Now that we have an idea of what our topic is going to be, we need to figure out how to search the databases. To do this, we need to figure out what our keywords are going to be.
Taking our topic and asking it as a research question can be a helpful foundation! Here are some tips to find what keywords will be best for your research:
Don't worry if your first try didn't bring back the results you were hoping for. Depending on your topic, you might need to try a few different combinations, search in a different database, or reach out to a librarian for support!
Below is an example of a chart that we can use to help us map out our keyword options. You can see that each column has a category that helps us break down our research question into keywords.
Now, Global Warming, Polar Bears, Arctic, and Sea Levels are all keywords I can use in my search!
Creating a search string, or how we type all this into the databases, is just as important as picking the right keywords! Now that we have our keywords from the previous section, we can work on putting them together to get the best results.
When we search Google, we often use what is called "natural word phrasing". We ask Google questions in full sentences. Like... What year was Westminster College founded? If we search Reeves Library like that, we don't get very good results.
Through Boolean Operators! This is just a fancy word for using AND in between our main ideas. So, using the keywords from the keyword map on the previous page we have:
Global Warming AND Polar Bears AND Arctic AND Sea Levels
Here is how that gets typed into our Discovery Search:
Note that I didn't use all 4 keywords in this search. You can pick and choose and do multiple different searches with various combinations of keywords.
WestMO Tip: Use quotations around keywords that are 1 idea, but multiple words like "global warming" and "polar bears". This will help you get better results!
The search box automatically only has 3 keyword slots, but you can add or subtract as many as you like! If you wanted to search all 4 keywords at once, all you need to do is click the plus sign on the right side to bring up another box.
WestMO Tip: Be careful of adding too many keywords! This can often make our searches way too specific, and we will have trouble bringing up many results. 2-4 is the sweet spot.
To get the best results, sometimes we need to widen our search by including like terms, or synonyms. Not everyone uses the same language to discuss various topics, so our keywords need to reflect that!
For example, we have been using "global warming" but I could use an article that specifically discusses "climate change" instead! Just became it's not my original keyword, doesn't mean the article won't work perfectly for my assignment.
By using the OR boolean operator! For example, let's go back to our Keyword Chart! These can be used to also help us keep track of our synonyms. We can see below that the synonyms for each idea go down in the columns, while the different supporting idea topics go across.
WestMO Pro Tip: When trying to figure out synonyms, don't hesitate to use Google! Check out an online thesaurus to help you out.
So now, this is what our final search looks like:
