The First
Secret of Searching: Keywords
The same thing is true
when you are doing research. You have to choose the best
words, called
"keywords," to describe your topic in order to
get the good
results. This requires some thought so try this strategy:
- Write down
your research
topic as a question or a statement.
- Circle the
most important
words or phrases that you wrote down. (Vocabulary
hint: A phrase has more than one word, in a specific
order, with a specific meaning. "Business plan" is a phrase. So
are "type II diabetes" and "global warming.")
Example:
My topic is:
Is the death penalty unfairly applied to
members of minority groups?
My keywords or phrases
are:
Death penalty / unfairly applied / minority
groups
