A keyword search scans all words in a record, including the title, abstract, and author. Refer to your class notes and course materials to get ideas for search terms.
Tip: A good research topic usually contains 2-3 concepts. It is often in the form of a research question or statement. Break your topic into individual keywords by pulling out the words that indicate the main concepts of your topic.
Example:
A Research question: What motivates adult learners taking online courses?
- Pick out Keywords: motivates, adult learners, online courses. (Words such as "what" and "taking" do not relate to the core concepts of the research question and are not effective keywords.)
- Brainstorm alternative keywords that an author might have used. This includes different word forms and similar terms:
motivates |
adult learners |
online courses |
motivation |
adult student |
distance education |
motivating |
non-traditional |
web-based course
|