Keep track of your search and your results. Remember research is a process and you may try many things before you find what works best for your topic.
Keep track of your search terms and jot down other words you find while perusing the articles that result from your searches.
The "search history" option under the search box can also help with that.
Email, print, or save articles that might be useful for your research, even if you're not sure that you're going to use them.
If your topic is:
What is the influence of Spanish literary custom on Medieval lyric poetry?
1. Identify keywords or phrases:
Spain(ish) literature culture Medieval lyric poetry
2. Explore synonyms for your keywords/phrases:
Medieval: Middle Ages, Dark Ages, Gothic
Culture: customs, tradition, practices
3. Use these terms in your search. Combine the synonyms with the word "or".
For example: Medieval OR Middle Ages OR Dark Ages OR Gothic
4. Make use of the Subject Headings option on the left of your screen to find appropriate subject headings for your topic and use them in a search
Note: some of your initial keywords may be similar like literature and lyric poetry. Other keywords you could use for either of these terms: literary, poems, lyric poems, prose or because we are disucssing Spanish literary customs from a specific time period, you can use non-English terms such as "kharjas" or "Mester de Juglaria". You could also look at specific famous poems such as Cantar de Mio Cid or Mester de Clerecia.
Remember to search in the advanced search mode
Enter your 1st keyword(s)/phrase(s) in the first line (here Medieval).
Your second concept in our example is culture. Enter that key phrase and any synonyms in the second line of the search box. Your search results should then include both concepts somewhere in the record.
You can add as many concepts as you like - all databases and the library catalog will allow you to add more than the default 3 fields when you're in advanced search.
Once you have collected some articles, take a closer look at them.
Read and review what you have. Do you have enough information to support your topic?
If you don't like what you have or you don't have enough good information, go back to your search. Try some new keywords or a different database.
Explore some of the subject headings from the articles that you do want to use.
If some of your articles have bibliographies you might want to look at some of the sources listed in those bibliographies.
If you're stuck -- ask a librarian for help.
Reading these sections of an article/book will help you determine if the item you're looking at is relevant to your research.