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Introduction to Library Research

An overview of the basic skills and information needed to begin searching in research databases and evaluating information.

Creating a Search Strategy

A search strategy is a game plan you come up with to help organize your search.

Typically, when developing your search strategy you will brainstorm where would be the best places to search for the information you are looking for, and what to search in that place in order to find the information.  We use search strategies to help organize our search, which in turn, can lead to less frustration during the search process. Coming up with a search strategy also allows us to start thinking more critically about the information we are looking for.

This section of the Introduction to Library Research tutorials will provide an overview of the following:

  • identifying main concepts
  • keywords
  • brainstorming keywords and search terms
  • choosing where to search for information

What are Keywords?

Introduction to Keywords

Keywords, also called search terms, are the words that you enter into databases to search for information. Keywords represent the main ideas of your research topic or research question, and are single-words or short phrases that you use in everyday life to describe your topic. 

Selecting your keywords is a trial and error process that involves:

  • identifying the main ideas of your topic
  • brainstorming additional keywords to combine together when searching
    • synonyms and related-terms that can also be used to describe your topic
    • broader and narrower terms that can be used to describe your topic
  • spelling out abbreviations and avoiding jargon

It is important to remember that your first search will likely not bring back the exact results you are looking for. This is why it is important to take notes during your search process on the keywords you use, the combinations you use them in, and any new terms that you come across while searching. This will help you have a more productive research session and avoid repeated-unsuccessful search attempts. Be prepared to conduct multiple searches in order to find the sources that you need. 

Video Review

  • You can't search academic databases the same way you search Google.
  • Keywords are words or short phrases that represent the main ideas in your research topic or question that you use to search in databases.
  • Keywords are natural language words, or common everyday vocabulary that we use to describe things.
  • Avoid jargon when searching.
  • The benefit of keyword searching is that you can combine keywords in a number of different ways to modify your search. 

Identify Main Concepts

Main Ideas and Concepts

An important step when creating a search strategy is to identify the key concepts of your topic. From these key concepts you will generate the keywords needed to search the library's catalog and article databases. Identifying main concepts and ideas can also help focus your thesis and argument. 

One way to identify main ideas is to take a look at your thesis statement, topic proposal, or research question. Using your thesis, topic proposal, or research question you can identify your main ideas. 

Main ideas are:

  • the terms that get at the heart of your topic--usually the subject of your sentence, and/or nouns
  • If you removed these terms from your research question, topic proposal or thesis, your topic would not be evident

Main ideas are not:

  • non-essential words like articles, prepositions, adjectives, or verbs (i.e., the, a, that, over, under, slowly, running, etc.)

Practice identifying main ideas with the activity below:

Brainstorming Keywords and Search Terms New

Brainstorming Keywords: Main Ideas, Broader, and Narrower Terms Video Review

  • The first step in this brainstorming process is to identify the main ideas of your research question or topic
  • The second step is to identify a word or words that describe a more specific aspect of each main idea
  • The third step is to identify a word or words that describe a more broad aspect of each main idea
narrower term undergraduate students certified therapy dog anxiety
main idea keyword college students therapy dogs stress
broader term students therapy animals mental health

Then, you can modify your search by combining these narrower and broader terms.

Narrower search: undergraduate students AND certified therapy dog AND anxiety
Original search: college students AND therapy dogs AND stress
Broader search: students AND therapy animals AND mental health

This brainstorming method is meant to get you started on your search and to help you modify your search based on the results you receive. If your search is too narrow, try brainstorming some broader terms. If your search is too broad, try searching with some narrower terms. Searching a database is an ongoing process and you will need to preform multiple searches (often times in multiple databases) to find relevant information. 

Brainstorming Tip

Take notes while you are searching. Keep track of your keyword combinations and which ones work and which ones don't. Also jot down any potential keywords you come across while searching. 

Brainstorming Keywords-Word Mapping Synonyms and Related Terms Video Review

  • Word mapping is a method for helping you visualize your keywords
  • Start with one main idea keyword at a time
  • write your main idea keyword in the center of a piece of paper
  • write related terms and synonyms that describe that same idea around the main idea
  • connect the synonyms and related terms to the main idea by drawing a line--these terms are your brainstormed keywords
  • repeat for each main idea term
  • Once you have a selection of keywords for each main idea, you can combine them in different ways as you begin to search for sources

Because databases look for exact word matches when searching, certain types of words can be unhelpful when you include them in your search.

Abbreviations

When searching academic databases you will want to spell out abbreviations and search for the complete word or phrase. 

Example: If you are looking for information on PTSD, you will want to spell out the entire phrase: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

Tips: You can search using the abbreviation if you combine it with the spelled out phrase using the Boolean operator OR: (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder OR PTSD)

Abstract concepts

Avoid searching for words that represent abstract concepts. These include:

  • relationship words: words that describe the relationship between two topics
    • example: compare, contrast, correlation, relationship, cause, effect 
  • judgement words: words that indicate that something is better or  worse than something else
    • example: best, worst, pro, con, advantage, disadvantage

Choosing Where to Search for Information

Have you ever started research for your research paper and were unable to find relevant sources in the database you were searching in?

A vital part of the research process is identifying and choosing places where you will search for information. This is because there are hundreds of databases and each database has different subject coverage. For example, if you needed help with your biology homework, you wouldn't go to a math instructor. The same goes for databases. If your research paper has a psychology focus, you wouldn't want to search a literature database. 

A-Z Databases List

The library has a tool called the A-Z databases list that allows you to filter databases by subject and database type. Using this tool effectively can help you identify subject-appropriate databases and increase the likelihood that you will find relevant sources. 

Please visit the A-Z database list and explore how the subject filter changes the recommended databases. 

Check Your Knowledge: Keywords