Optimal use of a literature database

Which databases are relevant to your search depends on your topic and the domain of your research. In the A to Z list of Hanze databases you can search by topic, or you can go through the entire list and read the description to make sure you have checked all possibilities. When doing a systematic search, it is always advisable to use a combination of multidisciplinary databases and domain-specific databases.

Gray literature

If necessary, include gray literature in your search. Grey literature is information that is not published or made available through the traditional route of a (commercial) publisher. Examples include policy papers, reports, theses, dissertations or conference papers. See the list of links and useful resources for helpful tips.

Instead of entering your entire search string all at once, it is recommended that you break the search into chunks. This will give you a good idea of how many results each sub-concept produces and where the search string may need to be tweaked. 

Example:

You're looking for articles on using social media to promote healthy living among teens. You searched for "social media" and for "promoting healthy living. You already want to combine both of these searches. To do this, go to "Search History".

In the image below, you can see that S3 is the combination of title/abstract/thesaurus term for 'social media'. S6 is the same for 'promoting healthy living'. Check S3 and S6 and click on 'Search with AND', as this is a combination of different topics. Combining with the Boolean operator 'AND' drops the number of results tremendously.