1. Think about your topic and come up with key search terms

Analyse what your topic is about and think about search terms. Be bold in trying different keywords and their synonyms. Combine your words in different ways. Successful information search begins with good search terms.

For example, if your topic is youth experiences of temporary employment, start by thinking about possible keywords. In order to get the best results, you should not use full sentences, but rather limit your search to a few keywords. Remember that you will often be able to find synonyms for many of your keywords, e.g. part-time / fixed-term / transient employment. Think also about words that describe your topic either more broadly or in more detail, e.g. freelance > work.

A good tool for coming up with search terms in Finnish is the The General Finnish Thesaurus - YSA. The thesaurus provides synonyms for your search terms, and also broader and narrower expressions. YSA can be useful when using Haltia, for example.

You can also use specialised glossaries and indexes, for example the Helecon vocabulary of the Aalto School of Economics.

Information from international databases is usually sought using English keywords. A dictionary, for example MOT, is helpful when coming up with keywords. The bilingual Helecon vocabulary can also be useful.

2. Search for information from databases

The library offers access to hundreds of databases. The databases point you to a wealth of materials like books, research papers, newspaper articles and statistics. Databases often also contain the text in full.

• Begin by familiarising yourself with the database's user instructions
• Truncate your keywords when needed so that all inflections will be covered, e.g. market? > marketing, markets
• These truncation markers differ by database, the most popular being ? and *
• You can limit your search also by language or publication date
• Often it is useful to combine your keywords using Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT.

It is likely that your information search will not succeed at the first try.

a) Too many query results? Try using more specific keywords (marketing > direct marketing) limit your query results by language, publication date or material type, or move your truncation marker to the right.

b) Too few query results?  Try new keywords or do away with some of your limiters. Try moving your truncation marker to the left.

c) Zero results? Check your spelling and how you have combined your query terms.  Did you use the right truncation symbol or language? Would some other database be better?

Even if your first search produces good results, it is still good to try different search terms and their combinations. This will ensure that you get full coverage of your topic.

Key information sources include:

- Haltia - HAAGA-HELIA database
- Other libraries 
- E-books 
      * Vocational and scientific literature 
      * Research reports and studies 

- Journals and articles 
      * New vocational practices and applications; new research 
- Nelli-portal
      * Search several libraries and databases simultaneously 
- Theseus
      * Theses online
- Information sources by topic 
      * Statistics, organisations and databases organised by topic

3. Search the Internet

Most of us google just about each day, but do you know how to use Google effectively? It is good to think carefully about your search terms as well as truncation and other limiters also when seeking information from the net.
Are you familiar with Google's advanced search or other tools such as Google Scholar, which is specialised in locating research results? The net offers plenty of excellent search engines, e.g. Infomine and Scirus.

The net offers plenty of publications from various organisations and research institutes.
Blogs, wikis and other social media services are tools for seeking and sharing information. They are excellent for keeping up with the latest developments in a variety of fields.
Remember, however, that you need to assess the reliability of all information that you gather. This is especially important when using the net as an information source.

4. Information validity

Information validity is an integral part of information seeking. Pay attention to matters including the following:

• Reliability and objectivity – who produced the information?
• Up-to-dateness – is the information sufficiently new?
• Scope – is the topic covered sufficiently broadly and from different perspectives?
• Origin – avoid secondary sources. Locate the primary source.