Quick Start Guide to Keywords
Finding keyword search terms
Start with One Sentence to Describe Your Research Topic
Example: How does global warming affect polar bear habitat?
Identify 2-4 Key Concepts from Your Research Sentence
These might be synonyms, or related terms. Wikipedia and Encyclopedias are great places to find these.
Example: How does global warming affect polar bear habitat?
Key Concepts:
global warming
Polar bear
habitat
List 3-5 Related Terms for Each of Your Concepts
Example:
Global Warming
Climate Change
Environmental crisis
Greenhouse effect
Example:
Polar bear
Ursus Maritimus
Arctic bear
Ice bear
Example:
Habitat
Territory
Natural Environment
Home
Domain
Go to NCWiseOwl, and Select Academic Search Complete
Select “Boolean/Phrase”
Pro tip: Set the “Published Date” to reflect how current you want your sources to be.
Type in Your Keywords
Use OR to expand the search to several related terms and get more results.
Use AND to narrow your search, so you get fewer, more targeted results
Use “quotation marks” around any phrases
Hit the Search Button and Scroll Through Your Results
Source: Indiana University-Perdue University Indianapolis