LibGuides: General Research Guide: Preparing to Search

Preparing to Search

Keyword Brainstorming
What is a Research Question?

1. Save time, prepare to research!

Break your research question into key concepts (you'll connect these in your paper to make an original argument)
For each of these concepts, brainstorm multiple keywords

Sample Topic:	Services for college students with disabilities
Key Concepts	services	college students	disabilities
Related Keywords	accommodations assistive tech*	university higher education campus	disab* ability ableism

Try this keyword tool to brainstorm online and send the results to yourself.

2. Combine keywords using AND and OR:

Too many results? Try using quotation marks around an exact phrase. Ex: "students with disabilities"
Still too many results? Narrow using AND. Ex: "students with disabilities" AND "assistive technology"
Too few results? Broaden using OR. Ex: "students with disabilities" AND (campus OR college OR university OR higher education)
Put parentheses around synonyms.
The asterisk finds multiple endings from a root word. Ex: wom* will bring back women, woman's, wombat, etc.

3. Brush up on the search tools available:

Here are search tips for Google.
Search tips for the Catalog are at the bottom of the Advanced Search page.
Databases often include their own search tips. Tip: Look for a help link or a gear symbol.

A research question is what forms and guides your literature review. It is the question that you want the literature to answer for you. A research question should be specific, focused, and concise.

To develop a research question, start with a general topic of interest to you. You'll want to do some preliminary and background research on this topic to think through what specific questions you might have.

Examples:

Sample Topic: impact of social media on adolescent physical activity

Sample Research Question: Can social media serve as an effective tool for increasing physical activity among adolescents?

Need more guidance on developing your topic into a research question? Check out this video from the library at Northern Kentucky University.