you should either use a non-ambiguous synonym (if one exists) or add an additional search term to remove the ambiguity.

Some simple examples are:

Cycle - is it the bicycle or a rotation?

Yarn - could mean thread or a tall story.

Kids - could lead to children or young goats.

You've now reached the end of this topic. You can go to any part of the course by using the menu on the left-hand side of the screen, or you can move on to the next topic:Structuring an internet search.