Finding Sources, Taking Notes, and Synthesizing

USING KEYWORDS EFFECTIVELY

Whether you use your library’s search options or Google, you will use keywords, words or phrases that describe your topic, to search for information. You type your keywords into a search box, hit “Enter,” and the search engine scans all the items in its index for those that include your keywords. In other words, to search effectively, you must figure out which words your sources are likely to use and use those as your keywords. The tips below can help improve your search results.

More specific terms yield more relevant results. For example, if you were writing about alternative political parties in the United States, using keywords like politics or even political parties would be too broad. Searching on phrases like third parties in the United States would reduce the number of hits and make those hits more relevant. If you are having difficulty coming up with keywords, use a reference resource, like a specialized encyclopedia, to find the terms those writing about a topic would be likely to use.
Include synonyms. To make sure your search yields the best results, brainstorm a list of synonyms for your keywords and search for those terms as well. For example, if you are searching for information on welfare reform, you might also search for entitlement programs, government benefits, and welfare spending.
Use full names and titles. Search for people using full names, including middle initials when available. If the name is common, add other pieces of information, such as the college or university where the person teaches. When searching for books or articles, use complete titles.
Use the advanced search functions. For example, Google’s advanced search feature allows you to search for an exact phrase and to exclude words that should not appear in your search results (among other options). Google also allows you to filter your results by language, reading level, date, region, and several other criteria. Library search options also allow you to narrow your results, for example, to scholarly articles or to books published within a specific timeframe, in a specific language, or on a specific subject.
Use subject headings. Most libraries and database vendors (such as EBSCO or LexisNexis) use standard subject headings to index their contents. To generate more relevant search results, make sure your keywords match the Library of Congress subject headings, or use the Thesaurus or Subject Terms link on the search page to check and refine your list of keywords. For instance, checking the thesaurus for a medical database may reveal that the ideal search term is not heart attack but myocardial infarction.

If your keyword searches are returning too many results or too many irrelevant results, try the following.

Combine keywords to make your search terms more specific, or remove search terms to broaden your results.
Once you find a relevant source, look at the subject terms associated with it, and use those for subsequent searches.
Conduct a new search using a specialized database.
Read the tool’s search tips or FAQs for specific advice on how to improve your results.

Keep in mind that effective research requires ingenuity and persistence, so don’t give up too easily.