The keywords you use have an impact on the results of your research. If the keywords you choose do not give you the results you need, try the others on your list or use the search strategies listed under Step 2. Keywords and phrases can easily be found by scanning . . . your initial research questions
Example: "Smog" is more specific than "air pollution," but "children" is less specific than "kindergartners." Not every database or article uses the same words to describe the same topic, so look for suggested keywords or subject terms during your search.
(See the research question example below.) 2. Identify the most important 2 - 4 words or phrases from your topic description or research question. These are your key concepts. Tip: ... Create new keyword combinations from your refined list of terms, and test them again! Examples: undergraduates AND online courses AND digital media AND engagement
List keywords! A solid research question gives you the keywords you will use to search the databases. Consider synonyms and related terms. Think about proper nouns - who/what are the people, places/spaces, entities, etc. that play a role in your topic? What time or era is relevant to the exploration of your topic?
You can search for empirical research articles using the electronic databases and these key terms: ProQuest. Report ; Evidence-Based; Additional useful keywords include:
d. Avoid using abbreviations as keywords. In general, abbreviations do not make good keywords, because a given abbreviation or acronym may be used for different terms depending on the domain. For example, SDI can mean ‘strategic defence initiative’ but also stand for ‘selective dissemination of information’. Testing your keywords
For example, a research paper on climate change might include keywords like “global warming,” “carbon emissions,” and “sustainability.” The Importance of Selecting Academic Keywords Choosing the right academic keywords ensures that your research aligns with relevant literature and is easily accessible through academic search engines.
Use optimized keywords in research papers. Maximize your potential visibility by using optimized keywords in research papers. For example, authors writing on medical and health-related topics can find help with keywords and terms by looking through the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus.
Core concepts, topics, and themes can be a few words or phrases. Once you’ve identified them, consider how to turn them into specific keywords. 4. Consult Similar Research. Consulting research papers on your topic is a great way to find keywords. As you research them, examine the keywords they use to describe their content.
Identify Keywords. To identify keywords, first start by writing out your research statement or question. Then follow these steps: Start by writing your research question, or thesis statement. Underline or circle the two or three most important terms that represent your topic. Example: Are social media users concerned about their personal privacy?
Keywords are important words/concepts found in your research question or thesis. A quick and dirty way to pull keywords from a research question/thesis is to choose the most important nouns; all other words are irrelevant. Using keywords to search will always retrieve more results than phrases or sentences. Image source: Producer. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Common words: Avoid using generic and commonly used words that do not add specific value to your research topic. For example, if your research paper is about the effects of climate change on coral reefs, using words like “the,” “and,” “of,” “in,” etc., as keywords would not provide any meaningful information specific to your study.
Good keywords are representative of what your research is about and are well-known or widely used in your field but not too general or non-specific. Let’s look at some examples: Manuscript title: Incidence of major depressive disorder after coronary artery bypass grafting in young-old women
Once you have a topic, you need some keywords. Keywords are specific words and phrases that describe your topic and tell the database what to look for. Choosing good keywords saves you time by making your search results more relevant and helping you find a range of perspectives.
Google Keyword Planner – a free tool from Google that helps you find relevant keywords and phrases for your research paper. Keyword Tool – another free tool that generates keywords based on search queries from various search engines. Mendeley – a research management tool that automatically extracts keywords from your research papers and ...
