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To identify keywords, first start by writing out your research statement or question. Then follow these steps:
Example search: ("Social Media" OR "social network") AND (privacy OR "personal privacy") AND (concern OR worry)
· As you search you may find more -or better- keywords & synonyms to use, or different spellings... play around with keywords and different combinations to see what is most useful
· Use AND to link different concepts and keywords together
· Use OR to group synonyms, or similar concepts together in parentheses
· Use quotation marks to search for specific phrases, or key words with two or more words
Boolean operators are words you use to link your search terms together when searching for resources.
Use them to increase or decrease the number of search results to find what you need
Boolean Operator | Example | Reason to Use |
AND | women AND military | Searches for items that talk about both concepts together, and to DECREASE RESULTS. |
OR | women OR females | Searches for items that talk about either concept individually, and to INCREASE RESULTS. |
NOT | women NOT men | To eliminate terms and concepts and to DECREASE RESULTS. |
Unlike Google and other web searches, databases work best when you enter keywords instead of full phrases or questions.
Identifying main concepts within your research question/topic.
Research Question: How does lack of access to food effect child development?
Main Concepts: lack of access to food, child development (words like how, does, and, to, etc. are not important)
There are a few types of keywords that you can work with, depending on your topic.
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