Read this section to learn about how keywords work, so you are prepared to create your own.
1. Save time, prepare to research!
- Break your research question into key concepts
- For each of these concepts, brainstorm multiple keywords, which are synonyms and related ideas.
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Sample Topic:
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigeria, Americanah
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Key Concepts
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Adichie
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Nigeria
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Americanah
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Related Keywords
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Black woman writer
fiction
novels
intersectionality
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Africa
Lagos
Igbo, Yoruba
Anglophone Africa
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immigration
assimilation
international students
coming-of-age
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2. Combine keywords using AND and OR:
- Too many results? Try using quotation marks around an exact phrase. Ex: "the international student experience"
- Still too many results? Narrow using AND. Ex: Adichie AND assimilat*
- Too few results? Broaden using OR. Ex: Adichie AND (uni* OR college OR student*)
- Put parentheses around synonyms.
- The asterisk finds multiple endings from a root word. Ex: wom* will bring back women, woman's, wombat, etc.
