Before you start searching think about your research topic.
What is it you want to find out? What search terms and keywords will help find the information you need to answer your research question?
Databases will only search for exactly what you type into the search boxes so you need to think of all possible synonyms (different words with the same meaning), alternative terms and variant spellings. If you don't, you might miss out on key articles.
Books, lecture notes and Google are all really useful resources than can help identify synonyms and alternative terms.
Dictionaries, thesauruses and encyclopaedias can also help. Use the Library catalogue to search for general and subject specific dictionaries, many are available as eBooks.
Examining the keywords and indexing terms assigned to articles can also help to generate keywords. In most databases you will usually find this information alongside the article abstract. This example is from the Scopus database.
Zhang, Y., Geng, P., Sivaparthipan, C.B. & Muthu, B.A. (2021). Big data and artificial intelligence based early risk warning system of fire hazard for smart cities. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 45 Article number 100986. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2020.100986 [Accessed 16 March 2021].
It is important to find all the relevant keywords for the topic to ensure the search is comprehensive.
List the main keywords then start to brainstorm and think laterally:
Are there alternative terms or synonyms?
e.g. What additional search terms have you already come across in your background reading?
Are there any specialist technical terms you need to include?
e.g. 3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing
What about acronyms?
e.g. small and medium sized enterprises are commonly described as SMEs
Can any of the terms be spelt differently, what about plurals?
e.g. British /American spelling, globalisation v globalization
There are various techniques you can also use to identify keywords e.g. mind maps, brainstorming, creating tables and lists. Choose the one that works best for you.
In the example list below the main keywords from the research question have been identified and additional terms listed underneath.
