As the query language can vary from one tool to another, the search query must be adapted to the tool being used. 

Here are some tips for building your search query:

• Check that quotation marks are allowed for phrase searching;
• Identify the dominant language of the tool content (Do not rely on the interface language);
• Specialized content may render certain terms useless, for example, in the Sociological Abstracts database  the keyword  sociology  may be meaningless;
• Since each tool has its particularities, it may happen, for example, that the AND operator must be used in the form &. Consult its online help to find out the query language of the tool used;
• More sophisticated operators like NEAR (word proximity of words) may be offered in the tool. Consult its online help to learn query language of the tool.

Now that the query language of the tool used is well understood, the next step is to translate the concept plan into a search query understandable by the tool. This is the focus of step 5!

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