Recommended search strategies
A variety of search techniques can be used to expand or refine individual searches.
For example, users can combine or truncate words, limit searches, and use advanced search features in most databases. Users are also urged to select terms that best describe their own areas of interest in retrieving relevant literature.
The following sections explain each of these approaches to enhanced searching:
Combining words
You can also combine terms (and use truncation) to expand the return on materials
- For instance, try searching “business and future and forecast*” or “society and business and prediction*”, and so on…
Truncating words
Please note you can truncate terms (to shorten by or as if by cutting off) by adding an asterisk ( * ) in most databases. This convention will recall all articles with a particular root term:
- For example, a search for “technolog*” will retrieve “technology”, “technologies”, “technologists”, etc. (anything with the root “technolog”)
Concentrate on your interests
You can also search for more specific articles by using specific business-related terms such as:
- Accounting
- Marketing
- IT
- Financial planning
- Human Resource Management
- Law
- Management
….or using some other term that describes your interests or area of work.
Using Advanced Search in databases
Using the advanced search feature, combine subject terms such as
- Business forecasts
- Business conditions
… with other terms such as “future”, “trends” or “predictions”
You can broaden searches by using the OR connector. For example, in the advanced search mode, using ECONOMIC OR BUSINESS AND FORECASTS will retrieve articles about either economic or business forecasts.
You can also look for more specific topics by doing a topical search for articles of interest in this database.
Limiting results
Try limiting results to full-text articles or peer-reviewed ones, for example. Some databases have other limits that can be applied as well.
Finally, you can search specific publications in these databases. One that may be interesting to search in ABI Inform is entitled The Futurist (Washington). Both basic and advanced searches can be done for content in this particular journal about future business trends.
