Before you begin searching, take some time to think about your keywords. This is a step that may students skip and, as a result, it’s easy to be led astray. Unlike common search engines, databases are not designed to handle long phrases and queries. They’re built around subject terms. If you have a research question in mind, break it into strategic keywords before you start searching and continue to refine those terms as you review your results. For a quick overview about how to generate keywords, please watch this short video:
Note the emphasis on breaking your research question into keywords and thinking strategically about synonyms. Here are some other key points to consider:
- Take time to brainstorm keywords before you start searching. This is particularly important if you have a broad topic or question in mind. Databases are build around keywords, so breaking broad ideas into strategic keywords is extramely important.
- Start broad and use the limiters to help you narrow and focus as you go. This refining process will continue until you start hitting on results that meet your needs. Being strategic about your keywords and learning the language of the field you’re researching is essential. For example, the subject limiter in the sidebar is designed to help researchers narrow and focus as they’re searching and there may be some new terms in there as well. See the video for a demo on how that process works.
- Once you start finding some relevant result, dig deeper by mining the article record and noting the subject terms and author-supplied keywords (if any), then read the abstract and introduction and highlight any new terms you find there. Pay particular attention to author-supplied keywords when they appear because those are there to attracts like-minded scholars to that article and they can provide clues as to what types of terms other researchers are using.
- Remember this is an exploratory process that involves a lot of trial and error. Be prepared to explore multiple database and tweak your keywords as you go.