When you're going to search for background information for your assignment, for instance do a market research to make a marketing plan, you will have to start with asking yourself a few questions:
- What do I already know about the topic? (Wikipedia can be of great help to get insight in (sub) topics and can help you define search terms to help you get better results)
- What information do I need for my assignment? (Define boundaries about your topic - so what it is you're looking for, and what isn't) Specify your search using the 5 W's: Who, Where, When, What, Why.
- What organisations might be relevant to research for my assignment?
- What search terms might help me with my research?
You can brainstorm with your project group about your topic and put terms that come up into a mindmap which you can expand.
Need more help finding the right search terms or need more information why you need search terms? Check out the search terms box.
In the video below on 'how to start' we have used 'meat replacements', as a category example. You can try out the tactics used in this video on your own category or topic.