- Narrow down and define the topic of the work precisely
- Create a word list with possible search terms: Search for synonyms and related terms, use singular or plural, check abbreviations
- Clarify unclear terms with the help of (online) dictionaries
- Scheduling: How much time do I have for literature research and editing? Do I have enough time to use interlibrary loan/document delivery or do I have to limit my search to locally available sources? How extensive should the literature search be?
- Is the search for books/e-books sufficient or are articles from journals/e-journals also required?
- Are there free scientific electronic resources on my topic? (Open Access)
- The selection of relevant catalogs / databases and, if necessary, printed bibliographies depends on the subject and scope of the work.
Where to search?
Getting started: Katalog+ of our University Library
In Katalog+ you can search the University Library's extensive media collection. You will find books and journals that are available in print and/or as electronic full text. In addition, the Katalog+ is enriched with a large number of citable sources beyond the library's media holdings. This enables you to carry out a comprehensive search for articles and papers in selected journals and conferences.
In the Katalog+ Help you will find tips and tricks for searching as well as a video tutorial to familiarize yourself with the most important functions.
Additional: Literature search in several sources at once in DigiBib
With the DigiBib KL or DigiBib LD metasearch, you can simultaneously search library catalogs and databases from all over the world. Database profiles can be selected specifically. Use the button “How do I get it?” to check the availability of the found media. If required, you can then conveniently place an interlibrary loan request.
Thematic Search: DBIS
For a more specific academic search, use databases. Databases primarily list journal articles, either as bibliographic references with source details or as full texts. A variety of freely accessible databases, as well as online databases licensed for the RPTU, are available in the Database Information System (DBIS). Use the “Subjects” tab and the “Top databases” filter to display the most important databases in a subject area.”
