Developing an efficient keyword strategy is difficult.
It isn't less difficult in Google, but the databases where our subscriptions live play by different rules.
In general, they ask you to be very specific and deliberate in your search.
You are not yet familiar with your topic. You do not know who cares about your topic and why.
You are not familiar with the ways in which experts talk about your topic and the solutions they are proposing.
The only way to fix this problem is to spend time becoming familiar with your topic (see Choose and Develop your Topic at left).
Here is one method for developing a strong keyword strategy. It helps you diagnose what you might need to know in order to launch a successful search.
Sample topic: discipline in schools
How can I make this more specific?
| Main idea | Why are students disciplined? | Who is affected, specifically? | What are the effects? |
| school discipline | dress codes | students of color | academic performance |
| school punishment | zero tolerance policies for drugs and weapons | victims of child abuse and neglect | graduation rates |
| academic dishonesty | low income students | school to prison pipeline | |
| student conduct | students with disabilities | discrimination | |
| high school students |
I can use these ideas and keywords I brainstormed to choose a narrower topic. See Advanced Searches at left
Try this keyword brainstorming tool to help you generate search terms.
You can send the results to yourself or to your teacher. You can also launch a search in a database directly from the tool.
Use this worksheet to keep track of your keywords. Staying organized in the research process helps to prevent duplication of effort.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.