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Maysville CTC English 101 Research Tutorial: 1. Keywords

Words to Search By

If you are having trouble thinking of keywords or related terms to your topic, try looking at a thesaurus.

A thesaurus is a glossary of terms, a storehouse of related words, a treasure trove of words that mean the same or give the opposite meaning as well.

Here is a look at Marijuana in Thesaurus.com.

Make a List of Keywords

Use these tools below to help organize your keywords and expand your search.

How to select KEYWORDS

Circle main concepts in your research question and brainstorm synonyms or other keywords that would narrow or broaden your topic.

Before Clicking on the Search Box: More Effective Ways to Search

1. Combining terms or phrases.

Use AND, OR, and NOT to specify the relationship between search terms. {This is called BOOLEAN Searching.  Click here for a definition.} 

For EXAMPLE:

  • AND -- specifies that both terms Marijuana AND Medical must appear in the same search results
  • OR -- specifies that either or both the terms "Marijuana" OR "Cannabis" appear in the same search results
  • NOT -- specifies that the first term but NOT the second appears in the same search results with "Medical Option" NOT "Drug Abuse"

Click on the link below to see how using these connectors can be effective in searching.

2. Think like the computer!

1. A good way to find related words is to use a Thesaurus. Thesaurus.com is an excellent free website that can help.

2. Use quotation marks (" ") around phrases.  For example, "legal marijuana use".

3. Use truncation. The computer will locate alternative endings for a word when you place an asterisk -- *- at end of the root of a word.

EXAMPLE: Use MEDIC* to find Medicine, Medical, Medicinal, Medic, Medication, Medications

Do You Need to Narrow or Broaden Topic?

As you begin searching and collecting information, you need to be sure your topic can be researched and that you will find adequate materials on your topic. You may find that there is often too much information for your topic, or too little so you may need to adjust your research strategy. 

What should you do if:

1.) Your topic is too broad. Find a way to limit the depth or scope of your search. Narrow or restrict the topic to something, such as a certain aspect of a subject or issue, you can deal with that will not be so overwhelming as you are searching for information.

Example of a topic too broad: Pain Control.

2.) Your topic is too narrow. Find a way to expand your topic to include a wider range of information that can be retrieved through your research.

Example of a topic too narrow: Use of Medical Marijuana in Kentucky for Migraine Pain Control.

What's In a Hashtag?

Source: Dennis Skley (Flickr)

Identifying keywords is like HASHTAGGING.

When you type a hashtag  
(#informationliteracy) in social media such as Twitter or Facebook, you are identifying or assigning a keyword or phrase that others can locate. 

If you are interested in public opinion or popular culture on a specific topic, you could search for hashtags to find information. 

Read this blog to find out how Keywords and hashtags differ.