Information Skills Tutorial: How to Select Your Search Terms, Keywords

Before you start your research, compile a list of keywords or key terms which best describe your subject. You’ll use these keywords when searching catalogues and online databases.

As you do your background reading, ask yourself some questions:

What main subject areas am I covering? Do I need to set any limits on my work?   Am I looking for only recent information? Am I looking for information on a particular region?   Where do I need to look? Am I looking for information from journal articles only and not books?

You'll find different information sources may use different terms to describe the same subject, so list as many synonyms (words that mean the same), acronyms (words formed from the initial letters of other words), American and alternative spellings as you can. These will become your search terms. For example:

Have you thought about using a thesaurus?  It’s really good at identifying synonyms or other words to describe a topic.

For example:

It is also useful to have an overall view of where your subject fits into the discipline generally. If your search results in too few or too many references, you may need to think about broader and narrower subject terms.

Don't be afraid to add to your list as you proceed with your literature search. As you begin to search, you'll discover new keywords and new dimensions to your topic that you hadn't previously considered.