Too many results? 

• Remove OR'ed concepts from your search
• AND in additional keywords or subject headings
• Check for more specific narrower terms in your subject heading's hierarchy list
• Apply limits to focus your results (e.g. peer-reviewed, empirical journal articles)

Not enough results? 

• Remove AND'ed concepts from your search
• OR in additional keywords or subject headings for your related concepts/synonyms
• Check for broader and related terms in your subject heading's hierarchy list

Spell Check! Google your keywords to make sure you spelled them correctly. Your search will not work if your search words are not spelled properly. 

Use a Thesaurus! Different databases prefer different keywords. Use the correct keywords for the database you are using. Try using the database's built-in thesaurus if it has one.

If you get too many results, many databases have a "Refine Results" column or "Limits" section to help you narrow your search.

Explore narrowing results by publication date (for more current articles), methodology (empirical studies), publication type (peer-reviewed journals), and document type (journal article) to help focus your search.

Sample limits in PsycINFO (ProQuest):
 

Sample limits in PsycINFO (OVID):