## Checking the search process

Did you not find enough good-quality sources? If not, go back one or more stages in your search process. Check, for example, whether:

- you should make your question more specific or more broadly based
- you have used every important search term
- other suitable databases are available
- you have combined your search terms in the right way

Tip: Not every sub-question can be answered by searching in literature. The reasons for this could be:

- A subject is too new: there are simply no publications that deal with it yet. If there are, however, any ongoing research projects on the subject, you could try contacting the researchers.
- The answer to your question is confidential - it may concern sensitive commercial information, for example. You could try approaching businesses, in this case.