Keywords
KEYWORDS carry some of the most important meanings that will open doors to vast amounts of information. You can develop keywords by searching reference sources, books, websites, and thesauri, among other materials.
Creating KEYWORD lists are important in that you will use these terms to search library tools such as the library catalog and article research databases.
Thesaurus
If you get stuck coming up with some alternate keywords, a thesaurus might be a good place to start. Just remember that connotation matters, so just because something is a synonym doesn't mean it's the right one for your search. A cottage in the forest sounds like a lovely vacation, but a cabin in the woods is a horror movie.
Creating keywords
Image: Toomas Tartes on Unsplash.
Once you've decided on your topic, you can start creating keywords by answering a few basic questions and coming up with different ways to describe your topic. The sample topic here concerns exercise and higher altitudes. Potential questions and keywords that can be used include:
- What is it I'm researching?
- HIKING
- SUSTAINABILITY
- What effect do I think being sustainable has on hiking and/or hikers?
- Who (what population) do I want to focus on for my research? Or do I want to focus on a certain location?
- MEN?
- WOMEN?
- YOUNG PEOPLE/TEENAGERS/CHILDREN?
- OLDER PEOPLE?
- HIKERS IN GENERAL?
- NATIONAL PARKS?
- NATIONAL TRAILS?
- What are some synonyms or related terms that I could use in place of my initial keywords?
- LEAVE NO TRACE
- ECO-CONSCIOUS
- GREEN
- BACKPACKING
- MOUNTAINEERING
- ECO-HIKERS
If you're struggling to develop keywords, it could be that you're lacking contextual, background information. It's important to find background information to provide some basic facts and context surrounding your topic. Where exactly can you find this kind of information?
- Textbooks
- Oxford Reference- The database combines quick reference coverage of the full subject spectrum to provide users with reliable and authoritative answers to research questions ranging from ready-reference to comprehensive inquiries.
- General web searching