You may discover that you’re looking for information by search terms that are not the most effective. Databases use search terminology called Subject Terms. Find these descriptive words to help with your search. For example: "death penalty" is often classified as "capital punishment."
Write all of those search terms down to keep track of them. These terms might give you new ways of thinking about your topic.. Maybe come up with a question or two for things you’re curious about. Those questions will help you focus your paper.
Narrowing Your Topic
After you have found some information, try to narrow your topic. If your topic is too broad, it will be hard to keep a focus in your paper and the information range will be too large. Adjust your topic to a topic field that is specific enough to research without having large amounts of articles, but still general enough to have some relevant information sources.