Wiki Page, GOTT Clover II: Identify (5 of 6): Using Keywords to Search

Wiki Page
2016-08-14T21:35:07-06:00

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Once you've identified an open-ended research question of an appropriate scope, it's almost time to start writing your paper. But first, you need to identify information that will form and support your argument.

Searching can be frustrating, especially if you aren't getting enough or too many results. But don't get discouraged, there are sources out there for you!

If you've hit a road block in your searching, you may want to try different keywords and other search strategies.

Keywords can be words or phrases directly stated in your research question. They can also be words or phrases that are related to the topic but not explicitly stated in your research question, such as synonyms or related concepts.

Think about your topic and research question, then explore and write down all the possible words you could use that might yield relevant results.

You can also try adding AND between two keywords to broaden your results. Or use quotation marks around phrases to narrow your results to just that phrase, instead of both terms independently.