1. How To Research Identifying And Using Your Keywords Synonyms Boolean Logic – And, Or and Not

2. What is a Keyword? A Keyword is a word or a number of words that help you identify the main points or concepts of a topic They help you identify what SUBJECTS to search for

3. Why – What’s The Point? By thinking about keywords you will find out how much or how little you know about a subject You will use keywords when seeking information eg searching catalogues and databases Keywords can be used to provide structure to the project when taking notes or writing up the report Students who fail to identify keywords at the planning stage will find it difficult to find, select, reject and organise the information and ideas they need to complete their project You may have to think again if your find the keywords use produce too much (keywords are too broad) or too little information (keywords are too narrow or specific)

4. First Step Identify the most important words (or keywords) in your research question (RQ) You will use these in your search for information They help you identify what subjects to search for Here’s an example RQ – Does violence on television influence children? Keywords – VIOLENCE TELEVISION CHILDREN

5. Second Step Consider alternative or related words that have similar meanings. In other words, think of synonyms you could use Use a Thesaurus and/or a subject dictionary to help you. If you are conducting business research you could use ‘The Oxford Dictionary of Business And Management’ VIOLENCE – aggression, fighting, hostility, cruelty, disorder, combat, disorderly conduct TELEVISION – TV, media, screen (You could also think of other media devices (iPads, tablets) and change your RQ ) CHILDREN – young adults, kids, juveniles

6. The Flying Car You are researching how to invent a flying car Obvious keywords = flying and car Synonyms include:- FlyingCar FlyAutomobile FlightVehicle AviationMotor AerialTransportation Aeronautical

7. Discover New Keywords Make a note of how successful using a particular word or phrase is in one search engine so that you can use it again in another - eg Google Scholar and EBSCO You might find new keywords on the websites and databases you use Flying car manufacturer = Terrafugia

8. Combing Your Keywords - AND When you use AND between terms, you specify that both terms must be in every item found Example: Olympics AND sustainability AND London Using AND narrows your search. You find fewer items, but they're more specific because they all contain all the key concepts. The words can be in any order and in any searchable place in the record.

9. Combing Your Keywords - Or When you use OR between search terms, you specify that items must contain one term or the other, but they don't need to contain both. Examples: sustainability OR recycling Olympics OR London Using OR broadens your search. You find more items, because they don't need to contain all of the keywords.

10. Combining Your Keywords - Not You use NOT to exclude information: on particular regions e.g. Olympics NOT Rio on particular population groups e.g. NOT children on particular aspects of a topic e.g. sustainability NOT energy Use it with care so that you don't exclude useful material by mistake.

11. Online Help Have a look at this University of Sydney video - http://anglia.libguides.com/keywords http://anglia.libguides.com/keywords