3.3 Search Basics: Generating Search Terms
In order to do the most effective literature search, we need to come up with good search terms. Follow these easy steps to generate search terms.
Three Steps to Search Terms:
- State your research topic
- Identify the main concepts in your topic
- Come up with keywords for each concept
Note:
When you have good search terms, you can get better search results, faster!
1. State your research topic
- What are you interested in studying?
- What information do you want to find?
2. Identify the main concepts in your topic
- What are the key concepts?
- Look for subjects like “whale”, not action words like “effect” or “impact”
3. Come up with keywords for each concept
- How many ways can you state each concept?
- Look for synonyms, related words, scientific names or alternate spellings
- Make a list of all keywords for each concept
Tip
Make a chart to keep track of your concepts and keywords
| Concepts | Keywords |
| 1. Global warming | Global warming, climate change |
| 2. Whales | Whales |
| 3. Migration | Migration, movement |
