There are many different ways to search for relevant literature on a topic. There is no such thing as the perfect search. At the beginning of a search, you should consider exactly what you are looking for. This has the advantage to define the searched topic clearly in terms of content and to narrow down the search results more systematically.

Before starting a search, various search terms should be defined that cover different aspects of the topic. It is helpful if words with the same or similar meanings are included in the search (synonymous search).

Search engines or library catalogs often only search for the exact character string. Therefore, especially for a complete search, the spelling of the search term in singular and plural form and also upper and lower case should be considered. In addition to the word form, the language of the search term should also come into focus, because many subjects have their own scientific language.