![]() ![]() Pay attention to what words the encyclopedias or background articles use because they can hopefully serve as your keywords. When you did your background research, it helped you figure out what words are more typically used and what the technical terms for your topic are. Often those technical terms will be much more helpful when searching the databases, so pay attention as you start researching. While dogs and cats can probably be used as keywords just fine, knowing that those technical terms for the same things might be helpful as well. Another example of a vernacular versus a technical term is dogs and canines or cats and felines. Both could work as keywords, but when searching you might see a difference in which type of articles uses which term. Both refer to the same plant, but one is a more technical term, and the other is a more informal, commonly used term. An example of this is Marijuana and Cannabis. It is the academic or official terms you want to use as your keywords. The official terms rather than the vernacular. Often there is a different vocabulary that the researchers in that discipline use when talking about your topic. Likewise, searching animal AND rights might bring up anything that mentions animal and mentions rights, but searching "animal rights" links them together as a single multi-word phrase).īut choosing your keywords isn’t as simple as just pulling out the words you think describe your topic. It is best to put quotes around multiple words to keep them together, so that the database knows they are one key phrase instead of two separate keywords that mean something different when they are searched separately (mental and health are not the same things as "mental health" as a united concept. Keywords: dogs AND " mental health" AND " college students" Main Points: How might dogs (cause) influence the mental health (effect) of college students (persons)? Question: How can dogs improve the mental health of college students? Once you have a simple but good question, you can easily pull your starting keywords from it. The main elements in your research question (such as the 3 elements: person(s)/place/ thing, cause, and effect) are examples of keywords with specific roles in your research question. Adjectives and adverbs won't be helpful as keywords because they are only embellishing the nouns or verbs and should probably not be used at all. Verbs tend to be less useful, and should only be used sparingly. Typically nouns make the best keywords because they are the subjects of your topic. They describe your topic in just a few words. Keywords are essentially the main points or concepts of your topic or research question. Rather than the natural language we are used to, where you would put your research question directly into the Google search bar, library databases use keywords and logic to search database content. Databases will search exactly what you enter, no more, no less. Searching a Library Database is more like online shopping than searching Google, because databases are extremely literal. Narrow it down by adding size, brand, color, or style When searching for those shoes on the store’s website, you might put in “running shoes,” possibly adding your size, favorite brand, or even color. You might search reviews for the best running shoes first, or you might just go to the website of your favorite shoe store. Would you type in a whole sentence, or just put in the words that describe the item?įor example, If you were looking for a pair of running shoes, where would you look for them? What words would you use to narrow the search? Think of what words you would search for if you were buying a pair of shoes. Most basic search engines work better with keywords, such as when you are shopping online. Keywords summarize your topic without using a lot of words. How to Critically Read Academic Articles.Applying the CRAAP Test to Articles and Books."Search the Library" through the EBSCO Discovery Service.Intro to Information Literacy Toggle Dropdown ![]()
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