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HIS 356P U.S. in the Civil Rights Era

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Brainstorm Search Terms (Keywords)

Library databases and Google can't be searched the same way so take a few moments to come up with a search strategy before diving into a database.

Step 1:  Think about the key concepts of your topic and search those instead of an entire phrases or sentences. Consider different ways to say those key terms, because different writers will refer to the same concept using different terms. To turn your topic into keywords or search terms, use this tool, or:  

Step 2:   Think of other terms you could use that are synonyms or related (they could be a broader or narrower aspect).  This often requires that you do a little background research to learn more.

Step 3:  Connect your terms using AND and OR:

Remember - 

  • AND narrows your topic (use AND between terms if you want them all to appear in your results)
  • OR broadens your topic (use OR between terms if you want any, not all, to appear in your results)

 

Chart showing use of Boolean Operators: AND to combine terms for a narrower search, OR to broaden a search by finding records with either of 2 terms, NOT to refine a search by locating records with the first but not the second of 2 terms.

http://www.library.kent.edu/images/boolean.gif

Using ASC as Keyword Generator

 

Using any EBSCO database's advanced search fields can be used as a makeshift keyword generator.

In this example, we will use the database, Academic Search Complete (ASC). After logging in you, you will see three search empty fields. To generate keywords, think of your first keyword concept. I am going to use Latino. The trick to generating the autofilled keywords is to type your keyword followed by or

For example, to generate the related keywords for Latino, type in -> Latino or 

This strategy can be useful if you are not finding enough results in your searches, you want to be comprehensive or the topic you are researching goes by many names depending on discipline, generation or viewpoint. 

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