Search tips for when your research topic or issue is not well researched in the scholarly realm

Sometimes your research topic will not be well covered in scholarly or academic sources! Sometimes this happens when a topic or issue is very new and current or the topic may be very specific, perhaps on a certain location or group of people. Read on for ideas to make it work.

Mix up your searching and be flexible

If you've entered your most important ideas into a search engine and retrieve zero helpful scholarly articles, consider:

Removing a term.
Ensuring you aren't searching with a long sentence or question.
Checking your spelling! Many databases do not spell-check for you.
Searching a more generalized term (i.e. trading card game addiction vs. addiction). When the Black Lives Matter movement began, there was little to no published scholarly research on "Black Lives Matter" but decades of research on police brutality, civil rights, racism, prejudice, social justice, race relations in the US, etc.
Conducting an internet search on your topic and/or using a Generative AI tool (like ChatGPT or Gemini) to get ideas for terms to try.
Trying your search in Google Scholar.
Looking at related Wikipedia or other online encyclopedias for their references.
Searching your terms without limiting to scholarly sources (what sources are discussing your topic? are they linking to research studies?).
Looking for an organization or government entity related to your topic (i.e. the American Psychological Association may have information about addiction, perhaps even trading card game addiction, if you search their website- and they are likely to reference research articles for you).
Going back to the beginning of your research: Did you stumble onto your topic on social media or a blog or Reddit post? Who has the information in those places? Do they also conduct scholarly research on the issue? A simple web search should help with tracking down an author's publications.

Discuss with your instructor

If you've tried several of the above steps and/or worked with a librarian who likewise did not have much success, consider reaching out to your instructor for help. They can give you additional ideas about slightly adjusting your topic if needed, possibly allowing you more flexibility in source types, and more.

For more search tips, please contact a librarian!