Video: Keywords for Searching

Searching for articles in scholarly databases is quite different from searching the internet; instead of typing a full question into the search bar, you'll want to learn subject terms related to your topic. The subject terms will become your keywords or the words you'll use to search the databases. This video will explain how to develop an effective list of keywords to find scholarly research articles.

• Transcript

  Keywords for Searching

  
  if you're looking for articles in a scholarly database a Search tool for academic journals, you will need good keywords. Keywords or Search terms are the words you type into the search bar to find articles. One way to generate these keywords for your search is to focus on the main ideas in your research question and synonyms for those words.

  
  You shouldn't type your full question into the search bar because too many Search terms could limit or skew the relevance of your results. For example, my research question is does having indoor plants improve the well-being of college students to find articles on this topic. I want to break this down to just the main elements. Indoor plants well-being and college students for my search.

  
  For each of the main elements. I might want to think of synonyms. For example, I could search for house plants or potted plants for the phrase indoor plants. You can use articles that you've already found to expand your bank of keywords or synonyms. Most articles have a keyword section located near the abstract this section will contain all of the tagged words for the article.

  
  When you search the database for any of those terms the article will appear in your results list. The keywords for this article are restorative environments well-being potted plants green space and classroom. Those could become additional Search terms I can use when looking for articles.

  
  Sometimes the keyword tags are specific and use disciplinary words or phrases that you might not know or have thought of. This second article on the same topic uses keywords human nature interaction indoor plants perception Behavior restoration scale rewards and long-term effects, which are more academic. Using these Search terms might yield different kinds of Articles. So it's a good practice to take note of them.

  
  Finding research is a trial and error process where you often learn the right words through your searching. You will need to do multiple searches using different combinations of your keywords and synonyms to ensure the best results for your research question.

  
  For more help improving your search. You can check out our other research tips videos or ask a librarian for help.