Searching for resources on your subject will be more effective if you have already defined the scope of your research. You may find it helpful to consider the following questions:

• Does the research cover a particular time period?
• Does the study cover a specific geographical area?
• If the study involves people, what age group, gender and place of origin are to be included?
• Are all dates of publication to be included?
• Is the research going to cover publications from other countries?
• Will the research include other languages and scripts?
• Are all perspectives to be considered? For example, philosophical, political, psychological, etc