Use specific numerical values (sample sizes, percentages, citation counts) as strong search anchors to locate research papers
When a question mentions specific numerical values from a paper — sample sizes, percentages, concentration values, year ranges, or population counts.
Specific numerical values in papers are the strongest distinguishing features. A sample size of "1.7 million" or "20% of population" is far more unique than topic keywords. Always prioritize numerical clues in your search queries.
Combine numerical values with methodology terms and discipline keywords. Use quotation marks around exact numbers to force precise matching. Multiple numerical constraints together can uniquely identify a paper.
"[specific value]" [unit] [method keyword] [discipline]"[sample size]" [census/survey type] [country] [percentage] population"1.7 million" employed census sample Romania 20% populationIgnoring numerical clues and searching only with topic keywords — specific numerical values are the strongest discriminators, and skipping them leads to overly broad results.