1. Search by keyword(s)

• start with searching by keyword(s)
• compile possible keywords as you work 

2. Search by controlled vocabulary ("subjects" or "subject terms")

• when you find a relevant publication in a catalog or database, look for "subjects"
• run new searches by subject terms

3. Search by author

• when you find a highly relevant publication, look up the author (person or organization) in Google or Google Scholar 

4. Trace citations

• when you find a relevant publication, review its references for citations to previous publications that may be useful
• when you find a highly relevant publication, look it up in Google Scholar, find its "Cited By" link, and review the subsequent publications that have cited it

5. Look for review articles

• as you work, look for review articles that survey the state of knowledge on a topic or question
• in Google Scholar, there is a left-side "Review articles" link

6. Keep track 

• keep track of keywords and subject terms
• you may also find it helpful to keep a log of where you have searched, how you searched, and what you found 

Find books (and more) by searching CATQuest, the UVM library search engine.

(1) You may have some luck searching by keyword, then using the left-side option to show only books (removing articles, audio/video, etc).

(2) A more precise way of searching is using subjects. Run a simple keyword search, then when you find something relevant to your topic, look for "Subjects" that you can click on.