Skip to Main Content

Research: A Step-by-Step Guide

Identifying Keywords

The keywords you use can have a profound impact on the results of your research. Using the “right” words will speed up the research process, while the “wrong” words can bring to it to a halt.

Before you can begin searching for information, you need to identify keywords related to your topic. Key terminology can be easily be found by scanning:

If you are still struggling:

  • Use a thesaurus to identify synonyms
  • Find pictures related to your topic, then describe them
  • Brainstorm keywords with a librarian, your instructor, or a friend

Tip!

    

Struggling to identify #keywords based on your #topic or #research question? Try this idea... which words would you #hashtag if it was a #social network feed?