If you are not getting enough search results, you need to broaden your search:

• Generalizing your terms. Think of what category your specific terms belong to. If you are searching for Buddhism and violence, you could generalize your terms to religion and violence. Sometimes generalizing your search will get you too many hits, in which case use techniques to narrow your search
• Delete search terms. Remove search terms that are not as important. religio$ AND India AND Brit$ will retrieve fewer records than religio$ AND India.
• Talk to a librarian. If you have tried everything you can think of and still are not finding enough sources, talk to a librarian before giving up.

If you get too many search results, you need to narrow your search:

• Try making your search more specific. Sometimes this also means narrowing the topic of your search. If you are getting too many records on Hindu-Muslim relations try specifying a location, such as the Punjab, or a time period, such as nineteenth century.
• Add search terms. For instance, if you want to find information on Hinduism and Islam and keep getting records about multiculturalism in Canada, add the term India.
• Do a subject search rather than a keyword search.
  See Unit 2: Search Limits for more information on subject searching.
  (HINT: Click on the hyperlinked subject headings listed for useful sources you have already found).