Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
What terms do I use in searching?
22
The problem
Use your research question as a guide
More examples
One of the most difficult challenges for researchers is finding the right words to use when searching for information.
Here are some ideas.
How could the looting of museums during the Iraq War of 2003 have been avoided?
Search terms: Looting and museums and Iraq war
Any research project should have a guiding research question that states clearly the issue you want to address.
Draw your search terminology out of your question.
What is the novel, The Great Gatsby, saying about American culture?
Search terms: "Great Gatsby" and American
culture.
Examples
Keywords can be a problem
Is the development of alternative fuels to ward off climate change damaging or beneficial for the economy?
Search terms: Alternative fuels AND economy
Sometimes keyword searches bring up too much material. Some academic databases allow you to apply filters to reduce the number of results:
What is the best way to reduce urban homelessness?
Search Terms: (urban or city) and homelessness [avoid terms like "reduce" or "eliminate." Start by searching on the problem itself].