Main Contents Page

Before you start

STEP 1: STARTING OUT

- Recognise your need

- Think about your need

- Read about your topic

- Defining keywords

Draw mind map

Broader & narrower terms

Other spellings

Examples per faculty:

Natural Sciences

Commerce & Management

Social Sciences

Engineering

Cost of information

- Searching tools

- Summary

STEP 2: FINDING

STEP 3: EVALUATE

STEP 4: LEGAL USE

STEP 5: COMMUNICATE

Defining keywords

Once you have read generally about your topic, you should have a better idea of the keywords under which you will probably find information about your topic. So, before you can start your search, you should define your keywords accurately. The following steps will assist you in defining keywords:

Draw a mind map

Select broader and narrower subject terms

Consider other spellings

Examples per faculty: Natural Sciences    Mindmap Commerce and Management    Mindmap Social Sciences     Mindmap Engineering    Mindmap

Note: Some information resources are free and others require that you pay. See the following for more on cost of information.