Before you start conducting your research, you should have created a research plan with a specific research question. In addition to this plan, you should begin your search with an objective in mind. What exactly are you looking for? Do you want facts, opinions, statistics, quotations? Is the purpose of your research to find a new idea, find factual information to support a position, or something else? Once you decide what you are looking for, it is much easier to look for sources in the correct places and with the correct words and phrases.
Once you have your research topic and you know which databases you want to search for articles, you need to determine the best way to go about searching. For starters, you can't just type in a question like, "What were medical practices like during the Battle of Gettysburg?" Instead, you should search one of two ways. The first option is to use key terms, or words that will appear frequently in the article. The second is to use subject headings—categories of articles grouped by theme.
To search key terms, think about important words that will occur in sources you could use. Then, type one or two of those terms into the search bar. Most search engines will generate results based on how frequently those words appear in articles and their abstracts.
Let's use our topic from the previous section, medical practices at the Battle of Gettysburg, as an example. You might choose keywords like "amputation," "field medicine," and "Gettysburg." This should yield articles that discuss amputations on the field during the Battle of Gettysburg. You could also search something like "anesthesia" and "Civil War," which would lead you to articles about anesthetics during the war.
While searching with key terms, you may need to get creative. Some articles will use different language than you might expect, so try a variety of related terms to make sure you're getting back all the possible results.
A lot of options
Phrase your search terms as specifically as possible, so that you only find relevant sources.