Pearl growing

Type of search strategy

Pearl growing is a metaphor taken from the process of small bits of sand growing to make a beautiful pearl, which is used in information literacy. This is also called "snowballing", alluding to the process of how a snowball can grow into a big snow-man by accumulating snow. In this context this refers to the process of using one information item to find content that provides more information items. This search strategy is most successfully employed at the beginning of the research process as the searcher uncovers new pearls about his or her topic.

This keyword could refer to multiple things. Here are some suggestions: