The first thing is to make sure you clearly understand your task and what topic you are seeking information for, this is called topic analysis. Check your assessment task details in your Subject Outline

With an understanding of your task you then need to plan how you will search for information. This starts with identifying and brainstorming keywords.

Imagine you are required to write a literature review based on the following topic: 

Discuss the effect of sports or energy drinks on the oral health of teenagers

For guidance in topic analysis check out:

Alternatively, you could try using a question framework:

In health & medical research it can be useful to express your research topic as a clinical question. That way you can focus clearly on exactly what you need to know and work out the concepts you need to search for.

The clinical question should be:

• relevant to the patient or the problem
• formulated in such a way as to help with the search for an answer.   

Using a question framework such as PICO can help you pinpoint your question and from there your search strategy.

The PICO concept is commonly used to formulate a clinical question. The acronym's 4 letters each identify a key concept for your topic:

PICO is commonly used when one intervention is being compared with another, or with no intervention at all. If PICO doesn't suit your question or topic there are many other frameworks to choose from. For more information see: Identify your answerable research question